The Four Most Hated Players in the 2013 NCAA Tournament
We did this back in 2009, but in the years that followed, it would have been tough to even come up with four players. Grantland compiled a bracket of the most hated college basketball players over the last 30 years, and you’ll see just one in the years after our list. But thanks to a cocky Rebel, our list returns.
Marshall Henderson, Mississippi. Flashy, mouthy punk who excels at scoring and antagonizing the other team’s fan base. Torrid early, cooled down when the spotlight was on him in January, then resurgent in the last week, leading the Rebels to a highly unlikely SEC title. How is a guy I greatly enjoy watching on the “most hated” list? Because he’s a clown and hilarious tweets like this rile up the masses. The crooked hat and pants sagging to his knees probably don’t help.
Cody Zeller, Indiana. Flopper. Floppy Mc Flop Flop. If he played for Duke, he’d probably be 1st on to his list. And Michigan State fans still think Zeller hit himself in the nuts during a decisive play late in East Lansing. Also, he’s the most recognizable player on the team that Las Vegas has favored to win the title for the majority of the season.
Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA. The NCAA isn’t a fan of his work. Even after the brackets were revealed Sunday, Muhammad said he thought the NCAA was “always holding something against me.” There was the silly backpack saga (which actually had people feeling sympathetic for him, briefly). And the time his teammate Larry Drew hit a game-winning shot and Muhammad looked irked he didn’t get the ball. Plus, nobody likes an elite recruit, right?
Aaron Craft, Ohio State. Inspires hatred for reasons I cannot fathom. Is it the rosy cheeks? The tiny frame? He’s a cross between Steve Wojo and Chris Collins, two Duke guards who would have made this list if we did it back in the day. If Craft were a baseball player, there’s no doubt he’d be a slapped with the “scrappy” tag. He’s the face of the Buckeyes, who reached the Final Four last year, lost their best scorer, and could be headed back.
Honorable mention: Peyton Siva, Louisville; Doug McDermott, Creighton, Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State.

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113 Responses to “The Four Most Hated Players in the 2013 NCAA Tournament”
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March 18th, 2013 at 10:16 AM
Good list, but there has to be an annoying other white guy out there to replace Shabazz.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:17 AM
I don’t think I’ve heard a single person hate on Doug McD? Thought I’d see a Seth Curry/random Duke sighting in honorable mentions as well.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:17 AM
People hate craft because he’s white.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:20 AM
The people demand more Mike Bruesewitz on this list
March 18th, 2013 at 10:21 AM
I don’t think Craft has a tiny frame.
I, too, am puzzled by the preponderance of white dudes on all of these “most hated” lists.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:23 AM
Mitch McGary.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:23 AM
More Brusewitz? More Brusewitz.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:23 AM
This may be a shock to some, but I don’t hate Aaron Craft
March 18th, 2013 at 10:24 AM
Curry is only the 3rd most hateable guard on Duke, after Cook and Thornton. If those guys were white they’d be getting Paulus/Wojo-level hate.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:25 AM
I hate all the white guys on Wisconsin.
I’ll love him forever if he continues to hit shots. Can’t believe OSU got such a favorable draw.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:25 AM
It’s simple. 99% of college basketball fans are white guys who suck at basketball (or at least werent good enough to play D1). It’s jealousy.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:26 AM
In order for it not to be racist, 3/4ths of all most hated lists must include white people.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:28 AM
Replace Shabazz with Bo Ryan, don’t care that he isn’t a player
March 18th, 2013 at 10:29 AM
I agree with that assessment, but nobody really knows either of them. Curry is known and the fact that he can’t keep his mouthpiece actually in his mouth is horrible.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:29 AM
Huh? I’ve never heard any hatred directed his way whatsoever. Fans of other MVC teams don’t even hate him…Creighton has a couple of hatable thugs (Gregory Echinique is one of the biggest punks in all of college hoops), but McDermott isn’t one of them.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:30 AM
If anyone is compared to Wojo, the hate is valid.
/slaps floor
//takes charge
March 18th, 2013 at 10:30 AM
In all fairness, this is only b/c all black guys look alike.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:33 AM
He’s gotta be at least a 5th year Senior right?
March 18th, 2013 at 10:35 AM
9th year senior. He’s been in college longer than Eric Devendorf and Scottie Reynolds combined.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:35 AM
Peyton Siva, Louisville; Doug McDermott, Creighton, Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State.
Who hates any of those guys? They are awesome.
Plus, nobody likes an elite recruit, right?
What the hell does that even mean?
March 18th, 2013 at 10:37 AM
Agreed it is all Christian Laettner’s fault for America hating white people.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:37 AM
CBB fans are weird as fuck if this is true.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:38 AM
this post would be so much better if instead of four deserving players, there were 128 players listed even tho only a few of them are truly hate worthy.
/god i hate the CBB tourney
March 18th, 2013 at 10:39 AM
/team golf!
March 18th, 2013 at 10:39 AM
Closet hipster alert.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:41 AM
wtf, kelly olynyk misses the first three games of the season for assaulting a girl and he’s not on there?
March 18th, 2013 at 10:43 AM
Plus, nobody likes an elite recruit, right?
CBB fans are weird as fuck if this is true.
