Suspending Grayson Allen right thing to do for the player and the person
At some point during the night, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski realized enabling Grayson Allen was no longer the right thing to do.
Maybe it was the withering reaction to his tone-deaf defense of Allen, whose “mistakes” come too often to be brushed off as that. Maybe, after more time to reflect, Krzyzewski recognized that giving Allen a pass as he’s done all the other times has done his mercurial guard no favors.
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But the reason for Krzyzewski’s change of heart matters less than the result. By suspending Allen for “an indefinite amount of time,” Krzyzewski put a young, still maturing young man on notice that his basketball skills do not give him a free pass. There are basic expectations of common decency and good behavior, and Allen is not exempt from them.
“He took an important step last night by apologizing in person to Steven Santa Ana and Coach Matt Matheny,” Krzyzewski said in his statement Thursday morning announcing the suspension. “As a program, we needed to take further steps regarding his actions that do not meet the standards of Duke Basketball.”
That’s a far different tone than Krzyzewski’s smug condescension Wednesday night, when he said he’s handled Allen’s repeated episodes of immaturity correctly and, if anyone disagreed, too bad.
“I don't need to satisfy what other people think that I should do,” Krzyzewski said. “And I'm a teacher and a coach, and I'm responsible for that kid.”
Exactly. Which is why everyone but Krzyzewski could see right away that putting Allen in timeout was necessary.
This was not the first time Allen has tripped an opposing player. It’s not even the first time this calendar year. When Allen stuck out his leg to stop a driving Santa Ana, it was the third time since February he’s resorted to dirty play.
And therein lies the problem. At some point, Allen will no longer be one of the best basketball players in the country. He will be an Ordinary Joe who has to get along with his family, his co-workers and his neighbors, and losing his temper and lashing out when things aren’t going his way won’t get him very far. There are better, more appropriate ways to handle his anger, and he needs to learn them when he's young enough to still change his behavior.
Allen is, by all accounts, a nice and even-tempered young man off the court. But real life is filled with the kind of challenges he faces on the court, and how he responds will ultimately come to define him. Krzyzewski needed to suspend Allen the player, but he needed to suspend Allen the person even more.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.
