I know a bunch of you have visceral reactions to ESPN, but Dana O'Neil has this great article about Grayson's tripping incidents and how it affected him and his family: http://www.espn.com/mens-college-bas...-incidents-him
Has a lot of information in there about the trip, about Allen, and about his upbringing and personality.
Reflecting on the article, I've come to the conclusion that a DBR favorite phrase, "Next Play" (yes, yes. Taken from Coach K), sometimes just doesn't work (one of my pet peeves on DBR. "Next play" is basically a cop out for every negative that happens to Duke. Sometimes, reflection is a good thing).
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Thanks for sharing. That was a great article. I agree, while moving on and not dwelling on your past is always important, reflecting on your "failures" to try and improve is equally as important in my eyes. I really enjoyed the article.
I also have the text to Jeff Goodman's Insider article Harry Giles' knee, lack of defense should concern Duke fans if anyone is interested in reading it. Let me know!
I thought this was click bait/dreck, but Duke's PR must have thought it was a good idea to advise Grayson and his family to do it.
Grayson tripped 2 people. Justice Winslow kicked Brice in the nads and grabbed two people's legs with his hands, nobody cared. I hate giving credence to this white Duke villain thing. It's stupid
Whatever the hell "it" is, Jabari found it.
-Roy "Ole Huck" Williams
Tripgate may be the only thing blown more out of proportion than deflategate. Haters gonna hate...whatever
WRT "Next Play"- Coach K is also the guy who said "here's to NEVER forgetting" the drubbing that Ralph Sampson and UVA put on us during his early years. Coach definitely understands the value of reflection and motivation.
Here's a quote I found quite annoying about Dana O'Neil's article:
"Following the first kicking incident, an ESPN.com story examined if Allen would be the next hated white player from Duke. The story linked Allen to Christian Laettner and J.J. Redick, two villains who, unlike Allen, came before him and embraced the hate."
The story she references is one that she wrote! She's really playing this thing for all it's worth.
I was watching the clip of ESPN interviewing K yesterday and while he's speaking, they are rolling footage of the trips.
Bottom line, Grayson is a different person when he steps between the lines. Based on last year, I think it will be extremely difficult for him to reign this kind of stuff in because he does it almost involuntarily. The only trip I want him involved with is one to Phoenix for the Final Four - Hey Now!