Why KU’s Bill Self wasn’t upset by Monmouth player’s controversial end-of-game dunk
Well, that was unexpected.
Monmouth junior guard George Papas — in a 15-second burst — turned what had been a mostly uneventful Kansas 112-57 blowout into a viral moment that had college basketball fans nationwide examining their own thoughts on sportsmanship.
With KU’s Tristan Enaruna attempting to dribble the clock out near half-court with 10 seconds left — and KU leading 110-55 — Papas snuck behind him and poked away the ball. He brought it up the court, threw in a one-handed slam over Enaruna, then walked toward him to talk trash.
Officials gave Papas a technical foul for the chatter, though he seemed mostly unaffected afterward. “I don’t give a (crap),” he repeated twice, as the KU fans sent boos his way.
There were many opinions about the series of events afterward.
Start with KU coach Bill Self, who said Papas going for the steal and dunk “doesn’t bother me at all.”
“I mean, I’m actually glad it happened, because we’ve been on Tristan the whole time about being casual, and that’s a prime example of what happens when you’re casual,” Self said. “I told the team afterwards he may be on ESPN twice for two dunks: One on him and one he got.”
Self’s opinion here is especially interesting considering recent history. In 2016, he called out his own player, Brannen Greene, when Greene decided to put in an uncontested dunk instead of backing the ball out in an 18-point home victory over Kansas State.
After the game, Self famously called Greene’s actions a “dick move” and labeled his decision as “classless.”
So while Self could have taken offense on the other end of a similar play — and likely understood why Monmouth coach King Rice was embarrassed after Friday’s game — the KU coach did his best to downplay the situation.
“That didn’t even register — that didn’t even register as a bad play in my book,” Self said. “No big deal.”
Not everyone felt that way.
Rice started his press conference by apologizing for his team losing its composure at the end of the game. He included in that the fact that some of his players yelled back at KU students who booed them on their way to the locker room.
“We’re down by 100 points, and we get a dunk, and then we bark at the kid. That is uncalled for,” Rice said. “That is not what our program represents. That is not what our program stands for.”
Rice said he believed his team’s feelings were hurt after getting dominated so badly. He said he addressed the incident with his team in the locker room.
“I am so sorry that we did that,” Rice said. “We won’t do that again.”
When asked about Papas specifically, Rice said his player “lost his mind on that last play. He feels all bad now, but you just don’t do that. You have to keep your cool.”
Rice apologized to Self for Papas’ actions, and the two teams remained friendly in the postgame handshake line.
“It was just, ‘Be cordial. Be poised. Be the bigger team. Don’t say anything,’” KU center David McCormack said of his teammates in that moment. “You walked away with the victory, and let that be that.”
McCormack, who was on the court for that final sequence, admitted to being surprised it happened.
“It wasn’t the best move to do if you want to improve your character, and that’s all I can really say on that,” McCormack said with a smile. “I don’t think that’s a real basketball player’s mentality to do something like that.”
McCormack said he’d been a part of games when something similar had happened, and the fan response to that play was almost the exact same as Friday.
“It’s just unsportsmanlike and not necessary,” McCormack said of Papas’ play.
Papas, who was not brought to postgame interviews, appeared to be affected as well. Less than an hour after Friday’s game ended, he had deleted his personal Twitter account — one that was getting a lot of negative feedback from KU fans.
Rice promised this would be a “learning experience” for both Papas and his team.
“We knew this could be a tough night for us, OK? But we represent a lot of proud people from Monmouth,” Rice said. “You just don’t do that, but he’s young. He’ll bounce back from it.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 11:35 PM.
