TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) The Florida State assistant coach who was knocked over the Seminoles’ bench following a collision with Grayson Allen said he’s certain there was no malice in the Duke guard’s efforts.
Assistant Dennis Gates posted on Twitter Wednesday that ”I know what a dirty play is and I was not the victim of one” during the teams’ game Tuesday night.
With about 6 minutes remaining in the ninth-ranked Seminoles’ 88-72 victory over No. 7 Duke – Allen’s first road game since returning from a one-game suspension for tripping an opponent – the guard leaped into the Florida State bench while chasing a rebound and his right hand made contact with Gates, who tumbled onto his back.
Gates said Allen made ”a great hustle play” and that he ”did not in any way feel attacked (or) disrespected” by the player.
The Duke guard received an indefinite suspension from the team – which wound up being for just one game – after tripping an Elon player on Dec. 21, the third time he had tripped an opponent in an 11-month period.
Last season Allen was reprimanded by the ACC for tripping a Florida State player and was called for a flagrant foul for tripping a Louisville player. He was the target of chants from Florida State fans during Tuesday night’s game and the Seminoles player Allen tripped last February – Xavier Rathan-Mayes – said after the matchup that he had ”been waiting a long time to see him again.”
In a scheduling twist, the Blue Devils’ next game is at Louisville on Saturday.
”The kid has been through enough,” Duke acting head coach Jeff Capel said. ”He’s brought a lot of it on himself and some of it is crazy, some of the things that has happened that he’s done.”
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More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org
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