Duke Basketball Treasure Gets Real About Slapping Floor
Steve Wojciechowski wasn't the first Duke basketball player to slap the floor on defense. No, Johnny Dawkins, Tommy Amaker, and the 1985-86 Blue Devils ignited the program ritual late in a win over Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament title game.
But one could argue Wojciechowski — a relatively short, heavy-footed point guard for four years in Durham before becoming a long-time assistant under Mike Krzyzewski — cemented the Blue Devil tradition.
This week, the 46-year-old, the newly appointed head coach of the Salt Lake City Stars in the G League, sat down with returning Duke basketball graduate center Ryan Young for "The Brotherhood Podcast: Episode 3."
Young referred to "Wojo" as "the godfather of the Duke floor slap." And Wojciechowski responded with a touch of self-deprecating humor.
"I don't take credit for it," he told Young (this topic begins at 10:25 in the video below). "Tommy Amaker and that crew started it. It's just the best thing I did as a player, so that's what everybody remembers me for...And I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not."
It's mostly a compliment. It's safe to say no Blue Devil in history played with more passion than Steve Wojciechowski.
Perhaps the all-time most replayed Duke basketball floor slapping was his repeated pounding of the court on his 1998 Senior Day in the second half of an improbable comeback victory against archrival UNC, amplified by his pointed-finger run to hug Coach K immediately following the buzzer.
"Slapping the floor, its genesis is rooted in a call to action," Wojciechowski explained. "I took pride in being a leader here. And I took pride in being responsible when there was a collective call to action. That's what the floor slap is...a call to action to the guys to be connected, to lock in, kind of spiritually and emotionally together, and physically try to get a stop. That's what the floor slap is to me. Again, I wish it wasn't the best thing I did as a player, but I'm still reminded of it.
"I still get asked quite frequently to slap the floor."
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