"I get to Duke and s**t's f*cking hard": $50M-worth J.J. Redick opens up about adversities at start of college career with Blue Devils

JJ Redick was one of the best college basketball players during his time with the Duke Blue Devils. However, it was not smooth sailing at the start of his college career.

On Andrew Schulz's Flagrant Podcast, Redick, who has a net worth of $50 million (as per Forbes), recalled his time at Duke.

"I grew up a Duke fan. [At] 7 years old I watched (Christian) Laettner hit the shot. 'Mom and dad I'm going to go play at Duke,' JJ Redick said.

"I wanted to go to Duke and I get to Duke and I'm like, 'Oh this sh*t is f***ing hard. Not only that part of it: the scrutiny, but playing at Duke was hard. It was mental every day."

Redick pointed out an incident where he was "boxed" on all sides by the Temple Owls when he was about to set the ACC scoring record. He needed 11 points.

He recalled:

"They had a guy Marty Collins who I played USA basketball with the season before. Marty was like, 'Hey man, John Cheney said you're not getting the record today. We're throwing the whole kitchen sink at you, we're going to play boxing."

While he did end up scoring 13 points and breaking the record, the incident was a small example of what his life was like at Duke.

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JJ Redick shares Coach K's harsh advice that brought him to reality

Redick shared that his sophomore season was the hardest and despite his impressive performance on court, off it, he was struggling. In the same podcast, he said:

“I played well for most of the season, but I really struggled, started taking anti-depressants, started to see a therapist, and I was a f*****g knucklehead.

“So the season ends, for four straight Saturdays, he made me come in at 8 AM to meet with him. And in one of those meetings, he said to me, ‘We didn’t win a National Championship because you weren’t worthy of being a champion.’ That f*****g crushed me, and it changed my life. No coach could ever say that about me again.”

Although JJ Redick didn't win the championship during his four-year stay at Duke, he won many accolades, including the National College Player of the Year (2006), James E. Sullivan Award (2005) and ACC Athlete of the Year (2006).

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