ESPN analyst Jay Bilas is typically the analyst for Big Monday ACC games, but for the evening’s Duke-Virginia Tech broadcast, Dan Dakich took over the commentating duties.
Dakich didn’t even need 20 minutes before lashing out at Duke freshman star Marvin Bagley III.
After Bagley’s shot off a post move was blocked, Dakich lambasted Bagley seemingly out of nowhere. He claimed that Duke’s four-game winning streak in Bagley’s absence was a direct result of the projected top 5 pick’s selfishness.
“Bagley is all about Bagley” pic.twitterp.lang=en dir=ltr>— Andrew Joseph (@AndyJ0seph) February 27, 2018
Dakich said:
“Bagley is all about Bagley. Honest to goodness, I can see in 18 minutes why Duke was able to go on a run when he was hurt. You hate to say that about a kid, but he is about himself. He gets the ball. It doesn’t come out. He doesn’t play defense. He’s a terrific talent, don’t get me wrong. But you could see real clear, real fast — and I’ll take all the shots that people want to give me — but you can see that he is about him.”
This wasn’t the first time Dakich had resorted to needlessly harsh criticism of college basketball stars either. Earlier in February, he doubled down on his claim that Michigan State star Miles Bridges had “no game.”
Fans weren’t happy with the analysis. Plus, just minutes after saying Bagley didn’t play defense, Dakich called Bagley a “great shot blocker.”
If college journalism professors want to teach their students about what not to do as a broadcaster, all they need to do is let them listen to 30 seconds of Dan Dakich speaking.
— Spartan Avenue (@SpartanAvenueFS) February 27, 2018
Looks like Dan Dakich has found another player to bag on in Marvin Bagley this evening. Bridges has no game, Bagley is selfish….SMH.
— NBADraft.net (@nbadraftnet) February 27, 2018
If someone has an explanation for why Dan Dakich is employed, please share it with me.
— Duke Digest (@DukeDigest) February 27, 2018
Dakich saying someone else is all about themself is rich
— Ben Swain (@TheBenSwain) February 27, 2018
Bagley had six points and six rebounds in the first half.