De’Aaron Fox goes viral for harsh comments about college game

March 25, 2023

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Mar 7, 2022; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) warms up before the game against the New York Knicks at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The joys of March Madness are clearly not for De’Aaron Fox.

The Sacramento Kings All-Star guard went viral over the weekend for his harsh comments about college basketball.

“I can’t watch a full college game,” said Fox. “It’s hard. Just the shot-making is obviously not at the pro level. The refs are bad. A lot of the coaching is really bad … I can’t stand it.”

Here is the full video of Fox’s comments.

De'Aaron Fox shoots on college basketball & why he can't watch a full game. pic.twitter.com/tnNQop3iEZ

— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) March 24, 2023

Wow, De’Aaron. Why don’t you tell us how you really feel?

Fox is right that the talent disparity between college and the pros is massive. Most of the players seeing significant crunchtime minutes during the NCAA Tournament will never even make it to the end of an NBA bench. Meanwhile in the NBA, it is common these days to see teams shoot over 50 percent for an entire game and splash over a dozen three-pointers (the Kings just did it in a win on Friday over the Phoenix Suns). But in college, you will be lucky if either team sniffs 45 percent from the field with more than a handful of 3s.

College purists will argue though that the amateur game has a greater focus on fundamentals (half-court defense, post-up play, offensive rebounding, etc.) with players who more than make up for their relative lack of skill with heart and determination. The rawness of the game can also produce some really exciting moments down the stretch and many seemingly improbable upsets (as we have seen multiple times in just this year’s tourney alone).

Fox, now 25, played one season in college at Kentucky (2016-17) under head coach John Calipari. The Wildcats lost in the Elite Eight during Fox’s lone season, and he clearly does not look back on the college game too fondly.