Hunter Dickinson shares thoughts on Michigan State rivalry: 'I love everything about it'
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines basketball will take on Michigan State Saturday at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing, a clash of in-state rivals that don’t have much affinity for one another.
Junior center Hunter Dickinson plays the villain role quite well — head coach Juwan Howard says he does so to take the pressure off of his teammates, in part — not just in the rivalry. But he has made some pointed comments about the Spartans during his career.
“We’re just so much better than them in everything,” Dickinson said in December on his podcast, Roundball. “You only go to Michigan State if you didn’t get in to Michigan.”
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That, of course, didn’t sit well with the MSU fan base, which already doesn’t think highly of the 7-foot-1, 260-pound All-American.
“I mean, I know as a Michigan man, no Michigan State fan is ever going to like you,” Dickinson said on Big Ten Network before the season. “So it’s like, why even try? I’d rather just have them hate me than be average. For me, it’s funny. I try to be funny, and I have a great time with it. I enjoy making fun of the little brother and Ohio State, so it’s just fun for me.”
Dickinson has showed up against the Spartans, too. He scored a career-high 33 points in an 87-70 rout of MSU at Crisler Center last season. He put up 25 in a loss in East Lansing earlier that campaign, and scored 14 and 12 in two meetings his freshman year, respectively.
In last year’s matchup in Ann Arbor, Dickinson gestured to the MSU bench after a few of his many buckets, which riled up Spartans head coach Tom Izzo. It doesn’t take much for Izzo’s blood to boil — he’s known for his outbursts — and Dickinson appeared to push the right buttons.
Following Michigan’s 79-69 win over Penn State to improve to 3-0 in Big Ten play, the Wolverines’ leading scorer weighed in on the upcoming matchup with the in-state foe.
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“It’ll be a fun one, for sure,” Dickinson said. “That’s what this rivalry is all about, is big-time games. They just came off a big win themselves.
“There’s a lot of history in that matchup. There’s obviously a lot of rivalries. It’s just funny how a kid from D.C. has gotten into this matchup and gotten so involved in it.
“I love it. I love the rivalry. I love everything about it, because that’s what’s fun about sports, is having these rivalries. At the end of the day, it’s just sports, but it’s amazing, and I can’t wait for Saturday.”
Dickinson will brush the hate from the opposing fans aside Saturday, knowing the Wolverines aren’t there to make friends.
“I wasn’t expecting to go in and get applauded out there, so I don’t think it’s really going to be any different,” Dickinson said with a smile. “They might boo me a little extra, but … they don’t like us and we don’t like them, so it’s not like I was going in there to Kumbaya with the fans.”
