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Dan Dakich says college basketball fans advocating for the end of court-stormings need to relax … telling TMZ Sports the solution to the problem is super simple.
According to the former Hoosiers star … all schools need to do in order to avoid issues with the end-of-game fan rush is beef up police presence on nights where it’s likely to happen.
“The biggest deterrent is you get the cops — the police — big bright jackets,” Dakich said, “you surround the [losing] team, and no one’s coming.”
Dakich explained the protection from cops would still allow students to celebrate their universities’ biggest in-season achievements while keeping the most vulnerable safe. And, if schools fail to properly prepare for the potential outcome and things do get out of hand, he thinks hefty fines would make sure they stay on top of things.
“You’ve got to make it hurt,” Dakich said of the penalties. “You’ve got to make it a million.”
ESPN just showed a new angle of the court-storming at Wake Forest where Duke’s Kyle Filipowski was injured. Can clearly see where he hurts his knee as a fan taunts him while racing to midcourt. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/ABAsKC2kTI
— Kyle Boone (@kyletheboone) February 24, 2024
@kyletheboone
Of course, many in and out of the sport have called for an end to the longstanding tradition after Kyle Filipowski was injured by Wake Forest supporters after they rushed the floor following an 83-79 win on Saturday.
In fact, Jay Bilas — an ESPN analyst and a former Duke player — suggested citations or even arrests should be imposed in order to stop the madness.
ESPN’s Jay Bilas on court storming: “If they wanted to stop it, they could stop it tomorrow… You don’t have to stop the court storming. One time, all you have to do is once they’re on the court, don’t let them off. Just say, ‘You’re all detained’ and give them all citations or… pic.twitter.com/Bdbb0SZTDy
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 26, 2024
@awfulannouncing
But, Dakich — who actually had one of his players sustain a serious injury in a court-storming situation during his time as Bowling Green head coach — made it clear … he’s entirely opposed to all of that.
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“There’s like a 10 court-stormings a month,” Dakich said. “One time a Dukie a tweaks an ankle, and we’re out of our minds!!”
