Legendary Duke basketball player J.J. Redick opened up about his playing days in college, and it sounds like the hatred directed towards him made a big impact.
Redick is probably the most hated player in the history of Duke basketball. The only other one who might have been more hated was Christian Laettner, but Redick was the poster boy for hating Duke players. He was public enemy number one during his playing days and that had a huge impact on his mental health.
“It f**ked me up,” Redick said during an interview on “Pardon My Take” when asked how the hatred got to him during his days with the Blue Devils. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
He also added, “I wanted to quit my sophomore year.” You can watch and listen to his full comments below.
Obviously, Redick didn’t quit after his sophomore year. He had one of the most decorated college careers in the history of the sport and has been a damn good NBA player.
In the end, I think it’s safe to say things worked out just fine for Redick.
I think a lot of people forget that the players in college athletics are just young men. A large chunk of them are teenagers.
They’re 18 or 19 years old and the weight of the world is on their shoulders. Teenagers aren’t mentally prepared to deal with that kind of pressure.
Athletes are humans just like the rest of us and they struggle with stuff just like everyone else does when things get tough.
Redick got it way worse than most because he played for Duke and he was the face of the most hated basketball program in the country.
Yet, he rose above all of it during a dominant career.