Every player in NCAA Basketball elicits some kind of emotion for the fans, most are good. What are the players who only bring about bad memories and bad emotions?
Every fanbase and every individual fan has the players and teams they do not like for whatever reason. Some of them still bring back bad memories for fans whether it was a clutch shot or the antics on the court, we all have a few on our own personal lists. You know, those players that make you utter the words “I can’t stand that guy.” Busting Brackets is here to set the record straight of the most disliked players in NCAA Basketball.
This list encompasses players over the last thirty years and every single player in NCAA Basketball over that time was eligible. Every player on this list was disliked on a national level by every fan base but their own. However, most of the players fanbases will understand why the player finds himself on the list. Everyone should ask the question, what did these players do that made everyone dislike them?
Those questions will be answered below, but the one thing that every single one of these players shared was the fact every one of them was an impact player who changed games and helped their team win a large amount of games. If the players were nobodies or the last guy off the bench would anyone really remember their antics?
Everyone of these players made clutch baskets, won national championships and made an indelible mark on the game with their attitudes, antics and overall demeanor. The list may bring back some horrible memories from the player mentioned. Without further ado, the 10 players who are universally disliked in NCAA Basketball are coming up.
10. Tyler Hansbrough – North Carolina
The list of great players to have come through Chapel Hill is long and prestigious. Hansbrough could be one of the best to ever dawn Tarheel Blue. Over his 4-year career, the big man averaged over 20 points per game to go along with eight rebounds. The former Tar Heel was the catalyst for some of the greatest teams in North Carolina history, and it all culminated in a National Championship his senior year.
At the end of his junior year the big man was named the national Player of the Year by every publication. He was also named the ACC player of the year, and the MVP of both the NCAA Tournament regional and the ACC tournament. He was the third player in ACC history to accomplish that feat. Hansbrough was fun to watch and is revered by North Carolina fans. It was the way the rest of the country feel about Hansbrough.
Nicknamed “Psycho T”, because the intensity in which he played. The intensity was often viewed as a cockiness or a swagger and many fans wished Hansbrough would have been humbler. The former Tar Heel did like to talk to his opponents and was never shy about celebrating a big moment in the game. Hansbrough reignited the Duke rivalry when him and another member of the list Gerald Henderson had an altercation.
Much like Aaron Craft, Hansbrough always made the right play and was known for his ability to make a clutch shot. The big man was hard enough to stop without the intensity and the extra celebrations that he was good at. Everyone will remember Psycho T for his intensity and his swagger.
9. Joakim Noah – Florida
Noah played on consecutive National Championship teams for Florida. The big man showed how dominant of a presence he could be in those seasons. During his sophomore season the former Gator averaged 14 points and seven rebounds. Noah was named the most outstanding player of the NCAA tournament that season and was a huge reason why the Gators were able to beat UCLA for their first title. Noah had 16 points, nine rebounds and an astounding six blocks in his first title game.
The allure of the NBA came calling yet Noah decided to stay in Gainesville for one more season. That season would lead them back to the NCAA title game. Once again Noah, was a big catalyst for that. The big man averaged 12 points and eight rebounds during his junior campaign and once again Noah had some huge games in route the NCAA title. If he helped Florida win two National titles why is he on this list?
The big man played the game with a swagger and attitude that got underneath everyone’s skin. It was not so much the way he played but his attitude towards everything, Noah speaks his mind freely about every subject and comes across too many as an elitist who is better than everyone. He is a carefree guy, who likes to party and seems to not care all that much about playing basketball. He has alienated fans, schools and opponents. Compared to the rest of the list, Noah and his antics were mild.
8. Metta World Peace – St. Johns
Metta World Peace or the player formally known as Ron Artest is known for one thing and that is being a dirty player on the basketball court. It is a shame that has overshadowed what was a great career in Jamaica, New York while attending St. John’s. In his two years with the Red Storm the guard made a name for himself as a defensive stalwart and a hard-nosed gritty player.
The New York native made a name for himself in the high-profile summer basketball tournaments held around the city. He was able to show his ability to play at a high level on the defensive end of the floor while also at times being a prolific scorer. He was also able to show the same ability in his games at St. Johns. This earned him the nickname of the New World Order, because many thought he was changing the way the basketball was played.
It is the hard-nosed gritty way that World Peace played that earned him a spot on this list. He was known for stretching the rules of his aggressiveness to the end and would often let them result in a cheap shot on the opponent or a technical for an egregious foul. Whether it was a punch to the opponent he got away with or just the way he used to use his body on a boxout he was rough and physical to the point of many deeming him a “thug”.
