There was joy in Clippers’ locker room after Duke won NCAA Tournament title

J.J. Redick

J.J. Redick/Photo  courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

Clippers coach Doc Rivers after Tuesday night’s victory over the Lakers was asked to talk about what Duke winning the NCAA men’s title a night earlier might have meant to J.J. Redick, who played at Duke from 2002-06.

“He was happy,” Rivers said. “Him and Austin (Rivers) were obnoxious as ever. But it was good for them. Duke did what they needed to do. Even Ryan Kelly was talking to me during the game. He now has two rings (in his family). His freshman year, and his brother’s a walk-on, which is really cool that coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) did that and gave him a scholarship.

“So the Duke love is pretty strong right now, that’s for sure.”

Austin Rivers played at Duke from 2011-12. Neither he nor Redick won a title while there. Lakers forward Ryan Kelly played at Duke and the Blue Devils won a title while he was a freshman. Sean Kelly, Ryan’s brother, was a senior reserve this season for Duke. Another member of the Clippers, Dahntay Jones, also toiled at Duke, from 2001-03.

Duke won a title in March 2001, but Jones did not begin playing for the Blue Devils until the fall of 2001 for the ’01-’02 campaign.