Laettner: Attacks on Allen unfair
Legendary Duke player no stranger to being vilified
As Grayson Allen and the Duke basketball team prepare to play Oregon in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, Christian Laettner thinks he can be an example. Of what not to do. Laettner, the former Duke star, told USA TODAY Sports he cringed this season when TV cameras caught Allen tripping an opposing player and when Allen was compared to Laettner for dirty tactics.
Across social media and among many college basketball fans, Allen has been anointed the latest bad boy, a dirty player, the Duke guy everyone loves to hate.
“I was like, ‘Poor Grayson. I hope they don’t do to him what they did to me,’ ” said Laettner, 46, who led Duke to national titles in 1991 and 1992 and inspired a documentary titled I Hate
Christian Laettner. “It’s not nice, it’s not fun and it’s a little unfair.”
Laettner was referring to the most infamous moment of his career: when he stomped on the chest of a Kentucky player during the 1992 NCAA tournament. Laettner said he hoped the lasting memory and video of that incident had an impact on Allen, a 20-year-old sophomore.
“He’s got to see that, ‘Hey, Laettner made a mistake and it’s haunted him for 25 years, and I would never make that mistake, so I’ll never do that,’ ” Laettner said.
During the interview, Laettner addressed a variety of topics, including:
u The issue of race in Laettner, Grayson and others Duke players being targeted for criticism. “For whatever reason, the people that don’t appreciate Duke basketball or don’t pull for Duke basketball, they have a tendency to vilify one of the players. And a lot of times it might be a white guy. And has it happened over and over in the past? Yes.”
u Reflections on the aforementioned infamous moment in 1992, when Duke was playing Kentucky in a regional final with a Final Four berth at stake. Famously, Laettner hit the winning shot. Infamously, he stomped on the chest of Aminu Timberlake during the game.
TV cameras caught Laettner in the act.
“It’s a mistake, and I’ve watched it,” he said. “I’ve seen replays of that play a thousand times. And every time I’m like, ‘Ew, I wish I didn’t do that.’ ”
Laettner chuckled and added, “But it’s no big deal. It’s really no big deal. No one got hurt. Timberlake didn’t get hurt. Nothing got hurt, you know?
“The way it’s been blown out of proportion and perpetualized for 25 years, (Duke’s players) can see, ‘Oh, my God. I would never make the mistake Laettner made.’ ”
He also said today’s superior TV camera equipment puts players under even greater scrutiny.
“You can’t do something stupid at any time,” Laettner said. “If you do, you’re going to get technicals or flagrant fouls or you’re going to get kicked out of the game or whatever.
“And when they’re older, they’ll be glad they didn’t do any stupid things like Laettner did that one. They all know they’ve got to contain themselves, compose themselves, have self-discipline all the time and they’ll do just great.”
Laettner at times sounds protective of Allen, and it’s not simply because of their ties through Duke. Laettner said he met Allen when Allen was an eighth-grader and they crossed paths at a summer basketball camp near their homes in Jacksonville.
“He was playing really well, and that’s when I got to know him a little bit,” Laettner said. “I saw his parents and met his parents and was like, ‘Man, keep doing whatever you guys are doing.’
“I didn’t say anything to Duke for a long time, and then I heard that Duke was looking at him. So I didn’t even have to say anything to Duke. They were already looking at him by his ninth-grade year.”
Raving about Allen’s progress at Duke, Laettner said the two have stayed in contact by text message.
“But I can’t tell you what we talk about,” he said. “Those are trade secrets.”
But Laettner said there’s no need for them to discuss the tripping incident or Laettner’s missteps.
“He’s a smart kid, and he can figure it out all by himself,” Laettner said. “He’s an academic All-American also. That kid’s way smarter than I ever was.”
Though Laettner noted race was a common denominator between him and Allen as identified Duke “bad boys,” he pointed out another shared trait: talent and success.
Laettner helped lead Duke to four consecutive Final Fours and two national titles; Allen spurred Duke to victory last year in the national championship game and has led them back to the Sweet 16.
As Allen’s performance has improved, Laettner suggested, so have the accusations of Allen being a dirty player.
“That branding, which is unfair, doesn’t happen to someone who isn’t an impact player,” Laettner said. “I think it comes with the territory a little bit. You’ve just got to learn how to handle it.
“I think if you are a player going to Duke, you have to expect a little bit to be not liked when you go and play in opposing team’s gyms. Like when I signed with Duke out of high school, I knew it would be playing in hell where they hate you. That’s what I loved about it.”