Andrew Bogut hits back at Wildcats’ Angus Brandt over ‘pork chop’ barb
Angus Brandt set social media alight when he labelled Andrew Bogut a “pest” and “pork chop”, and the Sydney Kings star has offered a frank response ahead of their clash in Perth.
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Andrew Bogut says Perth big man Angus Brandt is more than welcome to throw out “name-calling like a 12-year-old”, but his barbs will mean little when the Kings clash with the Wildcats tonight.
Brandt set social media alight on Thursday when he labelled Bogut a “pest” and “pork chop” during an interview on TAB Radio.
The former King said he respected Bogut as a player but he didn’t agree with some of his opinions on Twitter.
As expected, Bogut offered a frank response once he landed in Perth on Thursday night.
“He’s entitled to his own opinion, it’s just interesting that for someone who doesn’t go on social media and doesn’t have an account, he knows a lot of what I’m tweeting,” Bogut said.
“That’s interesting in itself I think. It says more about him than me I reckon.
“I’m polarising in a way and I have strong opinions on certain things so you either love me or hate me, which isn’t an issue, but the fact that there were no backups to his claims and he just went straight to an insult shows more about him than it does anything else.
“If he wants to have a debate about things he doesn’t agree with me about, then great I’m happy to do that all he wants. But if you are just going to throw out name-calling like a 12-year-old kid, he’s more than welcome to do that but it doesn’t really accomplish anything.”
Bogut doesn’t expect Brandt’s sledge or his recent huddle confrontation with Perth coach Trevor Gleeson to flow on to the court.
“I’m not going out there to compete against Angus or Trev, it’s Sydney against Perth, and we are trying to get a win in one of the toughest places to play in Australia,” he said.
“That’s the mindset that I go on with. As far as everything else that’s happened, it’s added spice to an already pretty built up game. The NBL loves publicity and it doesn’t hurt, but at the same time I just move on from it and he’s entitled to his opinion, but at the end of the day he has to stand by what he says now.”
Bogut is also excited about his first appearance at RAC Arena to play in front of Perth’s Red Army.
He says he was wary of the Wildcats, especially with reigning MVP Bryce Cotton back in the line-up after missing last week’s loss to Sydney with a thumb injury.
“We know we are heavy underdogs coming in and Bryce is back so they have a point to prove after losing to us last week, and they obviously don’t lose a lot on their home floor,” he said.
“If we can come away with a win that’s the No. 1 priority, but we’ll almost have to play a perfect game to do that.
“Their home crowd almost gives them a 10-point lead from the jump ball and there’s a different whistle in that building as well so we just have to come out professionally and do the little things to beat them.
“I’m kind of envious of what they have and I’m looking forward to playing in a great environment. I’ve heard hands down it’s the best environment to play a basketball game in Australia so kudos to their fans for that and I expect nothing but a hostile reception.”
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Originally published as Andrew Bogut hits back at Wildcats’ Angus Brandt over ‘pork chop’ barb
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