By Derrel Jazz Johnson
In the first college basketball game at Madison Square Garden in front of fans since Thursday, March 12, 2020, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Michigan State Spartans 87-74, and in the farewell season for Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski, Duke defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 79-71.
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
Fans in attendance at the sold-out Madison Square Garden and who watched on ESPN saw several explosive performances, including Ochai Agbaji, who led Kansas with 29 points, Trevor Keels, who led Duke with 25 points, Paolo Banchero, a Duke freshman who is projected to be a top-5 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, who had 22 points and 7 rebounds, and Oscar Tshiebwe, who led Kentucky with 19 points and 17 rebounds.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski discussed the play of Banchero. “He’s a special player and you can coach him hard,” he said. “But he’s going to keep getting better. He’s the real deal. There’s no question about it.”
Kentucky head coach John Calipari also talked about the play of Banchero, who he tried to recruit to play for him. “He’s really good,” Calipari stated. “You almost can’t, we had too much respect for him. We backed away and he shoots. Make him make basketball plays. I kept saying it, but we’re afraid. So, they kept backing up.”
