There was a little bit of controversy after Oregon knocked Duke out of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. On the Ducks’ final possession, sophomore forward Dillon Brooks jacked up a three from nearly halfcourt because the shot clock was about to hit zero. Brooks made the three – which was about as malicious as a box of newborn kittens – and then a game of he said/he said broke out.
Brooks shook hands with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski after the game, and it looked like Krzyzewski said…well, something. In their respective postgame press conferences, Brooks said that Krzyzewski said he’s “too good of a player to be showing off at the end.” This was a claim that Krzyzewski denied (he also said that the press could print whatever Brooks said, which is usually not how people approach accusations that they write off as false but whatever).
As it turns out, Brooks was 100 percent correct and Coach K either completely forgot what he said or straight up lied. CBS released the audio of the conversation between the two, and Krzyzewski said exactly what Brooks claimed.
This is, of course, probably not that big of a deal. At the core of all of this, Krzyzewski was complimenting the caliber of player that Brooks is, saying that he’s too good to do things that make him look bad. And yes, while most people probably don’t have an issue with a guy hoisting up a shot hoping to avoid a turnover at the end of a game, there will always be some who view this as a bush league move that shouldn’t be in the game.
Having said all of this, having acknowledged that it’s not important and that this is a non-issue, this gives us another chance to get a laugh at Coach K’s expense for lying. This is something that every college basketball fan dreams of, so make jokes responsibly, everyone.
