Clemson’s David Collins ejected for dangerous foul vs. Duke

A hard foul on a Duke player’s breakaway could have ended a lot worse, but was more than enough to warrant an ejection.

Clemson guard David Collins was assessed a flagrant 2 foul, which is an automatic ejection, after hitting Duke’s Wendell Moore Jr. hard while the forward was in mid-air during Thursday’s game. Moore had stolen the ball from Collins on the previous possession and had an easy path to two points.

The resulting collision caused Moore to land hard on the floor, but fortunately didn’t hurt him enough to take him out of the game.

Collins didn’t even wait until the end of the game to explain himself, as he posted a statement on his Instagram story claiming he he had simply lost control of his momentum while trying to block Moore from behind.

The full statement:

“I was going to try to block it from behind but I was going too fast and I couldn’t stop I realized I needed to stop when it was too late I never have been a dirty player never will I wish bro a healthy season and I never tried to hurt anybody but I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion I have respect towards Duke and Clemson and I apologize to everybody for a reckless play I’m glad Wendell is okay “

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski slammed the play after the game, though held off from directly criticizing Collins:

Collins, a senior in his first season with the Tigers after transferring from South Florida, exited the game with zero points, three rebounds, one assist and two fouls. He entered Thursday averaging 11 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 44.1 percent from deep.

CORAL GABLES, FL - DECEMBER 04: Clemson guard David Collins (13) handles the ball in the first half as the University of Miami Hurricanes faced the Clemson University Tigers on December 4, 2021, at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

David Collins earned an ejection for his hard foul vs. Duke. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)