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'Talking hot mess,' disdain of Duke: Memphis Grizzlies players have March Madness fever
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- 'Talking hot mess,' disdain of Duke: Memphis Grizzlies players have March Madness fever
It's an early season battle between the Michigan State Spartans and North Carolina Tar Heels in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 27. The two prestigious programs are in a tight game that just so happens to be in the final minutes right after the Memphis Grizzlies wrapped up a 20-point win over the Detroit Pistons .
"Turn the game on!" Jaren Jackson Jr. yelled in the Grizzlies' locker room.
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Before anyone could honor Jackson's request, the 6-foot-11 big man out of Michigan State took matters into his own hands and put the locker room projector on ESPN.
While his teammates were leaving FedExForum, he stayed around and waited for the Spartans to pull off a 94-91 overtime victory.
Jackson is just one example of a Grizzlies locker room that is passionate about their college programs. As March Madness and NCAA Tournament play start, that activity is increasing.
"We talking hot mess," TCU alum Desmond Bane said.
Eight Grizzlies players will be watching their teams in the NCAA Tournament. There will be side bets and trash talk that will involve even players whose schools didn't make the tournament.
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"I feel like dudes are always having pride for their college team," said Brandon Clarke, who played at Gonzaga. "Even the dudes that play for one year or barely even play. They still love to rep it. It's always a funny little bragging rights thing they got going on."
Missing the bus
Many Grizzlies players come from programs that have had success in recent seasons, but not this one. Murray State (Ja Morant), TCU (Bane) and Virginia (Jay Huff) all fit the bill.
Though Bane admits that he can't talk too much trash right now, it won't stop him from rooting against the schools of his teammates. No. 1 seed Duke is high on that list. Luke Kennard played there for two seasons, Marvin Bagley III for one.
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"Luke is up right now, and he is letting everybody know," Bane said.
"I want (Duke) to lose first round," he added.
So you're saying there's a chance
They call it March Madness for a reason. Despite the seeding, program prestige or location, anything can happen. Scotty Pippen Jr.'s Vanderbilt Commodores made the tournament as a No. 10 seed; Cam Spencer's UConn, the defending national champion, is an 8-seed. Vince Williams Jr.'s VCU Rams are seeded 11th and Clarke's Gonzaga Bulldogs are No. 10.
Those are more of the long shots, but the programs are viewed differently by the players.
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This is the first time Vanderbilt made the tournament since 2017.
"To see how far they've came, being back in the tournament, I'll definitely be talking trash to some of the guys if we get matched up against them," Pippen said.
Clarke, on the other hand, has seen Gonzaga finish top 15 in the AP poll in each of the past eight seasons. But it ended this season unranked, and it got an automatic berth by winning the West Coast Conference tournament.
"This year was a bit tougher in terms of their standards that we got there," Clarke said. "They still found a way to win the conference championship, so always looking forward to watching them win."
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High hopes
Zach Edey is tuned in to Purdue "all the time," he said. If he can't watch a game, he'll look at the box score and watch the highlights. The Boilermakers are a No. 4 seed and have a decent chance to make a run.
Jackson's Michigan State is a No. 2 seed, but Kennard and Bagley currently have the most bragging rights in the locker room.
"Whenever Duke is doing well, I talk a little trash," Bagley said. "And whenever they're not doing so well, people talk trash to me. I just try to enjoy it and have fun."
Duke has the highest odds of winning, but don't tell Jackson or Edey that. The Big Ten foes have exchanged what Edey described as "friendly banter" throughout the season.
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Kennard and Bagley are confident in Duke after a strong season, but the status of potential No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg looms large.
"This team is really good," Bagley said of Duke. "We'll have to see with Cooper going down, but I think they can rally together and get it going."
Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: March Madness, college pride in Memphis Grizzlies locker room
