Sue Bird and Coach K Discuss the “Villain” at Duke During 77 YO Legend’s Time as Head Coach

Sue Bird’s fluttering conversation with former Duke coach–Mike Krzyzewski–took a serious turn as they lately stumbled upon the most hated college players of Coach K’s time. While there were some names thrown around, Mike was sure about one player whose mention remains an intriguing story.

According to the Hall of Famer coach, the Devils’ best shooter had taken up the villain identity as his second skin.

Coach K brings light to the most hated college player

Duke University has had many moments and most of them were always being watched. In the same light, many of the Blue Devils players became the bad guys in front of the world outside the campus. However, when talking to Sue Bird, Coach K uttered his response without wasting a breath to her question about who had to take most hate and why. Mike said, “JJ Reddick.” He continued, “He’s one of the great shooters in the history in any collision game.”

He added, “I can remember at Assembly Hall in Indiana, they were on him and it made him better. The thing with a shot, you can silence the crowd. It’s the best.” He also clarified why JJ Reddick had to face such backlash wherever he went even when he gave one of the best performances. He said, “One thing about hate with a player is that they hate they’re not you.”

Read More- “I’m Going To Start Crying”: Coach K Reflects on His Special Hall of Fame Moment

Strongly put in words by a great coach. They surely bring justice to the hatred that one of the best pure shooters had to take throughout his career. Some of it, even after Reddick ended his college basketball career at Duke. It is interesting to know where all this hatred came from.

Why everyone hated JJ Reddick

While it is no news, JJ Reddick who is now a sports analyst on ESPN has spoken about his time at college on multiple occasions. According to many, people hated him because he came from what was considered a white-boy school at the time. Most also did not like him because they were not like him.

However, he has also said that he converted the negative chants from the crowd into his strengths. In fact, he ended his prestigious college career as the leading scorer in the ACC with 2,769 points in his name. It also ranks 16th in the NCAA history. Further, he was also the NCAA record holder for most 3-point field goals with 457 in the basket.

Do you agree with Coach K on this? Tell us in the comments below.

Read More- From His Mother’s Work Ethic to His Father’s Fear of Ethnic Discrimination: What’re Coach K’s Memories of His Parents?