Which Cameron Crazie free-throw distraction is the most effective? An analysis from inside the graduate student section

In Cameron Indoor Stadium, section 17 is front and center — Cameron Crazies pack the undergraduate student section more than an hour before tipoff and serve as the nucleus of energy that envelops the building at gametime. Many of the chants, cheers and jeers for which the Blue Devils have become famous originate from these packed rows of fans.

Although this area might be the most well known, it isn’t the only student section. Along each baseline are two more spots — sections 18 and 20, if we want to be technical — occupied by students. This group, perhaps a bit longer in the tooth and a tad more arthritic in the knees than their undergraduate counterparts, consists of graduate and professional students. These sections don’t quite have the energy of section 17, but they are entrusted with one of the most important tasks at any college basketball game: free-throw distractions. At some of the most pivotal moments of the game, graduate students are thrust into the limelight as they attempt a number of wild gesticulations to distract the opposing team.

Over the past two years in medical school, I have attended nearly every Duke basketball home game. I’ve logged every opposing team’s free-throw attempt (248 in total), the distraction used and whether the result was a make or a miss. I have excluded distractions that were performed fewer than five times. Before I dive into the data, let’s define each common distraction.

The jump: We’ll start with a self-explanatory one. Students hunch down and stay quiet until the free-throw shooter begins his motion, at which point they leap into the air and yell to provide both a visual and auditory discombobulation. 

The false start: Affectionately named after a football referee’s mechanic when a member of the offense moves early, this distraction is when students form fists with both hands and rapidly rotate them around each other, alternating between chest and abdomen heights. 

The fish: In this distraction, students first place their palms together at chest level. Then, they move their hands upward in a serpentine fashion, curving to the left and to the right until their arms have fully reached above their head, similar to a football referee’s signal for a safety. 

The countdown: Students create an artificial shot clock for the free-throw shooter, calling out a countdown starting at 10 and going to zero. This distraction is also accompanied by a hand gesture where students hold up a number of fingers corresponding to the number of seconds remaining on the clock. 

The wave: This one starts with students extending their arms to the left or to the right. As the shooter begins his motion, they then rapidly swing their arms in the other direction and yell.

Here are a few points that stood out:

1. Two of the three most common distractions also ranked among the most effective. Hand wave was the most popular with 68 attempts and ranks as the second-best distraction, and the fish (35 attempts) is the best. 
2. Even though the false start is not a frequently used distraction, it had the third-best miss rate among the options studied. 
3. The stomp and punch is the fourth-most popular distraction but holds the unenviable spot of being the second-worst distraction used.
4. The sample size for the countdown was small (only 10 attempts), as was the clap (eight attempts), but neither has had an impressive showing in the last two seasons, ranking among the worst distractions in terms of miss proportion.

I’d be remiss not to include some disclaimers here. Of course, the sample size is limited over two years, and the data may very well tell a different story when aggregated over more time. There is certainly variation among free-throw shooters, which is a confounding variable in assessing distraction efficacy. And finally, there’s inconsistency among the distractors in that the distraction is not often executed to its fullest potential. Many students begin their jump or hand wave once the basketball has already left the free-throw shooter’s hands, diminishing the full potential effect.

For the upcoming season, I hope this serves as a paradigm for an evidence-based selection for free-throw distractions. Why choose the stomp and punch, for example, when there are many others with demonstrably higher success rates? There’s also so much potential in creating new distractions that expand upon the current arsenal (generally, most distractions that involve rhythmic hand movement at or above the head seem to be effective). 

But why stop there? Arizona State has its infamous Curtain of Distraction. Duke had Speedo Guy make a special appearance in the 2003 home game against North Carolina. And if there’s anything I’ve learned after nearly seven years at Duke as an undergrad and med student, it’s that this campus has no shortage of people who work out and love attention. Surely you can get some of them to come clad in a Speedo underneath their gameday outfit.

Coach K Court is surrounded by students on three of the four sides. This environment is a relatively unusual setup for college basketball, and students ought to try to optimize their impact on the game through not only cheers and enthusiasm but also strategically selected free-throw distraction techniques.

Editor's note: This piece is one of many in The Chronicle's 2023-24 Duke men's basketball  preview. Check out the rest here.