Former Kentucky Wildcats guard Devin Booker and ex-Louisville Cardinals center Gorgui Dieng are keeping the ancient college hoops rivalry going even in the NBA.
During the third quarter of Tuesday's matchup between the Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves, Dieng inadvertently caught Booker with an elbow, which led to words being exchanged and both players being ejected. On their walk back to the tunnel, Dieng and Booker made arrangements to square up near the locker room, as seen in the video embedded below.
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Of course, nothing ever transpired as is so often the case when NBA players threaten to beat each other up. For what it's worth, Booker stands 6'6 and 205 pounds while Dieng is billed at 6'11, 245.
Booker left the arena without speaking to reporters, but Dieng stuck around to offer his take and question why he was ejected in the first place.
"He talked to me, I talked to him back," said Dieng, per ESPN. "I think he tried to hit me. Everybody could see I didn't throw a punch. In this league a lot of guys think they are tough, and they are not."
"Technical foul, OK that's fine, but an ejection? I want to know why," he said. "I know if you get two techs you get ejected, but I got one tech. And I didn't throw a punch. He's the one who tried to hit me, right? And I got ejected. I would like to know why."
As for the actual game, the Timberwolves won in a 27-point rout as they improved to 23-24 on the season.
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