Interview: Bobby Hurley calls Jalen Rose’s comments on Duke ignorant
A. Isaac 
What better way to kick off our tournament coverage here on Guyism than to chat with two-time NCAA National Champion and former Duke legend Bobby Hurley. Hurley, now an assistant coach with Wagner, spoke to us yesterday about a wide range of issues including tournament expansion and the recent comments Jalen Rose made about his Blue Devils.
The comments, which were made by Rose during the taping of a Fab Five documentary will air this Sunday on ESPN. For those not aware of what was said, here’s a brief excerpt.
“For me, Duke was personal. I hated Duke. And I hated everything I felt Duke stood for. Schools like Duke didn’t recruit players like me. I felt like they only recruited black players that were Uncle Toms.”
To Hurley’s credit, he remained professional in his response but hilariously reminded me that Rose and the Fab Five went 0-3 against Duke, so in some ways, he understood his frustration.
Hurley 1, Rose 0
On Rose’s comments:
It’s a little bit ignorant to say that, and you should kind of reward kids for wanting to be educated and wanna go to college for the right reason and to get a degree. It’s kinda what intercollegiate athletics is all about.
There’s a balance between academics and athletics. I can kinda understand why he could be frustrated because we were 3-0 against him and they were never able to beat us, so I get it, it’s fine.
On the Fab Five cheating:
I had never heard anything at the time. I’ve actually gotten to know Chris Webber and I really like him, and I don’t have anything against those guys. If those things were true, that’s unfortunate. I don’t think it diminishes the impact they had…they had a lot of personality, brought a lot of attention to the college game.
On tournament expansion to 68 teams:
I’m really happy with the number at 68. If you go any further than that, it becomes a little watered-down….The committee is taking a harder look at mid-major programs and giving them a fair shot.
On whether Villanova is a bubble team:
They have the talent to win games in the tournament. But with the number of good teams in the Big East conference and not all of them can get in so you’d have to take a hard look at Villanova at this point.
His Final Four teams:
Texas is the most talented team in college basketball and now will they win it, I don’t know, but that’s my pick. Kansas is another team that can get there. I’m pickin my Dukies…I’m going with my heart there. And then Pittsburgh from the Big East because they are a really good defensive team.
Here’s the interview in its entirety.
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