Donte Grantham admitted he was in awe the first time he went to the Dean Dome and played North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C.
A self-proclaimed Tar Heel fan growing up, he looked at the rafters and stared at all of the national championship banners, Final Fours and all the retired jerseys from players such as Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Vince Carter and the list goes on and on.
Clemson’s starting forward, who is making his second trip to Chapel Hill tonight as the 18th-ranked Tigers play No. 14 North Carolina, admits that is part of the reason why Clemson is 0-58 all-time there.
“I think it is just the history … Michael Jordan. It’s just the players that played at Carolina. It’s the Carolina Blue,” he said. “I think history is just a huge part of this Carolina thing, especially for guys who have not been there. Just to go up there and see the banners, the Vince Carters, it is a special place where there are a lot of NBA and Hall of Fame players.
“But, I think it is mostly just the history. Once you get past that point and get past where you are at right now, and the players that have played here on this court, it is a regular game, you know.”
But that is the problem. When will they get past the mystique of it all? For Grantham it came after the National Anthem to really settle in and start playing.
“It is a special place. It is a nice place, but we came there to handle business and we are going to do that (tonight),” he said. “It is one of the best places to play, but just go in there and handle business and everything else will take care of itself.”
Grantham and fellow senior Gabe DeVoe are the only two current Tigers to have played in the Dean Dome. It will be a new experience for not only the freshman and sophomores, but for veteran players like Marcquise Reed, Shelton Mitchell, Mark Donnal, David Skara and Elijah Thomas.
“To be honest with you, I think it is better for you if you have been in that environment,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said. “I think the more times you are in those kinds of environments, the better it is.
“It is different. There is no doubt about it. The first time you walk in, and you are a freshman, you are going to look around for a while and you hope that once the game gets going that they are not looking around still because if they are looking around then you know it is not going to go well. You will not be out there long enough and you will have a good chance to look around from the bench.”
Grantham says he will do his best to make sure he gets his teammates to stop looking around before the National Anthem.
“I will tell them after the first time we go out there and gather up together, ‘It is a regular game. Calm down. I know it is a special place, but if we do what we have to do and play our game, we will come out victorious. Calm down. Have fun. It is a great experience, but let’s play our game,’” he said.
The senior said he did not know anything about the Tigers’ long losing streak in Chapel Hill until the media made him aware of it prior to their trip there two years ago.
“I liked North Carolina before I came here, but I still did not know that was the statistic until I came here and the media told me,” Grantham said. “I really did not know about it that much to be honest with you.”
Grantham understands the streak is weird, but he explains why Clemson has never won there. He said from his own experience the players do not think about it when they are playing the game.
“I know it is hard for people to think that but when you are playing there as a player, you understand why,” he said. “It is so hard to win on the road in the ACC. I don’t care who you are playing. Every team has good players, especially when you are playing on the road.
“When you win on the road, it is special. You are having a great performance. Against a team like Carolina, who has great players and you are playing on the road, you have to play almost perfect or have a great game when you play against North Carolina or take away the things they do great. That’s our plan to just take away the things they do well and play our game. If we do that we are going to be victorious.”