Bill Simmons Hides Duke Hate Nicely

"Joe Mead, what'd you think of that? We had a Duke guy on. I think I behaved myself nicely."

So said Bill Simmons Monday, after conducting an interview on his podcast, the B.S. Report, with former Duke great J.J. Redick. The interview did, in fact, go nicely enough. Some highlights, if you don't feel like listening to the (roughly) 30 minutes of audio:

• Redick talked about his increased role on the Magic, with an emphasis on his offense now coming more off of picks and screens. He said he understands the mentality, as that made up the bulk of his offense at Duke.
• Redick said that losing the NBA Finals last year was the hardest thing he's ever gone through in his basketball career.
• Redick still talks with head coach Mike Krzyzewski often: "I've had an amazing relationship with him.... I'm lucky to have [it].
• Certain North Carolina grads still will not talk to him, including Brendan Haywood, but he says the "Duke-UNC [rivalry] is overblown... the fans are a little crazy."
• Redick didn't pick Duke in his NCAA Tournament pool. He said he went with the safe bet—Kansas.
• Redick on one reason why Duke is hated: "I think we've had some a-holes on the team, myself included. Look at the shenanigans I pulled on the court my first couple of years, and I'm embarrassed by it."

Of course, the civility of the interview masks the fact that Simmons, despite being a Holy Cross alum, is a notorious Duke hater. Just for fun, we thought we'd cull a small sampling of some things he's said about the Blue Devils in the past. Think Redick knew about any of these gems?

From a March 5, 2010 podcast with Chuck Klosterman:

(On why Duke is hated):You can't discount Coach K. For some reason he just turns a lot of people off and he's fun to root against.... You can't discount the legacy of the types of guys [they've had]: Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, these are people that nobody liked at the time.

(On Redick): Redick was inherently unlikable. He still is with Orlando. You watch him and there's something about him that's like somebody you'd cast from a movie in the 1960s where the all-white time is playing the all-black team and he's the star guard on the all-white team.... There's something arrogant about him. There's an aura that he gives off that makes people not like him.

5:04: "My team is about two impact guys short. My players are slowly running out of steam. My card is American Express."

(Translation: Duke 38, VCU 38, 40 seconds to go! Kevin Harlan's voice has moved to Defcon 4.)

5:06: Classic Duke moment: Clock running down, end of the half, Paulus gets trapped near the VCU bench and has to throw up a 3-point heave … and they call a touch foul on VCU. Even Coach K seems embarrassed. Really, we have to rig games for a team everyone hates? That's what we've resorted to? I need a break.

From a March 14, 2010 Twitter post:

Dear Duke: would you like your regional gift-wrapped or just put in a shopping bag? With love, your friends at the NCAA.

From a October 9, 2009 mailbag:

Q: I have a friend who has a blown-up framed copy of a Duke dad and son crying after a Duke loss hanging up in his house. Can you think of a better/more hilarious sports picture to have framed?

-- Rob, College Park, Md.

SG: Not right now, no.

From a February 20, 2006 mailbag (a "compliment" written about Redick):

If he went anywhere else but Duke, he wouldn't take 9/10th's as much crap from anyone. Switch him with Mike Nardi and stick Redick on the bombs-away Villanova team and you know what would happen? Everyone would be raving about how much fun Redick is to watch. Unfortunately for J.J., everyone hates Duke and he's the quintessential Zabka-like kid Coach K always recruits, so we're already biased against him. We want him to blow out an ACL or break something crashing into a scorer's table. This isn't his fault.