Gradey Dick reacts to road chants referencing last name: ‘I like being the hated one’
Kansas freshman Gradey Dick has started all 26 games of his young career with the Jayhawks, and with that has had to get accustomed to road environments. Away games for him come with crowds chanting and negatively referencing his last name, and Tuesday night was no different for Dick when they faced Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
“I love it, I love it,” Dick said. “I kind of like being the hated one, going into visitors, and them doing their little chants, but it definitely fuels the fire.”
The opposing crowd definitely fueled Dick’s fire versus the Cowboys as he went on to score a career-high 26 points, helping lead Kansas to an 87-76 victory that helped propel the Jayhawks back in the driver seat at the top of the Big 12 standings.
The Jayhawks’ leading scorer Jalen Wilson faced some early foul trouble versus Oklahoma State, and when he had no choice but to watch his team play from the bench, Dick to over the scoring reigns of Kansas’ offense.
“He did great, you guys have seen all year that he has no conscience when it comes to shooting the ball and that’s what makes a great shooter,” Wilson said. “He’s confident, every time he shoots the ball we think it’s going in just like he thinks it’s going in. So to have a freshman do that, it shows his confidence.”
Dick shot made an impressive 58.8% of his shots from the field on Tuesday, including four three-point makes. He added three assists and rebounds to his stat line as well, and also made an impact on the defensive side of the floor with two steals.
“And also what may go unnoticed is the way he was guarding at the end of the game. All the intensity, moving his feet and stuff like that, he had a great game on both ends,” Wilson said.
Bill Self addresses Gradey Dick chants on the road: ‘He has a unique last name’
When you go on the road, opposing fans are going to try and get into opposing players’ heads. It’s the nature of home-court advantage and Kansas coach Bill Self knows that his star freshman Gradey Dick needs to deal with this more than a lot of other players.
After the win over Oklahoma State, Self was asked about how Dick is handling opposing fans chanting at him.
“You know what, he’s got a unique last name. He’s heard that since he was probably in third, fourth, fifth grade,” Bill Self said.
“I don’t think it bothers him at all, I actually think he likes it. I think it fuels him. But, the chants, I’m there and I don’t even hear the chants. If you’re focused on the game, I think a lot of that stuff is just water off your back.”
The chant that has become popular to harass Gradey Dick with goes, “You suck, Dick.” That’s with direct address and a proper pronoun on his last name.
Kansas’ next game is at home against Baylor. So, Dick is likely going to enjoy a friendlier welcome from fans when he steps on the court.