I can’t think of too many guys in sports right now who are more universally hated by fans than JJ Redick. Certainly, you’ve got Terrell Owens… Alex Rodriguez is probably somewhere up there. Bill Romanowski, maybe. But at the moment, there aren’t a lot of guys ahead of J.J. Redick.
And I think that’s fine. He is the marquee player at one of the nation’s marquee basketball schools… that alone is going to make him a pretty big target. Throw in a cocky swagger and the fact that he’s probably going to bury your team, and yeah, I can see where it comes from. I’ve hated guys for the simple reason that they’re good players on teams I don’t like. A couple of years ago, I probably called Jerry Rice a cocksucker six or seven times a day.
Now, I don’t think anyone should be making signs about banging his little sister, and I think Maryland’s “Fuck You J.J.” chant was just lame, but… I don’t think that some excess boos and taunting are out of line. Things like that happen to great players.
And that’s exactly what Redick is. I love watching him play. And it’s not just his game (which, in terms of of NBA readiness, is underrated), it’s his attitude. He can’t be bothered. Last week against BC, Sean Marshall got in his face and started screaming for no apparent reason. Not only did Redick not back down, but the next time down the floor, Marshall was knocked down, and Redick helped him up.
The TV guys lauded him for his sportsmanship, but that’s not what that was. That was Redick saying, “You can’t bother me. You are incapable of bothering me, because you are little bitch Sean Marshall, and I am superstar J.J. Redick. You can scream, taunt, yell, whatever you want, but I’m going to be better than you. I’m going to win.” And then he scored 7 points in the last three minutes, and Duke did, in fact, win.
Page 2′s Bomani Jones is a fan, too… despite the fact that he hates Duke. I think Redick will make a fine professional, too. I question whether or not he has the combination of size and speed to guard NBA 2-guards, but… he’s the kind of player that finds a way. Two years ago, he was nothing like what he is now. He will work to get better. Yeah, there are things you can point to that he doesn’t have, but when you look at what he does have… a pure jumpshot with almost limitless range, a great sense of timing, he’ll work like hell to get open, he’s an underrated passer, he plays unselfishly, and when the game’s on the line, he’s got balls of steel. That’s too rare to pass on. If I were an NBA GM, there’s no way I’d let him get past the middle of the first round.
Mr. Bojangles
Don’t forget his ultrasensitive poetry recital on national television last year. In that instant, the planets aligned and a constellation appeared in the night sky, in the shape of a giant, glowing douchenozzle.
But yeah, I watched him single-handedly put away UNC the other night. Dude can play.
February 9, 2006 at 9:10 am
Mullet
“douchenozzle”…is that french?
February 9, 2006 at 9:53 am
Mac Thomason
I never had a problem with Redick before he went on ESPN last year and whined about how the fans were so mean to him.
February 9, 2006 at 10:30 am
Doug
Steve Kerr Jr.
February 9, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Todd
As a Duke fan, he is just another in a long line hated “Dukies”. Wojo, Chris Collins, Laetnner, Jason Williams, and blah, blah, blah. Don’t be mad because your team sucks.
February 9, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Import
JJ Redick… Bryce Drew 2006, see you in NBA limbo
February 9, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Mullet
Why are all of Duke’s white players always so pasty? Does the Devil not let them go out in the sun during the off-season? And they’ve always got Hurley’s “geez this diarehea is bad” face.
February 9, 2006 at 1:29 pm
Maber
The sun would probably clear up some of that backne, too.
Redick used to wear some tattered old white shirt under his jersey to cover all of it up, now the whole team is in black under armor.
That’s typical Duke teamwork right there.
February 9, 2006 at 2:15 pm
BigBoi
He’s a ho, another in a long line of Duke white guys, that won’t be a damn thing in the NBA.
February 9, 2006 at 3:10 pm
Andy
Of course, if you were an NBA GM, you’d probably let him fall to late 1st round so you could pick up either the European everyone’s been raving about or the 19 year old who doesn’t start but may have an outstanding NBA career someday. This seems to be all the rage during the NBA Draft every year.
Then the Spurs would take him.
February 9, 2006 at 6:32 pm
Adam
He’ll be an okay NBA player. I don’t think he’ll start but he’ll be a great shooter coming off the bench, a la Steve Kerr, and there’s nothing wrong with that. He is what he is, a slightly undersized 2-guard who has a nice jumper, plays smart, but is average athletically. That’s not All-Star material by any means, but he’s the kind of guy you like to have on your team.
February 9, 2006 at 7:25 pm
Chris
JJ’s a top player, but he’s lock-down-able (see the Memphis game). The ACC is pretty weak this year, or at least lost a load of talent to the NBA, and Duke is doing what they should be doing with a veteran squad. Duke will get a nice road to the Final Four, but they’ll need Dockery and the youngins to step up.
February 10, 2006 at 1:39 am
Greg
With a little work, and some time in the gym, he could very well be the next Christian Laettner.
February 10, 2006 at 10:48 am
ashlee
You can whatever you want about him, but in the end he is the best around. Plus he is Hott!!!
March 14, 2006 at 6:35 pm
Dave Lee
JJ Redick, the most hated man/boy in sports, probably next to KOBE, but truth be told he had added excitement and passion to a game that’s thrives on the youth. Yeah, you hate the cocksucker but he gets the adrenalin running, & w/his sensitivity on how he (and Jesus) were persecuted is laughable, yet that’s part of the game. I’ll tell you there won’t be a csmf’er like that for another 5-10 years, look how long it took to replace Laettner, so goodnite Mrs.Calabash, wherever you are!
March 27, 2006 at 1:08 pm