Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter going back and forth is the best thing on Twitter this week

It all started so innocently. The Twitter account for Locker Room Access — a player oriented site for fans of Virginia athletics — posted a social lob in the recently popular comment/retweet/like format. The tweet asked followers to choose the “Biggest Play in UVA Basketball History” by commenting for Kyle Guy’s free throws against Auburn, retweeting for THE PLAY between Kihei Clark and Mamadi Diakite against Purdue, and liking for De’Andre Hunter’s game-tying three against Texas Tech.

Simple enough, right? Well Hunter decided to get in on the action, poking fun at good friend and former teammate Ty Jerome by bringing up the oft-discussed “double dribble” against Auburn that preceded the free throws.

We, of course, know that the “double dribble” was caused by Jerome’s jersey being tugged as Auburn tried to intentionally foul. It’s still funny to hear it from Hunter.

Jerome wasn’t going to stand for Hunter’s sass, however.

It’s pretty much impossible to not laugh at this point. Hunter, despite having the bucket that put Virginia ahead for good with 28 seconds to play in overtime, struggled against Purdue in the Elite Eight. He finished with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting from the field, and went 0-for-1 from three.

Hunter was quick to respond:

Hahaha. If you recall, Virginia trailed 16-seed Gardner-Webb by as many as 14 points (the biggest deficit of the season) in the first half of the NCAA tournament. The Hoos cut it to a six-point deficit at the half, and then Hunter exploded for 17 of his game-high 23 points as Virginia cruised to a 71-56 win.

Jerome wasn’t having any of it.

Hunter closed things out by going back to his old standby of reminding the guys that he wasn’t part of that historic loss to UMBC in 2018 as he missed the postseason with a wrist injury.

A fleeting but needed moment of levity in a pretty tough time. Stay the best, Ty and Dre.