Michael Jordan, as legend has it, used to call Will Perdue, “Will Vanderbilt.” Jordan explained the Bulls center wasn’t worthy of being named after a quality basketball school such as Purdue and, instead, used his alma mater.
In light of what he said during an interview on Monday, can we expect Perdue to change the nickname “Dougie McBuckets” to “Doug Creighton?”
During an interview on CSN’s “SportsTalk Live,” the CSN basketball analyst was asked why Doug McDermott has struggled in the NBA since the Bulls made him the 11th pick of the 2014 NBA Draft.
The four-time NBA champion delivered harsh but accurate criticism of McDermott.
“I live in Louisville,” Perdue said. “It’s a college town. Everybody talks about how good college basketball is. You have to realize. Basically what you’re seeing in Doug McDermott is the difference between college basketball and the NBA.
“You always hear these arguments that the Kentucky team from a few years ago could beat an NBA team. Hold on. Come on.”
McDermott has averaged 7.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in just over 21 minutes a game for the Bulls this season. His three-point shooting percentage (.431) is better than his field-goal accuracy (.428).
At Creighton, McDermott averaged 21.7 points over his four-year career, making him college basketball’s fifth all-time leading scorer.
Perdue hasn’t completely given up on the second-year small forward.
“I still hold out hope because he’s smart enough to figure it out,” he said. “But it’s not just up to him to figure it out, it’s also up to the organization to figure it out how do we make this guy productive on a nightly basis.”
[McDermott question and comments begin at about :50]
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