Jayson Tatum recalls Coach K calling him a "soft-ass St. Louis kid" during a Virginia game and throwing his jacket at him to demand more aggression. That moment, plus constant film reviews, shaped Tatum's mentality and carried into his NBA career.
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What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward. What was it that Coach K gave you? I think I saw something where he called you a punk-ass St. Louis kid or something like that.
Oh.
What was it that Coach K gave to you in your year there and beyond? Because I know the relationship don't just stop once you leave that campus.
Man, that is my guy. And like you said, I still talk to Coach at least once, if not twice a month, ever since I left school. So that's something I really, you know, I'm proud about my decision of going to Duke, that like, that's something that I cherish, his relationship, and that like, that it didn't just stop once I walked out that door and left, you know, Durham. But man, no, he was, Coach, he was great for me. 'Cause I think initially when I first got to Duke, you know, I knew I was only going for one year, right? But we had like a mix of like, it was 6 incoming freshmen. We had some older guys on our team. And part of me was like, people tell me all the time, they be like, I don't know if you know how good you are. Like, people tell me that all the time. So my mentality walking in was like, man, I'm happy to be here. Like, I'm from St. Louis. I never, I never thought I would go to Duke University. Like, that, it never crossed my mind, like, that Coach K was gonna come to St. Louis and sit in my living room and like, we want you to come. So I was, I was so happy to be there.
And—
Initially, like there were times where I was just trying to like, I was just trying to be a part of the team. I was just trying to fit in. And there were a handful of times, and that was the last time, we was playing at Virginia and ACC game. You know, Virginia's always probably one of the better defensive teams in the country.
Absolutely.
But I think I'm making the right play. I'm catching it, I'm making the extra pass. I'm not really being aggressive. I may have had like 4 points, but I was like 2 for 3. I wasn't really shooting. I think we might've been up 2 or it's tied at halftime. I come in and I'm like, I'm feeling good about it. And I remember Coach K came in, he took, I done told this story many times. He took his jacket off and he threw that, he threw it right at me. Like it hit, like hit my leg and my feet. And he was like, he just started snapping. He like, "You soft-ass St. Louis kid. I should have left you where I found you." He said, "I didn't," he used to tell me all the time, "I didn't bring you here to be good." He said, "I need you to be special." And like anytime in a game, like the next day in film, if there was a shot where I could have shot it, he would always pause it in film. "Draymond Green, you being soft." Wow. "You being soft. We don't need you to be soft. We need you to be you." And somebody that I respected so much and that had accomplished so much thought this highly of me and like never gave me the day off. Never like took it easy on me. Every single moment where I wasn't being aggressive, where I wasn't doing what was best for the team, they would let me know. And I really like, I really appreciated that. And I carried that with me, you know, coming into the league.
That's incredible. Did you have the opportunity to make it back for that last game?
No, I did not. I did not. I wish I did. But I remember watching it. I watched it at the house. And part of me felt like, like I seen Eric, like, Grant Hill and Christian Laettner, JJ Redick, Jay Williams, you know, all these guys that like went there for 4 or 5 years, Carlos Boozer. And I'm watching and I'm like, "All right, like I went to Duke, but they like really, they like really went to Duke." [LAUGHTER] Like they spent 4 or 5 years there, I spent one. So like, I don't like that. That might've been more for them. Like I might've felt a little bit outta place. I like, I'm thinking that like, I might've felt a little outta place. Like damn, like they really, like they had 4 or 5 years and I only had one. But I, and I, it was special seeing all those guys come for his last game. Obviously, you know, we lost, but we gonna redeem ourselves, you know, this Saturday. Yeah. Final Four. If you ain't, you got time, you should watch it. You know, we gonna be on TV.
Yeah, I'm gonna watch it, man. Send me your Cash App too, man. I owe you some money for them terrible guys beating my Spartans, man. But I'm still pissed about that 'cause we should have won that game. Still pissed about that. But number one, as a 4-year guy, Me being there 4 years and Miles being there too, or Gary Harris being there too, that don't make me more of a Spartan than them. Like, I'm a Spartan, they're a Spartan. We all went through the grind. At the end of the day, you stepped in, you had to go through there to get to where you was going. Whether it took you 1 year—
That's true.
Whether it took you 4, it don't matter. That's a part of your grind. That's a part of your journey. You are just as entitled to that as them. Now, what I will tell you is, for me personally, guys that won a national championship, even if it's not Mateen Cleaves, you know what I'm saying? If it's not Magic Johnson, guys who won a national championship, like, regardless my jersey retired, regardless of any of that, you won a national championship, I didn't. You're ahead of me, bro. Like, that's just what it is.
For sure.
You know what I'm saying?
For sure.
I can understand like the guys that won a national championship but that don't just mean because they were there for 4 years no, that's bullshit you earned your keep just like they earned their keep so— Understand that man!