World Peace may never be famous for his actual basketball ability but for the way he played and carried himself on the court. The branding of thug has carried over to conversations to this day about his play. Everyone forgets how talented of a basketball player he was.
7. Aaron Craft – Ohio State
While reading this every fan of Big Ten basketball just let out a collective groan. Craft was the one player who all fans of basketball in that conference will say was able to get away with anything. The best part is every Ohio State buckeye fan loves him, and every fan of every other team in that league wishes he never would have played in the conference.
The guard was never a flashy player, he only averaged double-digit points in a season one time. The reason he is so revered by Ohio State, was his unselfish play and the ability to get others involved. Craft earned starters minutes from the day he stepped foot on campus as the point guard position. He was one of the best on ball defenders in Ohio State history, having the record for the most steals in a career. The teams that Craft led on offense won a ton of games and were some of the more decorated Ohio State teams in the school’s history.
Why is a player like Craft on this list? The guard never made a mistake, he was one of the more clutch players in the NCAA during his time. It should also be noted that many fans think Craft got every call. Watching the film, it appeared Craft may have been officiated differently than his peers. He was able to play much closer than the average player on defense and make far more contact than anyone else. Fouls were rarely called on the former Buckeye.
Craft always made the right play and just when it appeared that Ohio State was on the brink of a loss, the guard would rise from the ashes and make or set up a clutch basket. The guard was disliked for being too good at his sport of choice.
6. Gerald Henderson – Duke
The former Blue Devil has basketball blood lines as his father was a star in both the NBA and in College. The younger Henderson was also a star at Duke in his time there. Entering college Henderson was a great athlete and could have chosen to play several sports while at Duke. He was a scratch golfer and was a star in the high jump and triple jump. Henderson chose the one sport at where he was able to utilize his athletic talent.
On the basketball floor, the guard turned into one of the main scoring options for the Blue Devils. His last season in Durham he averaged just over 16 points per game. In the process he was also earning a reputation as a dirty player and a thug. What he believed was a high motor and aggressiveness, the rest of the country especially those whom are fans of the ACC saw a dirty player who was getting treatment from the referees because of the name on the front of the jersey.
It all culminated in the rivalry game against North Carolina. It is amazing that Henderson made it out of the game alive especially with the game being in Chapel Hill. With time ticking down in the second half of a North Carolina win, Tyler Hansbrough missed a free throw, and when he went up to get his own rebound, Henderson came, and shoulder dropped and elbowed the North Carolina star in the head giving him a bloody nose.
Watching it on video the contact was far from incidental and looked to be a cheap shot. Unfortunately, this was not the only time that Henderson let his aggressive and physical play win out. He finds him self on the list for the Hansbrough incident, but there were others.
5. JJ Redick – Duke
Redick is arguably one of the top five Duke basketball players of all time. He made an instant impact from the time he stepped foot on campus. Over the course of his career, the former guard averaged 20 points per game and was a career 40% free throw shooter. Redick never won a national title but he was able to claim the consensus National Player of the Year before his career in Durham was over.
Duke is one of more disliked teams in the country and Redick is the second player on this list from the school. Redick fits what many call the “Duke persona.” The Duke persona is another term for a trust fund kid who grew up privileged, came to Duke and was able to exhibit the same types of behaviors they could when they were younger.
During his time in Durham no player was disliked more than Redick. While he was in college some students from Maryland and North Carolina acquired the guards cell phone number and would leave him upwards of 75 messages per day expressing their disdain for him. Redick relished in that light and fully embraced the privileged, preppy attitude the Duke puts off. The former Blue Devil has admitted that all of the disdain and the trouble that the fans gave him was completely warranted and he brought a lot of it on himself.
He still somewhat feels that he is above NCAA Basketball, as he recently said that the College basketball product is terrible, and he cannot watch it. He was smug and cocky, and he loved it and he still doesn’t appear to care.
4. Marshall Henderson – Ole Miss
During his time at Ole Miss, Henderson was one of the best scorers in the SEC and the entire country. The guard started his career at Utah and left after one season due to personal reasons and his want to be closer to home. After a season in the JUCO ranks the guard arrived in Mississippi and changed the course of Ole Miss basketball.
The guard helped Ole Miss get back to the NCAA tournament in the 2012-2013 season, it was the first time the Rebels had made it since 2001. The guard and his 20.1 points per game helped the Rebels to an upset over Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament. The next season Henderson scored 19 points per game but was not good enough to get to the NCAA tournament and his team fizzled out in the SEC Tournament. The guard is remembered in the annals of NCAA basketball for a far different reason.
