Peter J. Kaplan
4 min readMay 28, 2020

GRAYSON ALLEN: WHAT IS IT?

“I handle things the way I handle them, and I think I’ve handled this correctly, and moving forward I will continue to handle it correctly. I don’t need to satisfy what other people think that I should do.”

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski on the most recent Grayson Allen intentional tripping incident — his third such infraction in the 2016 college basketball calendar year; in ten months actually — against Elon’s Steven Santa Ana 12/21.

Louisville’s Ray Spalding (2/8) and Florida State’s Xavier Rathan-Mayes (2/25) were each sent sprawling to the hardwood last season, courtesy of Allen’s shod-foot-like assault sneaker.

This is truly bizarre.

Grayson Allen is a bona fide player, a baller. He wouldn’t be donning the Blue Devil togs for Coach K. were this not the case.

The young man has game.

A consensus Top-40 recruit in the 2014 high school class and a McDonald’s All-American from the Providence School in Jacksonville, FL., he has played in 71 games for Duke entering this his junior season, starting 35.

He sports career averages of 13.1 ppg; 2.8 rpg; and 2.0 apg while shooting .459 from the floor; .403 from behind the arc (eighth all-time at Duke); and .839 from the free throw line (sixth all-time).

He is 68 points shy of becoming Duke’s 65th. 1,000 point scorer in just two seasons and has already played in nine NCAA Tournament games, helping the Dukies and Coach K. to their fifth title in 2015.

Underrated as a combo guard, the 6’5” jumping-jack is the ninth player in program history to lead the team in scoring and assists in the same season (2016) and the sixth player to be named both an All-American and Academic All-American in the same campaign (also 2016, joining Battier, Dunleavy Jr., Giminski, Plumlee and Spanarkel).

In 2015-’16 he was a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.

In 2016-’17 he is a National Player-of-the-Year candidate.

And the hits just keep on comin’.

Or should.

So what is the deal with this intentional tripping thing?

The lad is sullying his reputation and besmirching his sparkling resume and career.

Not to mention setting himself up as the consummate villain to be targeted by ACC and other rabid heckling contingents online and in rival arenas.

(Christian Laettner and J.J.Redick thrived as hateable Duke players; Allen is not wired that way).

He has been suspended indefinitely by Krzyzewski (12/22) in advance of any ACC punishment to be levied, a virtual no-brainer and absolutely necessary, never mind the program’s mandated adherence to “Duke [Basketball] standards” hooey.

Is this simply a matter of an intense player losing his temper when things aren’t going his way?

Was it just yet another momentary lapse in judgment on Allen’s part?

And why would his mindset lead him to make such a poor decision?

Again.

And again.

What about his complete loss of composure on the bench in the incident’s immediate aftermath?

He fell apart.

Petulant? Dirty? A competitive disorder?

Well, he is a 21-year-old kid but

Luis Suarez bites. Literally. He has bitten opposing players. More than once. He’s a world-class footballer (soccer player).

Golden State’s Draymond Green, a terrific player and defender has a magnet which when activated takes his foot directly to an opponent’s groin. Ask LeBron. And others.

This in no way justifies Allen’s three acts of transgression; rather, it highlights them with that omnipresent and annoying neon yellow marker.

And perhaps it should.

The searing vitriol will hound him mercilessly and envelop him like a heavy, dense fog. Taunts, signs, memes, character assassinations to the moon (and back) Alice.

Grayson Allen will have to grow additional layers of very thick skin. Because for a long while — unfortunate as it is — these three self-inflicted plays will come to define him, overshadowing his brilliance on the court.

(See in particular his heroic performance as a seldom-used freshman in the second half of the 2015 NCAA championship game against Wisconsin).

The more pressing issue involves how all this will affect Allen as a person.

Does he need help for anger or impulse control?

For demonstrating a proclivity toward dirty play resulting especially when he is disappointed in his own efforts?

Is it about overzealousness or abnormal ultra-competitiveness?

Or is he just chippy?

Why does this keep happening?

Is he sick, ill?

How big is this problem?

No rational-minded human chooses to put him or herself in this position.

And compassion for a kid should always be the order of the day.

Over-the-top expectations, fame and notoriety along with exponentially-increasing levels of responsibility can be difficult to manage for anyone.

Throw in a healthy dollop of public evisceration and…

Grayson Allen’s suspension — regardless of its duration — will give him an opportunity to reflect and hopefully to seek the help it appears that he so sorely needs.

He can do it.

He can get through this.

[Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in December 2016.]

ADDENDUM: Grayson Allen finished his four-year Duke career playing 142 games and starting 97. He averaged 14.1 ppg; 3.2 rebounds; & 3.0 assists. He was a First Round selection in the 2018 NBA Draft (#21 overall) of the Utah Jazz and is presently a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.

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