By Steve DelVecchio
The unexpected continued to happen in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region on Sunday, with No. 7 seed Michigan State knocking off No. 2 seed Virginia. Cavs forward Darion Atkins felt his team did not put forth a respectable effort, to put it kindly.
Atkins, a 6-foot-8 senior, scored 10 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. When asked after the game if he felt like he was the only one trying at times, Atkins did not defend his teammates.
“To be honest, yeah,” he said, per Martin Rickman of UPROXX. “I felt like I wanted it more than a few other guys on the team. I felt like I tried to rally everyone together in the second half, and I felt like we played a lot better in the second half than the first half. It was just a little bit too late to get things going.”
A reporter then asked Atkins about a timeout early in the second half where assistant coach Jason Williford became animated with some players. His frustration stemmed from a possession where Michigan State was given three chances to score.
“That was a gut check and a heat check,” Atkins explained. “I felt like we were just playing like some p-ssies to be honest. I mean, I don’t know.”
Atkins was also angry over the fourth foul that was called on him, which he called a “terrible call.” He certainly had an argument, as it looked like he had come up with a clean block at a crucial point in the game.
If you didn’t know who Atkins was before the tournament, you probably know him now because of his outspokenness. He’s the same player who said on Saturday that Virginia’s game against the Spartans would be a “d-ck swinging contest.”
Like every year, we’ve already seen a lot of emotion from players and coaches during the tourney, none more heart-wrenching than this moment from Georgia State coach Ron Hunter. You can’t blame Atkins for being angry with the way his college playing career ended.
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