Carmen Wallace may be best remembered for a dunk in the ACC Tournament versus N.C. State, but there was more to his career than one highlight.  Wallace served as the team captain for the 1997 Duke team which went 24-9.  He also played in the 1994 National Championship game during his freshman year.  He majored in Sociology and is putting his Duke education to good use as a sports agent for Athletes First.  The former Delaware High School Player of the Year allowed me in depth interview during his recent visit to Durham.   He discussed what it was like to have played for Coach K and his role in a major sports firm which represents several well known athletes.  I hope you enjoy the interview.

The Blue Devil Nation caught up with Carmen Wallace during the Coach K Academy.  I think you will enjoy hearing about what he is doing these days.  He's another Dukie who has made his former coach proud with his determination which has led to success.

Tell the readers of the Blue Devil Nation a little about yourself.  Give us a synopsis on your career at Duke University ..

Well, I was more of a utility guy.  Whatever Coach K needed, I tried to get it done and would do what I could to make the team better.

So, what's the first thing you did after graduating from Duke?

I packed up everything and moved out to California.  There I started working for a sports law firm representing professional athletes.

What is it like to come back to Durham for the Coach K Academy?

Oh, it's a great time.  It's almost like a reunion.  You get to see guys and catch on whats been going on with their families and kids, as well as their life.  You get to see the new guys too and get to know them as well.  There's a familiar bond we all seem to have after going through so many things together.

So, who were some of your better friends at Duke?  Who do you stay in touch with?

Jeff Capel was my roommate and we talk all the time.  I talk to Trajan (Langdon) a lot and obviously Wo (Wojo) and Johnny (Dawkins), I talk to them a bunch ... and Chris (Collins) and Quinn (Snyder),  We actually assisted him with all of his contracts.

So what are you doing these days?

Right now I represent many athletes, mostly professional football players.

... and the name of the company is?

The name of the company is Athletes First .  We're probably the second largest NFL representation firm.  We span into other realms.  We have professional baseball players, action sports ... we're all over the board.

So, how did you get into the field?  What transpired ...

It was really dumb luck (smiling).  I knew when I went to Duke that I wanted to stay around sports in some fashion.  It's funny, another Blue Devil, Toby Branion he's one of the partners at the firm.  He played football at Duke graduating in 86.  We were having a conversation one day and he said do you want a job and I have been there for ten years.

So who are some of the players you represent that we may have heard of?

Uh, Steve Young.  We helped him through his career and now we work with him and his contracts with ESPN.  We work with  of the Bengals Carson Palmer.  He is the highest payed player in the NFL.  He's one of our top clients.

So how did you negotiate the kind of contract Carson Palmer received?

Well he is a franchise player and a great community guy who does everything the right way.  With Cincinnati's recent draft history ... let's just say a lot of QB's just didn't pan out and he is just the right guy for their system and their community.  They wanted to hold onto him.  So it was three years into his rookie deal, we redid the deal.  We tore up the old one and made him the highest payed player in the NFL.  The week before he got injured, but he came back and is playing at the same level.

Do you look for any particular thing in an athlete you want to represent?  I mean are there pre requisites ...

Yeah!  Well you know it's funny, we look for a lot of the things Coach (K) looks for when they play here at Duke.  We look for guys with a good family structure.  We are not looking for the guys who want a handout.  We require all of our guys to give back to their high school community, their college community and the community in which they play currently.  You can't use the normal cliches about our agency.  We separate ourselves from seeming shady.

So they need ethics in order to represent you well ... your company ...

Exactly!  In this industry we are both reflections of each other.   We are reflections of the name on the front, not the name on the back.  We have been fortunate enough to have guys like John Lynch and those type of community leaders who believe in that kind of thing and allow us to show that to the younger guys when we recruit them.  It's exciting to get players who want to do the right thing.

Has your Duke education helped you with your career?

It's helped a great deal.  My playing days allow me to understand the pressures that athletes face and I relate to them having competed.  Like Duke, we work as a team.  We have a team of negotiators where as most agencies handle the process with an individual sense.  We use a team structure.  We bounce things off one another which allows us to already have an answer for what teams might come with during negotiations.  So, that's well ahead of the industry.  We have negotiated the largest rookie deal in the NFL, the largest safety deal ... so the history has come about from our ability to work as a team.  The name of our companies Athletes First for a reason.  We work to try and cover everything for the athlete in order to eliminate worries.

