Duke men’s basketball coach Jon Scheyer said that a member of the Blue Devils’ staff who was injured during a court storming at the end of the team’s 71-68 loss to archrival North Carolina is “fine” and “doing better.”
Scheyer said the unnamed staff member had a bloody lip and was “disheveled and didn’t know what happened” when the team reconvened in the locker room last Saturday after the game in the Dean E. Smith Center.
“He got trampled on the floor,” Scheyer said. “That was my main concern after the game. That’s why I said what I said. It was not a good situation. But he’s doing better, he’s fine, ready to move on. I don’t have anything more to say other than that was a very unsafe situation for him, our staff, our families, our players.”
The alleged incident occurred during a chaotic final sequence at the end of Duke’s loss to the Tar Heels. North Carolina’s Seth Trimble hit what initially appeared to be a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, prompting students and fans to rush the court. After a review, though, officials added 0.4 seconds back on the clock. Duke was unable to get a shot off and the Tar Heels sealed the come-from-behind victory, leading to another court storm.
Scheyer had initially said in the moments after the game that he had staff members who were punched in the face, rather than a single staffer who was trampled.
North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham said he apologized to Scheyer before he went into his post-game news conference and said it’s “just very disappointing” someone was injured.
The Tar Heels were fined $50,000 on Sunday by the ACC for violating the league’s court-storming policy.
“We accept the ACC’s fine for having unauthorized people on the court before Duke and the officials could completely clear the floor on Saturday,” North Carolina said in a statement. “The video we have reviewed confirms we followed our protocols to get Duke’s players and bench personnel and the game officials off the floor safely. We will continue to review our protocols to provide the highest measures of safety in the event fans rush the court. We consider this matter closed and look forward to the rest of the season.”
The loss was only Duke’s second of the season, dropping it two spots to No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The Blue Devils led for 37:39 of a possible 40 minutes and were ahead of the Tar Heels by as many as 13 points. Trimble’s shot with 0.4 seconds left gave North Carolina its first and only lead of the game.
“I’m a big boy, can take losing,” Scheyer said on the teleconference Monday. “Great college game. Carolina played great.”