Grayson Allen, Mike Krzyzewski Comment on ACC Reprimand After Tripping Incident

On the heels of the ACC formally reprimanding him, Duke guard Grayson Allen acknowledged his decision to trip Xavier Rathan-Mayes at the end of last Thursday's win over Florida State.

"For me, it’s just being smart. I’ve had to be smart all season," Allen said, per Laura Keeley of the Raleigh News & Observer. "Obviously I made a mistake. I missed up, and I wish I wouldn’t have. But for us as a team, we have to move on. For me as a person, I can’t let it affect how physical I play. But I can’t make stupid plays like I did.”

Allen purposefully tripped Rathan-Mayes as time was running down in the second half following a Florida State steal. Rathan-Mayes was attempting to run down the floor when Allen stuck his foot behind him to send him sprawling to the ground.   

“He wanted to keep playing physical, so I tried to walk away from it as he was grabbing me,” Allen said at the time, per Keeley. “We ended up tangling up and falling. It was really nothing.”

The ACC issued him a formal reprimand Friday. Allen will not be punished further for the incident. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said that while he talked to Allen after the game, he agreed with the ACC's decision to not suspend the guard, per Keeley:

"

What he got was the stiffest reprimand a player has gotten in our conference this year. There have been other guys who hit people and whatever, and no reprimand. I’m not knocking our conference. I’m just saying I thought they took action. And then you have to move on. The world doesn’t move on because it’s Duke. So we have to live with that.

"

Allen is the Blue Devils' leading scorer at 20.9 points per game and averages 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists as well. Krzyzewski obviously has a vested interest in keeping him on the floor. The Blue Devils close their regular season with home games against Wake Forest and North Carolina, and they'll need wins after an ugly loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Here's hoping Allen keeps his feet to himself so he can stay on the floor heading into March.