Grayson Allen Staying At Duke, May Become Most Hated Blue Devil Ever

Grayson Allen was faced with two options this spring: enter the NBA Draft in the hopes of being a first-round pick, or remain at Duke and potentially become the most hated Blue Devil of all time.

Grayson Allen Staying At Duke

The 20-year-old guard chose to return with the Blue Devils for his junior season, Duke announced Wednesday.

After busting out during Duke’s national championship victory as a freshman last year, Allen emerged this past season as a tremendous player. However, he also gained a reputation as a pusher, a shover, a flopper and a tripper. As if many college basketball fans didn’t already hate Duke, Allen added even more hatred and fuel to the fire.

Allen will surely soon become a highly recognizable and unforgettable face in college basketball, and be as hated as other notable former Blue Devils like Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner and J.J. Redick. Ferry, Laettner and Redick each played four seasons, increasing in productivity each year.

Allen knows he is hated, too. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, nicknamed “Coach K,” even calls him an a–hole in practice, although this may be just a playful term, and Allen seems to be fine with it.

“With Duke, there’s about just as much hate as there is love, and I think that’s going to come with it,” Allen told USA Today Sports in November. “I think the aggressive and loud way that I played in the championship game is kind of polarizing; you either love it or you hate it. That’s going to come with it and I don’t really mind it.”

Some people even think that although Allen hasn’t explicitly said it, he enjoys the hatred, and that he is just using it as fuel at this point to drive his success. Redick explicitly stated it in a recent interview.

“I enjoyed it. In a very sick way, I enjoyed it,” Redick told GQ in February about the jeers he got. “It’s funny because I am like a self-motivated person. So I already feel like I’ve got some fire to me and that would just pour more lighter fluid on the fire.”

Allen appears to have several attributes for which he can be hated: he’s the white kid from a private school, a national champion, and a dirty player. Above all, he’s the player who basks in all of this with a smug smile, knowing he’s unstoppable.

 

LOUISVILLE, KY – FEBRUARY 20:  Grayson Allen #3 of the Duke Blue Devils dribbles the ball during the game against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on February 20, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky.  (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)