If you caught a few minutes of Duke's season-opening 97-60 victory over Princeton on Sunday, you probably wondered why the entire Blue Devils student section donned plastic viking helmets for the game.
On the surface, it might have looked like a clever jab at an opposing player. In reality, it was a touching tribute for a friend who recently passed away.
Senior Drew Everson, a passionate Duke basketball fan and a line monitor for the Cameron Crazies, died last month as a result of injuries sustained in an accidental fall down a flight of stairs on campus. To honor the Tampa native's memory, his fellow students decided to wear viking helmets to Sunday's season opener just like Everson did to almost every Duke basketball game.
A 21-year-old political science major who was a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and Duke's debate team, Everson had a wide range of interests, but supporting the Blue Devils was among his greatest passions.
His roommate Pat Rutter told the Duke Chronicle that Everson missed only two men's basketball home games during his three-plus years as an undergrad. Friend and fellow student Lauren Haigler said at Everson's memorial service last month that one of her fondest memories of him will be jumping into a fountain together in Indianapolis last April after the Blue Devils defeated Butler in the national title game.
Everson surely would have enjoyed Sunday's game -- both the thoughtful gesture from his peers and the dominant performance from his Blue Devils.
Defending national champion Duke overcame some early jitters and validated its No. 1 preseason ranking, pounding Ivy League favorite Princeton behind big games from Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Kyrie Irving.
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