Oregon's Dana Altman says any blame for late 3-pointer on him

ByMyron Medcalf ESPN logo
Saturday, March 26, 2016

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Oregon coach Dana Altman blamed himself for the controversy that followedDillon Brooks' 3-pointer near half court with 10 seconds to play in his team's 82-68 win over Duke in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night and the Ducks forward's subsequent, debatedexchange with Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski in the handshake line.

"At the end of the game, there was a difference in the shot clock and the game clock," Altman said Friday. "I told Dillon to shoot it. So if anybody's got a problem with it, it should be directed at me.

"He was acting on my orders. I told him to shoot it. I didn't think he'd make it. It was a 30-footer, but there was a five-, six-second difference there."

Brooks, who celebrated after he hit the shot, said Krzyzewski told him that he's "too good of a player to be showing off in the end." Brooks said he told the coach that he was right.

Krzyzewski denied Brooks' account after the game.

"I didn't say that," Krzyzewski said. "You can say whatever you want. Dillon Brooks is a hell of a player. I said, 'You're a terrific player.' And you can take whatever he said and then go with it, all right?"

Audio of the exchange between Brooks andKrzyzewski from the CBS broadcast was posted on multiple websites Friday night, and it confirmed the Ducks player's account:

"You're too good of a player to do that,"Krzyzewski said.

"I'm sorry, Coach," Brooks said.

"You're too good of a player,"Krzyzewski said.

On Friday, Brooks said he didn't feel like he did anything wrong, but he expressed remorse for publicizing the details of the exchange.

"Me and Coach K, that conversation should have stayed with us," Brooks said. "But overall, me and Coach K are both professionals, and I have to move on from this situation and focus on Oklahoma."

Altman said he hopes the Brooks-Krzyzewski exchange is now "a dead issue." He also said he is not worried about his team's emotions moving forward.

The Ducks play the Sooners on Saturday night in Anaheim with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

"If we can't celebrate hitting the shot, then that's part of the game," Altman said. "Again, it was a 30-footer. He took it. It's done. We're moving on to Oklahoma. I hope he hits a 30-footer [Saturday]. It will be great for our team."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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