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Clippers’ J.J. Redick thinks it may be time for ‘complete overhaul’ of collegiate sports

J.J. Redick during the second half of the Clippers' win over the Lakers on Saturday.
(Ryan Kang / AP)
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Before J.J. Redick took on the state of the Clippers, he delved into what he called the “complex issue” of college amateur sports, coming to the conclusion that perhaps it is time to abolish collegiate athletics.

As we know them, that is, Redick said before the Clippers practiced Tuesday.

Redick made his views known after he tweeted Monday night following North Carolina’s victory over Gonzaga in the NCAA national championship game: “Congrats to UNC. Seriously. Also- every player on the court tonight should have been paid. Scholarships don’t count. Don’t @ me.”

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Redick said Tuesday that he doesn’t have a solution for a complex situation, and he acknowledges that “you want to be sensitive.”

“But the thing is, just as a general overview, the idea of amateurism, it doesn’t exist anymore,” Redick said. “And so if you’re going to do what you’re doing, then you just need that complete overhaul. It’s got to be something radical. It’s not just, ‘Oh, let’s just pay every player $5,000.’ It really requires something really radical. And maybe that’s getting rid of college athletics as we know it.

“These guys are professional athletes in everything they do. Without getting paid.”

Redick attended Duke for four seasons, leaving as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,769 points.

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“I go back to the Thomas Jefferson quote — I’m going to butcher it, but it’s something we’ve all read. ‘You wouldn’t expect a little boy to wear the pea coat he wore as a boy as a grown man.’ You need to change with the times,” Redick said. “And laws should reflect that, rules, regulations, especially as we know more. Gun control. I don’t want to get political, but gun control. That’s something that should evolve as technology evolves. When the 2nd Amendment was created, we had to worry about bears, people lived on the frontier and it took a minute to load a muzzle. I think laws should reflect where we are with guns.

“And it’s the same thing with amateurism, and the NCAA. If you’re playing in a sport that is making millions of dollars either for your school or the NCAA, you should get a piece of that and a scholarship doesn’t cover your piece — your rightful piece. That’s my two cents.”

Redick smiled and then talked about the Clippers building something in their last four regular-season games.

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“Yeah, I think we’re, in my opinion, I think we’re flying under the radar a little bit because we are playing better,” he said. “We had a couple bad losses during this stretch, but we are playing better. I like where we’re headed. I don’t necessarily like where we’re at. I like where we’re headed.”

Etc.

Clippers playoff tickets are going on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m., and can be purchased at www.clippers.com, www.axs.com or by calling (888) 929-7849. Fans can buy a maximum of six tickets to each of the four possible home playoff games in the first (round A) or second (round B) rounds. Only home games A1 and A2 are guaranteed.

CLIPPERS TONIGHT

VS. DALLAS

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Staples Center.

On the air: TV: Prime Ticket, ESPN; Radio: 570.

Records: Clippers 47-31; Mavericks 32-45

Records vs. Mavericks: Clippers 2-1.

Update: Clippers center DeAndre Jordan is shooting a career-high 71.1% from the field, meaning that he is on pace to shoot better than 70% for the third consecutive season. The Mavericks, who have officially been eliminated from the playoffs, average an NBA-low 98 points per game. But they allow just 100.4 points per game, fourth-best in the league.

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broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner

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