Adam Long was sitting center court – at Coach K court, to be precise -- on that Wednesday night last month in Cameron Indoor Stadium when what he called the “incident” happened.

Duke freshman Zion Williamson was driving on UNC’s Luke May in the opening 35 seconds of the game between the two archrivals. As he tried to plant his left foot in the free throw circle, it completely blew through the sole of his tennis shoe, causing him to skid and fall awkwardly to the ground.

Williamson, who many expect to be selected No. 1 in the NBA draft this spring, clutched his right knee in pain as he hit the hardwood. The 6-foot-7, 284-pound teenager was able to get up, though, and limped slightly as he headed to the locker room, holding the offending shoe in his hands.

“It was bizarre,” Long says. “It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. You see guys like that go down really hard and you think, how can they survive. But they’re back in the game right afterwards."

“I thought it was one of those deals – he’d come back with a brace or with it taped and new shoes.”

Long, who is a 2010 Duke graduate, didn’t realize the severity of Williamson’s injury until he got a text from a friend watching on television. Williamson didn’t play the rest of the game, which UNC won by 16 points – and he hasn’t played in the three games since he suffered the a grade 1 sprain.

Two games remain in the regular season, including Saturday’s highly-anticipated 6 p.m. rematch at North Carolina, now ranked third to Duke at No. 4. Long fully expects Williamson to be ready for the game in Chapel Hill, as well next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and the NCAAs.

Long expects his Blue Devils – whom he calls a “special team” this year -- to win on Saturday, too.

“I just think they have all the pieces,” he says. “They've got the athleticism and the strength. They’ve got a great point guard and you got some good shooters and they're just fast and aggressive and very offense-oriented."

“So, you know, they're going to score their points and it's fun to watch them when they go on runs. I mean, there's nobody that can stop them."

Even with Williamson’s injury and the Blue Devils’ loss, Long had a great evening at Cameron. He and his father, Gordon, were guests of Mike Sobb, Duke’s Associate Director of Athletics/Resource Acquisition. Their seats were about five rows up and across the court from where former President Barack Obama sat.

“We got to go out on the court,” says Long, who took some selfies with the players in the background. “It’s amazing how big the guys are.”

Long, who picked up his first PGA TOUR win earlier this year at the Desert Classic, is now 1-1 in Duke-Carolina games at Cameron. He saw the Blue Devils beat the Heels 82-50 when the two played during his senior year.

Duke went on to win the NCAA title that year, and Long was among the Cameron Crazies watching the Blue Devils beat Butler 61-59 on the Jumbotron that Monday night. The celebration continued outside for the traditional burning of the benches that stand outside the residence halls.

“At the beginning of the year all the dorms all get together, and they'll paint them different colors and they'll have themes for their dorm and they're all scattered throughout campus,” Long explains.

“And then if they beat UNC at home or win a national championship, they put it all in the middle of campus, kind of near the chapel and just light it on fire. … It's a pretty cool experience. That was a highlight for sure.”

The Blue Devils’ golf schedule precluded Long from camping out for tickets to the big games with his fellow students in Krzyzewskiville. Make no mistake, though, Long was in Cameron whenever possible.

“I can't confirm or deny if I painted my face ever,” he says with a grin. “But I definitely never did body paint. … I was in the student section jumping up and down with everybody else.”

Long had a sociology class with Gerald Henderson Jr., who went on to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. Jon Scheyer, who is now an associate head coach for the Blue Devils, was in that class of about six people, too. Long also knows Nolan Smith, the former All-American who is the director of basketball operations.

“I met Coach K a couple of times but he's not a golfer, so we don't really have that in common,” Long says. “But it's a religion there, Duke basketball, and you can't help but get wrapped up in it when you're a student there.”

Long is one of four Blue Devils playing on the PGA TOUR along with Kevin Streelman, Ryan Blaum and Wes Roach. Duke’s prolonged basketball success under head coach Mike Krzyzewski elicits strong emotions pro and con – and this week’s return match with UNC only ratchets up the chatter.

“A lot of the caddies, man, they don't like Duke,” Long says. “There's a lot of Kentucky people here, too. Josh Teater is one of my best friends out here and he's a big Kentucky fan so we'll go back and forth on bragging rights but we got 'em pretty good earlier this year. …"

“But I know the sport well enough that it can change in a hurry.”

Long, who has been known to watch games on his phone when he’s on the road, is playing in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard at Bay Hill. So, he’ll have to hurry to get settled down in front of a TV Saturday evening before the tipoff of the rematch with UNC.

Don’t expect him to go to a sports bar to watch the game, though. There’s usually too much going on – “You get distracted and you miss a lot,” says Long, who will likely hunker down in front of the TV in his hotel room with his wife, Emily, who is from St. Louis and went to Missouri State.

“She’ll probably read a book and I’ll watch the game,” he says. “She a fan, but it doesn’t break her heart when they lose like does mine.”