Legendary Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving talks March Madness, what it takes to win it all

Legendary Basketball Corridor of Famer Julius Erving — Dr. J as followers affectionately know him — is aware of a factor or two about what it takes to be nice. 

Erving, an 11-time NBA and five-time ABA All-Star, spoke to Fox Information Digital Saturday about this weekend’s Last 4 matchups and the gifted coaches who acquired them there. 

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“My hat goes off to all of them for attaining this nice honor in getting there and, nonetheless it seems on the finish, there aren’t any actual losers – there’s solely three losers,” Erving mentioned with a chuckle when requested about his predictions. 

“Any individual’s acquired to stroll out the champion.”

The Duke Blue Devils, who’ve received 5 NCAA titles beneath retiring head coach Mike Krzyzewski, will tackle the North Carolina Tar Heels, a program that has received six nationwide championships and reached extra Last Fours than any program in faculty basketball, Saturday at 8:49 p.m. ET. 

However earlier than that, Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats will tackle the No. 1-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, who’re within the hunt for his or her first nationwide championship since 2008. 

“Nicely, you realize, Jay Wright’s my man,” Erving mentioned when requested about his predictions. “I used to dwell at Villanova after I was in Philly and I performed for the 76ers. I lived there. I used to go to the college and observe and take my youngsters to the camps that Rollie Massimino (1973-92) used to have there, so I’m partial in that regard.”

Erving didn’t elaborate on who he thinks will come out on high Saturday. When requested about the potential for Krzyzewski profitable all of it, Erving described that final result as a storybook ending to a legendary profession. 

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski walks off the ground following a tribute in his honor after the group’s NCAA sport in opposition to North Carolina March 5, 2022, in Durham, N.C. 
(AP Picture/Chris Seward)

“That’s fantasy stuff. That’s the Cinderella story. You assume Saint Peter’s being there was a Cinderella story. Duke profitable and him being carried off the court docket in his final sport … It might be very acceptable.”

This 12 months’s Last 4 will not be in need of expertise and competitors. 

“Within the storm, it’s important to stay calm. You must keep true to your preparation. Everyone is ready for this second. The way you deal with that second is the calmness that it’s important to have inside.”

Julius Erving dunking in opposition to the Portland Path Blazers in Philadelphia Could 26, 1977.  
(James Drake/Sports activities Illustrated through Getty Photos)

Erving spoke to Fox Information Digital on behalf of Coca-Cola’s “Debate the Goatness” marketing campaign, which launched on Choice Sunday and can run by the boys’s and girls’s championship video games. 

Different basketball greats, together with 2021-2022 NBA MVP front-runner Joel Embiid, four-time NCAA champion Breanna Stewart and Naismith Corridor of Famer Lisa Leslie are additionally featured in two commercials that will probably be broadcast all through each tournaments.