I agree that Duke should have its own region, having 8 hated guys (and another 8 who could have made it) is the ultimate compliment. That's why I'm glad to see Syracuse is one of the few schools with 3 players in the bracket, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas and Eric Devendorf. I wouldn't have thought people hated Sherman Douglas that much.
A lot of these players don't even seem that hateable to me. I loved Marcus Camby, Allen Iverson and Larry Johnson.
I would pick Reggie Miller from the 80s bracket (can't separate his NBA days), Eric Montross from the 90s and Adam Morrison for the 2000s (he'll never live down the crying). And though I know, and everyone else including the people at grantland who came up with the idea knows Christian Laettner is going to win (lose?), I would still pick Shane Battier. I hate that prick, especially because of the undue attention he gets.
I remember a game Dick Vitale was broadcasting when his play-by-play partner said Shane Battier would be joining them. Vitale's response ("Shane Battier! We're going to talk to Shane Battier?!") is an enduring signal of my hatred for that alien-headed jerk.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Christian Laettner and 31 Other Guys
The overly pretentious Bill Simmons website, grantland.com, is running a bracket-style tournament to pick the most hated college basketball player of the past 30 years. The players are broken up into 4 regions: 80s, 90s, 00s and Duke.
I agree that Duke should have its own region, having 8 hated guys (and another 8 who could have made it) is the ultimate compliment. That's why I'm glad to see Syracuse is one of the few schools with 3 players in the bracket, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas and Eric Devendorf. I wouldn't have thought people hated Sherman Douglas that much.
A lot of these players don't even seem that hateable to me. I loved Marcus Camby, Allen Iverson and Larry Johnson.
I would pick Reggie Miller from the 80s bracket (can't separate his NBA days), Eric Montross from the 90s and Adam Morrison for the 2000s (he'll never live down the crying). And though I know, and everyone else including the people at grantland who came up with the idea knows Christian Laettner is going to win (lose?), I would still pick Shane Battier. I hate that prick, especially because of the undue attention he gets.
I remember a game Dick Vitale was broadcasting when his play-by-play partner said Shane Battier would be joining them. Vitale's response ("Shane Battier! We're going to talk to Shane Battier?!") is an enduring signal of my hatred for that alien-headed jerk.
I agree that Duke should have its own region, having 8 hated guys (and another 8 who could have made it) is the ultimate compliment. That's why I'm glad to see Syracuse is one of the few schools with 3 players in the bracket, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas and Eric Devendorf. I wouldn't have thought people hated Sherman Douglas that much.
A lot of these players don't even seem that hateable to me. I loved Marcus Camby, Allen Iverson and Larry Johnson.
I would pick Reggie Miller from the 80s bracket (can't separate his NBA days), Eric Montross from the 90s and Adam Morrison for the 2000s (he'll never live down the crying). And though I know, and everyone else including the people at grantland who came up with the idea knows Christian Laettner is going to win (lose?), I would still pick Shane Battier. I hate that prick, especially because of the undue attention he gets.
I remember a game Dick Vitale was broadcasting when his play-by-play partner said Shane Battier would be joining them. Vitale's response ("Shane Battier! We're going to talk to Shane Battier?!") is an enduring signal of my hatred for that alien-headed jerk.
I agree that Duke getting its own bracket is a huge compliment, but I can't help but notice the racial makeup of the Blue Devils compared to the other 3 brackets. 6 white guys and 2 half white guys, really?
ReplyDeleteThat's what I don't understand about the Duke hatred. Dahntay Jones was a conceited prick, and Gerald Henderson and Jay Williams had their moments, too. Yet super nice guys like Greg Paulus and Battier are among the most hated? Seems like maybe a case of self-loathing there by hoops fans.
Battier is one of my all time favorite players in any sport, and the star of the 2000-2001 championship team my first year of law school. I loved chanting "Who's Your Daddy? Battier!" with a bunch of nerds.
I can see how Dickie V's over the top praising of him would rub you the wrong way, and he did flop too much, but Battier is an extremely nice, hard working, selfless player, and his teammates uniformly love him. If he had played at Syracuse you would've loved him, too, believe me.
I can see why people hate Austin Rivers (I'm no fan myself), and JJ Redick was pretty cocky, but Battier is entirely a different story.
a good player not on my team is a hated prick. Just the way it is. Mariano Rivera never did anything wrong and I hate the MoFo.
ReplyDeleteI understand MB. I'm a little different. I detest the Yankees, but I don't hate guys like Rivera, Jeter, Bernie Williams, etc. In fact I wish they had been on the Mets. Players like A-Rod and Clemens whom I'd hate either way get extra venom for being in pinstripes, but I don't have across the board animosity toward individual good players on the Yankees.
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling Kobe Bryant shares your opinion of Dahntay Jones.
ReplyDeleteI have been known to even hate overpraised players on my own team (see: McNamara, Gerry; Piazza, Mike) so I'm pretty sure I could have found a way to hate Battier too. His weird head, his fawning treatment from the media were bigger reasons to hate him than his style of play.
I do hate all Yankees just because they're Yankees. I could imagine myself liking Rivera or Jeter if they played for any other team, and loving them if they were on the Mets, but I don't feel that way about any Dukies except for Bobby Hurley.
The racial component of this is interesting, because the tournament is in the Final Four and the remaining players are Tyler Hansbrough, Rick Fox, Eric Montross and Christian Laettner (obvi).
ReplyDeleteWhat did Montross ever do except be a big white stiff?
But I think it cuts both ways, certain white guys get way more praise for being "scrappy" (see: McNamara, Gerry).
Duke deserved its own bracket because Laettner, Reddick and Hurley all deserve one seeds. And I'm a Duke admirer, not a hater.
ReplyDeleteBattier gets the bad rap because he's a Dukie, but he wasn't annoying or antagonistic like the 3white kids above. He is actually more athletic and intelligent and the best pro.
All good and fair points. And I completely agree that it cuts both ways with white players often being deemed "scrappy" which means unathletic but hard working.
ReplyDeleteHurley is another all time favorite of mine, and I think it's fair to admit that it's partially because he looks like a lot of us did in college, and we're impressed by the fact that a scrawny 5'11 white dude from NJ can play like that.