Every Olympics, when I was growing up and playing basketball, my parents and I made it a point to sit down and watch the U.S.A. compete. To join that team later, and play and practice one-on-one with David Robinson, Larry Bird, Chris Mullens and all these guys I looked up to, was a dream come true.

I bought into everything Coach K preached to us. His whole philosophy.

For whatever reason, the people that don't appreciate Duke basketball or don't pull for Duke basketball, they have a tendency to vilify one of the players. And a lot of times, it might be a white guy. And has it happened over and over in the past? Yes.

For my entire Duke career, people were gunning for us and hating us and wanting us to lose, so I got used to that right away. Every team is going to give you their best shot. Everyone wants to beat you.

Politics has come to resemble a cynical team game played by politicians, while the public has been pushed aside as if sitting on the seats of a stadium in which passion for politics is gradually making room for blindness and desperation.

One of the reasons I never went into pro football was because I wanted my kids to grow up around an academic environment. And that's exactly what we did.

I think the sport of wrestling, which I became involved with at the age of 14... I competed until I was 34, kind of old for a contact sport. I coached the sport until I was 47. I think the discipline of wrestling has given me the discipline I have to write.

When I was growing up, I wasn't particularly great at anything. I was in my own world, and my teachers felt I'd never reach my potential. Even in sports, I'd only play team games because I felt I was not good enough to outshine anyone.