Roy Williams, Joel Berry Comment on Grayson Allen Situation

With the college basketball season’s first matchup between UNC and Duke taking place this week, Tar Heel head coach Roy Williams was asked Tuesday for his thoughts on the situation surrounding Blue Devil junior guard Grayson Allen.

Allen–an All-ACC performer who was suspended for one game and stripped of his team captaincy after tripping an opponent for the third time in his career–has faced intense scrutiny all season long due to those actions.

“It’s been way, way, way blown out of proportion,” Williams told reporters. “I think he’s a wonderful kid, and he, himself, and [Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski], himself, have said he’s made some mistakes.”

Since that time, media outlets all across the nation–including behemoths like ESPN–have carefully studied Allen’s every move, attempting to diagnose the behavior.

Following his suspension, Allen dove for a loose ball out of bounds against Florida State–toppling over one of the Seminoles’ assistant coaches, Dennis Gates. Conversation immediately heated up, implying that the collision was intentional on Allen’s part.

Gates immediately shot down that notion on Twitter.

I want to make this very clear! #givegraysonabreak @ESPN @TDOnline @Warchant @Noles247 @GraysonJAllen @DukeMBB pic.twitter.com/3gKBNWfUIC

— Dennis Gates (@coachdgates) January 11, 2017

“I’m so old, I recruited Dennis [Gates], the assistant at Florida State–good God, almighty,” Williams said. “I thought that [situation] was totally nothing.”

After another of Duke’s recent games–at Notre Dame on Jan. 31–high-profile sports blog Deadspin wondered whether Allen again tried to trip an opponent but wasn’t called for it, posting a video that surely drew large numbers of clicks (just like any other story on the matter).

UNC point guard Joel Berry, who grew up playing alongside Allen for a Florida-based AAU Team called the E1T1 Elite, agreed with his coach that the constant criticism is unwarranted.

“I see a different side of Grayson just from when I played with him and everything,” Berry said. “I know he’s not that kind of guy that everyone has made him out to be.”

Allen is averaging 15.8 points per game for the Blue Devils this season, to go along with four assists and 4.6 rebounds.

His matchup against Berry will be a key factor in the game, which may begin to sway the conversation away from what he does with his feet and back towards what he does with the ball in his hands.