Especially in his retirement, now that he is an analyst, JJ Redick may have the most improved reputation of any athlete in recent memory.
Redick has come a long way since he was despised in college. But upon reflection, Redick knows that he was not particularly well-liked outside of Duke’s fanbase.
During an appearance on the fashion podcast Throwing Fits, show host James Harris asked Redick where he ranked all-time in most hated college basketball players.
Although the longtime NBA veteran believes he may have improved his standing since he was a collegian, he still said he ranked “top 3” in that conversation.
🏀BRAND NEW @THROWINGFITS🏀
me n @SartoriallyInc link w @jj_redick to talk
🤬being the most hated college player
🍺settin the record straight on his beer pong skills
⏱sellin watches to teammates
🚮@stephenasmith’s trash fits🍎https://t.co/fjxuZek2Sd
✳️https://t.co/w7j3e1VkIi pic.twitter.com/x0Q4oc4CPB— Flexington Ave Local (@Dr_TacoMD) July 12, 2022
The podcast’s co-host, Lawrence Schlossman, asked if the other two were Grayson Allen and Christian Laettner. Redick agreed. Listen for yourself by clicking here:
“I mean, it’s all Duke guys … Some of that is just because it’s a little bit of overexposure when you play at Duke. We’re on TV more than any other team … Every year .. And it’s like the white villain, which Laettner started. Thanks, Christian.”
Redick explained that while he was in college, fans “anointed” him with something before he ever did anything wrong.
He added that many labeled him the “next white Duke guy we’re going to hate” in the lineage of Duke players to follow him like current Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer and the aforementioned Allen.
He clarified that Allen “did some stuff that deserved the harsh treatment” but that his own experience was different. He continued:
“I created this on-court persona … I leaned in. Like, oh. You think I’m an [expletive]? Just trust me. I can be an [expletive] … You want me to read my poetry?”
For those who do not recall, Sports Illustrated published Redick’s poetry while he was in college. You can read that here if you want a quick laugh.
For what it’s worth, Redick now believes that what he wrote was not poetry but in fact lyrics to a rap song. Those were his attempts at writing a bar.
Redick also told Harris and Schlossman that his rapper name was J-Red, even revealing that there is a SoundCloud page of him rapping alongside fellow Duke basketball player Shavlik Randolph, a Duke soccer player, and a Duke football player.
Random fact of the night: JJ Redick says he was in an unofficial fraternity at duke, PDF, short for Phi Drink-A 40
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 21, 2017
Redick later admitted he was in an unofficial “football and basketball fraternity” called PDF (Phi Drink-A Forty) and that he went out and literally played beer pong the night before a Duke-North Carolina game.
That’s a lot to process, but it’s safe to say, Redick’s reputation could have been much worse.
According to Redick, if social media existed while he was in college, he “would not have made it through” and likely would have been way more despised.
Redick shared that he went to therapy to process why he received as much hate as he did. Although he feels he had a lot of maturing to do when he got to the NBA, his wife “mellowed him out” and he grew up once he turned pro.
