Jay Williams becomes latest bozo to suggest a college team could beat a pro team (HINT: It's Duke)
Jay Williams is one of the greatest college basketball players of all time, and had it not been for his awful motorcycle accident, he very well could have become a great NBA player. He's also been an excellent college basketball analyst for ESPN in his post-playing career, both in-studio and at games in a color commentator role. What we're trying to say is, he's more than qualified to talk about the sport. Well, actually, he WAS more than qualified before his appearance on ESPN's "Get Up" on Wednesday morning.
The legendary Duke point guard felt the need to open up what is easily the stupidest debate in sports, and no we're not talking about LeBron vs. Jordan. We're talking about the ol' "(insert college team) could beat (insert pro team) right now," an argument that Vegas rendered irrelevant a week ago by releasing the lines for a non-existent game between Alabama and NFL teams. The overwhelming majority of NFL teams would be favored by at least 28 or more points. Some teams, like the New England Patriots, would be favored by almost 50. While we don't have any lines yet for an NBA team against the 2018-'19 Duke Blue Devils, we're confident that they'd be similarly astronomical. Just don't tell that to Williams:
Jay, Jay, Jay. Why must you make everyone think you are stupid? All those nice things I said about you go completely out the window when you suggest this could happen. Is Duke incredible? Yes. Should Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish already be in the NBA? Probably. Could they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers? Absolutely not. Say what you want about the LeBron-less, 2-13 Cavs, but they just beat the Charlotte Hornets by 24 points last week, a team that has the hottest player in the sport right now in Kemba Walker (he did shoot 2-for-16 that game, which helped).
Yes, this Duke team is very different, and have at times looked like men playing against boys this season. Maybe, maybe this would be the one instance where Williams' argument would have a little legitimacy, and by a little I mean the Cavs would only win by 15-20 points. Duke barely hung on to beat Auburn in Maui on Tuesday, and now they're ready to beat a NBA team? Not happening. Let's make sure the Blue Devils can beat Gonzaga on Wednesday first.
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