School pride leads to lots of trash talk
OKLAHOMA CITY — Monday’s win in Oklahoma City made the Miami Heat 7-2 in March, but the team’s March Madness extends beyond its improved play to the phrase’s more traditional sense.
College basketball’s NCAA Tournament has Heat players excited about their alma maters’ prospects for a deep run and national title bid — and makes for some friendly locker room trash talk.
“When our team’s match up, it’s some good rivalries,” said guard/forward Josh Richardson, a Tennessee alum who adds he, Udonis Haslem (Florida) and Duncan Robinson (Michigan) are most passionate about their college allegiances.
Heat point guard Justise Winslow, of course, has Duke, the No. 1 seed in the East Regional, as the last team standing in his bracket.
“We’re going to win it — put it out there, speak it into existence,” Winslow said. “No. 1 seed for a reason. They’ve got the most talent. There’s been times where they look unbeatable, so I like them to win.
“There’s been other times where I just say it because I’m a Duke guy, but this year I expect them to cut down the nets.”
To which Kentucky alum Bam Adebayo interjects: “They’re going to lose to Kentucky.”
Winslow and Adebayo, with his Wildcats seeded second in the Midwest, aren’t the only ones feeling confident.
Center/forward Kelly Olynyk represents Gonzaga, which is No. 1 in the West. In their region, the Bulldogs rcould meet schools with connections to the Heat if they see guard Dion Waiters’ No. 8 seeded Syracuse Orange in the second round, Dwyane Wade’s fifth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles in the Sweet 16 and possibly Robinson’s No. 2-seeded Wolverines or Haslem’s 10th-seeded Gators in the Elite Eight.
“I don’t know if Gonzaga’s going to get that far, though,” Robinson quips.
“I’ll take it. … Syracuse second round? Yeah, we’ll get that one,” said Olynyk, understanding he won’t hear the end of it from Waiters if he is wrong.
Said Waiters: “We can beat anybody . ... It don’t matter about no seeds. That’s where Cinderella stories happen. I’m not saying we’re Cinderella, but anybody can make some noise.”
Robinson, the rookie on a two-way contract bouncing up and down between the Heat and G League affiliate Sioux Falls Skyforce, said he wouldn’t have any problem letting Haslem, a 16-year veteran, receive an earful should Michigan and Florida meet in the second round and the Wolverines triumph.
As passionate as Heat players are about their college teams, Adebayo says assistant athletic trainer Brandon Gilliam, who graduated from Tennessee with his bachelor’s and master’s in education before earning his doctorate in physical therapy at Belmont University, is most into his college hoops in the Heat locker room.
“He’s way more passionate than J-Rich,” Adebayo said.
Airplane Mode, the brand: Jones is growing “Airplane Mode” from just a nickname for his highflying leaping abilities on the court to a brand.
“Having a brand, that takes you a long way — not only in basketball opportunities but things outside of basketball,” said Jones, 22. “Just letting people know who I am. That’s just one thing I wanted to maximize. I feel I’m a very marketable player. The way my game is, I feel like I can market myself very well.”
For now, Jones is starting off with two T-shirts — one in white and one in black with his logo on it — on his Shopify account, which can be found at airplane-mode-5.my shopify.com. He’s looking to expand in the future.
“I wouldn’t have no problem with having my own clothing line,” Jones said. “If any airplane company wants to sponsor me and have a private jet, then I’m fine with that.” Thunder forward Jerami Grant, left, goes up for a shot around Heat guard Dwyane Wade Monday.