So, how would a player get in touch with you?

We are easy to find on the web.  We have good word of mouth.  Much like Duke in recruiting, we try to pick you out.  It's not hard to figure out who the guys are that have what we like.

You feel as if Athletes First has a good reputation of being fair, etc?

We have a good reputation with those that matter which are the owners and the GM's of the teams.  And our clients?  They will go out and work for us.  Teams look at who a player is represented by and want to know if that player is going to hold out.  They want to know if they will have an amicable relationship with the player and they get that with us.  We're tough, but they know that we are rational.  We don't negotiate through the press.  We do everything straight on the up and up.  We just have to prove out point and we're pretty good at doing that.

What game do you remember the most from Duke?

Well, the National Championship game.  It sticks in my mind.  Scotty Thurman hitting the shot to beat us which kept us (Duke) from winning three titles in four years.

Do you ever kind of wonder if you had just moved a different way or held your mouth in another way what might have happened?

(Laughing) Well, how many people can say they played for the title?  You have memories of certain shots, but most of the games blend together because you are always trying to do the same thing out there on the court.  There are big wins and losses, but I have a lot of fond memories.  Everybody seems to remember my Doctor J move versus NC State during my freshman year. (smiling)  That sticks in my head because everybody reminds me of it.  Strangely, I really can't remember it that well.

Well, we'll have to get you a video of that play so you can see what everybody is talking about ...

(Laughing) Perfect!

Tell me about your relationship with Coach K.  Does it continue to this day?

Oh yeah.  It definitely continues.  When JJ (Redick) was going through he selection process, we came in here to be a part of it.  It was down to three firms.  It was good to sit down and have him (Coach K) see me on a professional level.  I had taken the things that he had instilled in me back then and was using it.  He's just a great guy.  The thing about him that sets him apart from other people is he really cares.  He looks to see that we are doing well.  You know, if you give him a call, he'll call you right back.  He'll do whatever he can to help you.

So once you are a part of the Duke Family, you are there to stay?

Exactly!  I think that is something that's rare in this day and age, especially with the number of players that has come through here.  He takes time out to get involved with you no matter who you are, big star or not.

Okay, this question is a staple for the Blue Devil Nation.  What three words or phrases best describe Duke Basketball?

Communication, that's the foundation.  Family and team play.  You are always looking to make your teammates better.

So, are you married?

I am engaged to a fantastic women who is from Seattle.  She has grounded me a little bit.

They are known to do that ..

Yeah.  She actually played in college as well at Pomono.

What is one thing about Carmen Wallace that nobody else knows?

The one thing people probably don't know is my love for video games.  I'm a Madden fan.  It's good to have all the players I represent there, but it is difficult to play though.  It's kind of like on Sundays.  I don't know who to root for.  I ended up wanting to get all my clients on my team in Madden.  That's my way to unwind.  I cut off my phone and sit in my room with a chance to escape.  In sports or this business you don't' really have a lot of time off.

So where are you living these days?

I live out in California ... Newport Beach.  It's the halfway point from Long Beach (former home) because my fiance is in law school at Loyola.  She has been working at the Children's Law Center in Los Angeles this summer representing foster kids.

How do you think this years team will do at Duke?

One of the freshman, has a close acquaintance in our office.  I got to know him before all the coaches even knew him.  They called me to ask what he was like as a kid and I told them he was a great kid.  He was the first person I called when I got to town to see how he was doing.  He said, aw it's killing me, I'm writing a paper.

So, he is adjusting ... (The question was cut short for in some sort of weird irony, Taylor came through the door on his way to Card Gym ...

There he is (smiling).  [the two exchanged a few words, but Taylor quickly moved on]

He's not a very good outside shooter ... (joking)

No he's not (continuing to laugh)

It's funny, I saw him during last years TOC and he put on a show in Cameron, nailing shots from half court ...

There's not many guys out there ... Chris Collins ... if he missed the first one he wouldn't hesitate to take the next one.  Duke had that in JJ a couple of years back.  He was a tenacious leader in highs school playing hard all the time.  He averaged a double-double.  So, he is more than just a good outside shot.  I think he will fit very well in the system.  He may play the two, three or four.

Okay!  Thanks for a great interview and representing Duke in a wonderful manner.

No problem.