Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

Why Duke over Michigan State?🤔 #shorts #collegebasketball #duke #michiganstatespartans

16 Feb 2024 · 1 min

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In a brief conversational clip, Draymond Green asks Shane Battier why he chose Duke over Michigan State. Battier recounts that while he was being heavily recruited, Michigan State’s new coach Izz promised to add 40 pounds of muscle to turn him into a dominant power forward. However, Battier preferred to play as a small forward who could shoot threes, a vision reinforced by legendary coaches Dean Smith (Duke) and Coach K (North Carolina). Valuing the shooting-oriented, skill‑based development over a bulk‑focused, power‑forward path, he decided to commit to Duke, describing the decision as a clear, personal fit rather than an academic one.

Chapters

Why Duke over Michigan State? I can guess the academics, but I'm sure it runs deeper than that.
True story. And I love Izz, and I tell Izz this, I tell him, I tell him to his face, he messed up. I'm being recruited by everybody, and Izz had just gotten the job at Michigan State, and I liked Izz, you know, I'm like, man, this guy's, he's legit, he's got it. But Izz messed up. One day he came to me, he said, "Shane," and you know this, he said, "We had the best weight staff in the Big Ten. We're gonna put 40 pounds of muscle on you." "and you're gonna be the baddest power forward in the Big Ten." And then I got Dean Smith and Coach K say, "No, man, like you're a small forward, man. You gotta shoot threes." I'm like, "I'm with those guys." So that was the reason why. That was like the main— I didn't wanna be a power forward. I didn't wanna, you know, put 40 pounds and bang guys. I wanted to be a small forward and shoot threes. So that's why I went South. Boom, boom.