The guard was brash, cocky and did many things thought of as an attention grab. Couple that with the fact that he was arrested for drugs and alcohol while in college and you have a player who fans remember for all the wrong reasons. Many wonders how a player like Henderson could still find a home in college basketball, he was seemingly always causing a problem for both the administration and the coaches he played for.
The former Rebel was not liked by many fanbases and seeing his antics, like running over to the opponents’ side of the stands and puffing out his chest and showing the Ole Miss on his jersey during a game. He was also seen showing the opponents who was number one after the NCAA tournament loss to LaSalle. It is not hard to see why Henderson finds himself on this list.
3. Eric Devendorf – Syracuse
Devendorf did not have quite the career that some of the others on this list did, but he was good enough to be disliked by everyone especially fans of ACC basketball. Much like players from Duke and North Carolina, the Syracuse Orangemen are a team that has their fair share of fans who love to watch them lose. The guard would only make that feeling worse nationally.
Devendorf averaged 14.5 points per game over the four years he was at Syracuse and he was one of the better shooters in the Big East during his time there. The teams he played on were not some of Syracuses best, but the fans lined up in droves to watch Devendorf play. They lined up usually to heckle and to let him know what they thought of his antics.
The former Syracuse player finds himself on this list for several reasons. He had tattoos, a loudmouth and was the first player on this list who was suspended from the team due to his actions. Devendorf was a hothead by definition and that got him in trouble a few times on the basketball court as well as off the basketball court. He allegedly struck a female student in an altercation and the Syracuse board suspended him from the team.
This obviously struck a cord with a large number of people, and pair that with his “I don’t care” attitude and you have one of the most disliked players Big East hoops have ever seen. Devendorf seems to have recovered okay from his troubled past at Syracuse as he is now an assistant basketball coach at the University of Detroit Mercy.
2. Grayson Allen – Duke
I am sensing a trend among great Duke players and their perception by the fans? Here is yet another Duke player who was given a long leash by Coach K and seemed to use up every last inch of that leash. Even though he did not look it, Allen was one of the more athletic players on the Duke team that defeated Wisconsin for the National Championship. The guard was a McDonalds All American and won the dunk contest at that event.
Allen never fully lived up to the lofty expectations put on him after his breakout sophomore year that saw him score 22 points per game. Heading into his sophomore year the guard was being lauded for his performance in the National Championship game in which he scored 16 points and 8 of them in a row. Allen was a good 4 year player for Duke but it is not his not his play that will live on in everyone’s memory.
During his sophomore year in a physical and aggressive game against Louisville, Allen intentionally tripped Louisville’s Ray Spalding. He was assessed a technical for it, but a short time later he could be seen throwing his elbows around in a scuffle for a rebound. This led to another technical and an ejection for the profanity laced tirade directed at the referee a little later. Allen would go on to intentionally trip Elon’s Steven Santa Ana a season later leading to a suspension from the team.
Allen has always made it out that he was the victim and people were picking on him throughout the entire 4-year career at Duke he never seemed to truly mature and at moments acted a lot younger than his age would suggest. His actions and playing of the “victim card” wore on fans. The act became tired quickly and many fans believe Coach K was too lenient on his star. Allen currently plays for the Utah Jazz in the NBA, where just recently he was back to his old actions on rookie Grant Williams. Old Habits die hard.
1. Christian Laettner – Duke
The time has arrived, the list has reached the penultimate player that the entire college basketball world says in unison “I couldn’t stand that guy.” Laettner was the greatest player in Dukes storied history and that is saying something. He was also the player who many people disliked then and when mentioned in conversation still brings uneasy feelings.
Laettner will live on in the annals of College Basketball, after all he did hit one of the biggest shots in the history of the game. The video sequence of the shot is played on the lead into the NCAA tournament games every season. No one will ever forget that shot, it doesn’t hurt that he is a two-time National Champion, Consensus Player of the Year, and the ACC player of the year. He was also on the dream team which no one else on this list will ever be able to say.
The villain role suits Laettner, much like his former Duke brother the big man embraced the disdain and it drove him. The world dislikes Laettner so much that ESPN did a 30 for 30 on that very subject titled “I hate Christian Laettner.” It outlines that Laettner admitted to stepping on a player and he flat-out doesn’t care what you think of him.
As was mentioned earlier about the “Duke persona” who better to fit into the category than the one player who helped create it. The former Blue Devil was cocky, arrogant, and extremely self-absorbed over his time in Durham. Laettner knew he was better than you on the court and knew that he was going to be officiated differently as a result.
The sheer dislike for Duke was perpetuated by guys like Laettner, so much so that some fans have made it a lifestyle. They still print the shirts that read “I still hate Christian Laettner” they are sold on the internet. No one player has ever had as lasting of an effect both on the court and in peoples minds quite like Laettner.