"I'd probably score 84 or 85" - Gilbert Arenas admits he dreamed about revenge game vs. Duke after 2004 Team USA snub
Fans and analysts love to speculate about hypothetical matchups. Many people are curious about how a certain player would perform against a particular team.
In late January 2007, Gilbert Arenas was asked a similar question — how he, as an NBA player in his sixth season, would fare against the Duke Blue Devils roster at that time. Staying true to his confident style, "Agent Zero" gave a bold answer.
Arenas felt snubbed
It helps to look back at the summer of 2006 to really understand why Arenas mentioned that specific hypothetical matchup.
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Back then, Team USA was led by a special coaching trio, each with their own head coaching jobs during the regular season. Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University led the team, assisted by Mike D'Antoni of the Phoenix Suns and Nate McMillan of the Portland Trail Blazers.
When the final roster for the 2006 FIBA World Championship was announced, Washington Wizards playmaker wasn't on the list. Many thought this decision was fair, considering the amount of top talent in the country. However, others — including Gil himself — saw his exclusion as a clear snub.
Feeling overlooked but determined to prove his value, the reigning All-Star set a personal goal: to dominate every NBA team coached by those who had left him off the national squad that won the bronze medal in Japan while he had to stay home.
Related: Michael Jordan told Phil Jackson that Scottie Pippen was the second-best player on the 1992 Dream Team: "He was a legitimate star"
Arenas' revenge
"Agent Zero's" personal vendetta began to take shape when he scored 54 points on 21-of-37 shooting against the Suns on December 22, 2006.
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That incredible performance — Gil's second-highest NBA scoring game — did not go unnoticed. Afterward, D'Antoni made a clever comment, aware of how upset Arenas still was about being left off the Team USA roster.
He joked that if Hibachi already took such revenge on him — then only an assistant coach for Team USA — he wondered what the 6'4" point guard would do against Duke, saying he'd "absolutely dominate" Coach K's team.
Reflecting on this, Arenas wrote in an NBA.com blog that if he could change anything, he would gladly give up an entire NBA season just to play one college game against the 2006-07 Blue Devils, who had players like Josh McRoberts, Gerald Henderson Jr. and Jon Scheyer.
"One college game that's five fouls, right?... 40-minute game at Duke, they got soft rims I'd probably score 84 or 85," quipped Arenas, per ESPN. "I wouldn't pass the ball. I wouldn't even think about passing it. It would be like a NBA Live or an NBA 2k7 game, you just shoot with one person."
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For context, the highest single-game scoring record in NCAA history belongs to former Division III's Jack Taylor, who scored 138 points for Grinnell College on November 20, 2012.
Although the Duke vs. Wizards matchup never happened, the now 43-year-old got his chance for revenge in two games against the Suns and two against the Blazers under coach McMillan that year.
While Arenas averaged a blazing 42.5 points per contest against Phoenix, his scoring dropped to just 14.0 points against Portland, showing that his vendetta was somewhat one-sided.
Related: "He has all the shooters on the bench" - Gilbert Arenas on why he knew Team USA wouldn't win gold in the '06 FIBA WC
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