When Lee Melchionni's name was introduced on Senior Night, the 6-foot-6 forward walked to center court to a raucous ovation.
Rather than simply waving to the crowd, though, Melchionni got down on his hands and knees and in an emotional display kissed center court.
"I've sweated, I've bled, I've cried on this floor, and I'm so grateful to have played here," Melchionni said. "To be a part of this and to be on the team, it's awesome. To actually come here is the culmination of a dream."
Just like hundreds of other kids growing up, Melchionni dreamed of playing for Coach K, wearing Duke across his chest and performing in front of the Crazies inside college basketball's most famous arena.
When that opportunity presented itself to Melchionni as a star high school basketball player at Germantown Academy in Lancaster, Pa., he couldn't resist. After all, Lee, the son of two-time Duke captain Gary Melchionni, who played from 1970-1973, spent his childhood dreaming of wearing the blue and white.
"Growing up, I always watched Duke, wanted to be a part of Duke," Melchionni said. "We'd come to watch practices, come to games. It's just that I grew up on Duke. Ever since I can remember I wanted to be here."
Because his father had a connection to the program, Lee had the opportunity to attend games at Cameron Indoor Stadium and meet players on occasion.
"I remember one time going back to talk to my dad in the locker room [after the old timers' game] and there was the '92 team lined up to play their blue-white game," Melchionni said. "So it's like Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Brian Davis, all standing right there. It was amazing to see those guys."
By the time Melchionni emerged as a star in high school, the idea of becoming a part of that storied tradition had become firmly entrenched in his head.
"I remember freshman year [of high school], I got a questionnaire from Duke that they sent out to a thousand kids," Melchionni said. "But of course, at the time being a little naive, I thought I was one of a select few so it was super exciting."
Scholarship offers from major programs such as Kansas, N.C. State, and Villanova were not enough to dissuade Melchionni from chasing his dream.
Melchionni was forced to walk-on his freshman year with the understanding he would become a scholarship player the following season. An old NCAA rule prohibited Duke from extending scholarship offers to more than five members of a single recruiting class. Despite the cost and the threat of limited playing time, Gary Melchionni said it was never a hard choice.
Lee's decision, however, did not pay immediate dividends. Melchionni barely played his first two years, averaging a mere 4.5 minutes per game. Sitting on the bench behind Shelden Williams and Shavlik Randolph sparked doubts if he had made the right decision.
"When you put your heart into something-you know, basketball is your life-and it doesn't go the way you want it to, sometimes you question it when you're not playing that much," Melchionni said.
That all changed his junior year, however, when Melchionni found himself playing more than 21 minutes per game and starting 14 games.
Due largely to his strong finish junior year, Melchionni followed in his father's footsteps by being named a senior captain.
"It was a great honor to be named a captain of this team and to be a part of something bigger than yourself," Melchionni said. "It's something that can't ever be taken away from you."
His dream to play at Duke began when he was a kid, staring wide-eyed at a team that had won the National Championship.
Now, more than a decade later, he hopes to be on a championship team himself.
"Our season's not over yet," Melchionni said. "There's still a lot of business to take care of."
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