Big Time Husky Legacy Picks Duke

The Raleigh News & Observer https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/article255893746.html


SB Nation https://www.dukebasketballreport.com/2021/11/18/22788888/michael-savarino-and-paolo-banchero-efland-nc-duke-basketball

The law of unintended consequences rears its ugly head

We’d just like to take up a couple of other points about the Savarino/Banchero incident.

We were listening to Jay Bilas on the podcast Bald Men On Campus and according to Bilas, Savarino and Banchero were in Efland to attend a party.

And that needs to be talked about.

We can certainly understand why Duke and other universities have banned drinking on campus. First, bad things happen when lots of people drink. And second, liability is liability.

But is the alternative any better?

Why on earth are Duke kids driving to Efland to go to a party? That’s beyond us. We understand they are renting places to have parties since they can’t do it on campus. The Duke lacrosse party was held off-campus. But Efland? That’s 25 miles out. The only thing that makes sense is that it’s way cheaper to rent a place in Efland than Durham and obviously people are going to have to drive to get there.

Whatever the reason, having college kids drive 25 miles to go to a party is not good. If bad things were happening with on-campus drinking it’s likely to be much worse in Efland. Savarino and Banchero were pulled over and taken off the road. How many other kids were at that party who had to get back to campus? How much did they have to drink?

Unintentionally, the prohibition of alcohol on campus has created a problem that may become a much worse issue than the one it sought to fix. We don’t know what it is, but there has to be a smarter way to deal with this.

247 Sports https://247sports.com/Article/Duke-basketball-Jay-Williams-comments-on-Michael-Savarino-Paolo-Banchero-incident-Coach-K-response-175623805/

Duke basketball: Jay Williams comments on Michael Savarino/Paolo Banchero incident, Coach K response

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski made the decision to play and start star freshman Paolo Banchero after after he and junior guard Michael Savarino were involved in an incident over the weekend, with court records obtained by the Raleigh News & Observer showing that Savarino was arrested for DWI while Banchero is charged with aiding and abetting DWI. Former Duke basketball player and top-5 NBA Draft pick Jay Williams says that how Krzyzewski handles the situation and any other off-the-court incidents in his final year as Duke's head coach may very well determine how close the team can get to achieving its goal of sending Krzyzewski out with a national championship.

"I understand that (Paolo Banchero) is a top player, but he is sitting in the back seat," Williams said on ESPN's KJM. "He is not a story here. He was released at the incident. The story was Michael Savarino, who, look, might be suspended indefinitely. I don't think there will be any repercussions for Paolo. From somebody who made a mistake that people still try to throw at my face to this day, these things do happen when people are young. They happen every single day. That does not excuse the action.

"But I think the biggest story here is that these are the challenges that Coach K is going to face in his last year of coaching, and how he ultimately handles these things will determine whether this team, who has a legit chance to win a national championship ... this team has a national championship team in them. These are the kinds of hiccups that will happen over the course of this season, and how Coach K manages these things will determine the altitude of this team."

Krzyzewski, who released a statement earlier Tuesday, was asked about the situation after the game and was pressed about starting Banchero.

“We had a violation of our standards and we’ll handle that internally,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re already handling it, but it’s a violation of our standards ... “It’s two entirely different situations (with Savarino and Banchero) Headlines might make it look like it’s the same, but it’s not. The decisions we made are in conjunction with our authorities and my superiors. We’re taking action and will continue to take action.”

The N.C. Highway Patrol made the arrests in Orange County, according to a report by the News & Observer. A conviction of aiding and abetting DWI is punished as a Level 5 DWI in North Carolina and could include a fine and up to two months in jail.

“We are reviewing a legal matter involving two members of the men’s basketball team,” Krzyzewski said in a statement released by Duke athletics to the N&O. “Any further actions as a result of this situation will ultimately be determined by the Vice President/Director of Athletics and University officials.”

ESPN https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/32695816/duke-blue-devils-paolo-banchero-addressing-dwi-related-charge-says-all-learned-have-moved-on

Duke Blue Devils' Paolo Banchero, addressing DWI-related charge, says 'we all learned from it' and have 'moved on'

Duke freshman forward Paolo Banchero, speaking for the first time since he was charged with aiding and abetting impaired driving during a Nov. 14 incident that involved teammate Michael Savarino, said Monday night that the Blue Devils "all learned from it" and have "moved on."

"My teammates had my back, so it wasn't too hard for me,'' Banchero said after scoring a career-high 28 points in Monday's 107-81 win over The Citadel. "I'm not going to say it wasn't on my mind the past two games. It was. I feel like today was a bounce-back game for me and I felt good out there.''

Banchero, a top NBA prospect, was in the starting lineup against Gardner-Webb on Nov. 16 for Duke's first game following the incident. He finished with 10 points in that game and 11 points in Friday's win over Lafayette, his lowest-scoring games of the season.

Savarino, who is head coach Mike Krzyzewski's grandson, was charged with driving while impaired and driving after consuming under the age of 21. He has been suspended from team activities.

"We all learned from it,'' Banchero said. "I can't really say much about it. We learned from it and we handled it as a team. We've moved on, though. We want to get on with our season.''

Asked at one point during his postgame session with reporters if he has "any regrets about what happened," Banchero replied, "No."

Banchero also said he did not address the team about the situation.

"They all know what happened. I know what happened. Coach knows what happened, so there was no need for me to [address them] because we all know what happened," Banchero said.