It isn’t true.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:43 AM
How bout 1st and 2nd team NCAA Tourney Criminal squads?
March 18th, 2013 at 10:45 AM
Olynyk looks like a cross between Mitch Kramer from Dazed and Confused and the androgynous body builder Jim Carrey played in In Living Color.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:45 AM
closet? please yo…i dont hide it.
and i hate the tourney because of it’s largely crap basketball and i hate underdogs.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:45 AM
Dude is a straight up mid western baller. Love his game, hoping they can take out Duke if they make it to round 2
March 18th, 2013 at 10:46 AM
Hilarious. You mean you aren’t excited for the first year of the CFB playoff where some team with 2 losses is bitching because they didn’t get in, and then the non-CFB fans saw that team beat, say, USC or ND, to close the year and get in an uproar over ONLY FOUR TEAMS!! and then they bitch and moan to get 8-12-16 teams in the tournaments? Then we’ll not give a fuck about the regular season and we’ll praise teams for stepping out of their league (EVEN IF THEY LOSE)?
March 18th, 2013 at 10:46 AM
But they play a commercial for The Masters every other break.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:48 AM
/masturbates
March 18th, 2013 at 10:48 AM
I enjoy the tournament, but I’m like Spencer in that I couldn’t care less about the underdogs. Give me the 8 best teams in the nation playing for the Final Four all day.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:49 AM
would you waste your time a strip club full of c-section-scarred hippos only to look at porn on your phone?
March 18th, 2013 at 10:51 AM
That argument ended with Alabama’s inclusion last year.
How is Plumlee not on here? Or Curry?
March 18th, 2013 at 10:51 AM
Yes?
March 18th, 2013 at 10:51 AM
You mean like 2007 CFB season in the BCS?
March 18th, 2013 at 10:52 AM
I haven’t watched a single CBB game this year. I will watch some of the tourny at a friend’s house, where i will be drinking and eating too much and ignoring the basketball going on and wondering aloud why it isn’t warm enough to golf yet.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:52 AM
Which was a travesty. Totally agree.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:52 AM
That was so awesome when “The Game of the Century” ended up meaning nothing.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:53 AM
The Most Hated Players are coached by Jim Boheim – whiny bitch punk.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:53 AM
UGA would have most likely been among the four that got in, to be honest. I like the four team model. 6 would have been my choice, but 8+ is just terrible, and you know it’s coming.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:53 AM
We get that their are CBB haters out there. We fucking get it, you don’t like it. You amde your point now move the fuck on. Go whine about a baseball salary cap….or something.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:53 AM
It was funny yesterday sitting between Gator fans as that game was going on. All they could talk about was Henderson. I very much enjoyed Miami winning and Florida losing.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:54 AM
I hate Aaron Craft because of the school he plays for. No other reason. I like watching him play as long as it isn’t against Michigan. If he played for anybody else (excluding MSU), I would root for him not against him.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:55 AM
counterpoint: just sayin’.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:55 AM
The tournament is not about basketball, it’s about gambling and getting out of work early on Thursday and Friday.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:55 AM
This Henderson kid has worn stale, but seeing that old guy in the GIF get all riled up makes me chuckle every damn time.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:56 AM
/spinning high five
I can’t explain what it was like watching Miami win the ACC tourney title having grown up in the middle of ACC country. Surreal.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:56 AM
The tournament is not about basketball, it’s about gambling and getting out of work early on Thursday and Friday.
More of this please
March 18th, 2013 at 10:56 AM
One of the best GIFs I’ve ever seen. I think I’ve seen it from start-to-finish at least 100 times.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:57 AM
Well, it’s about both of those things, plus drinking and watching sports with your friends. The first two days of the tournament sorta makes you feel like a 21 year old again.
March 18th, 2013 at 10:59 AM
I like the guy on the right that takes off his hat. He’s sooooooo mad.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:00 AM
He’s easily the best part of it.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:00 AM
had no idea that many people actually “hate” cody zeller. works hard, stays out of trouble, graduating in 2.5 years. also, not a reason:
he’s the most recognizable player on the team that Las Vegas has favored to win the title for the majority of the season.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:01 AM
Tom Crean’s the only part of Indiana basketball I actively dislike…the team itself is fun to watch when they’re not getting gummed up playing Wisconsin
March 18th, 2013 at 11:03 AM
I don’t really hate him. I just think he sucks. And won’t be shit in the NBA. I do hate that Yogi Ferrel kid.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:04 AM
How can you hate on that hair? He’s definitely a Pert Plus guy
March 18th, 2013 at 11:05 AM
I like the guy on the right that takes off his hat. He’s sooooooo mad.
See I think hat boy got owned. The old guy is like Agent Smith in The Matrix, fighting Neo in the subway. Gets thrown down but just rises up like an apparition. Also, probably the first time this old guy stood at a hoops game since the first Ford administration.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:05 AM
Craft has to be about 6’2″, not exactly a tiny frame. Only player on that list that is truly hateable is Henderson
March 18th, 2013 at 11:05 AM
I’m sick to death of Henderson (and the way in particular this site promotes him), but that GIF is all kinds of awesome.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:06 AM
hat guy: kid with white hat that comes down the line, or the striped shirt hat guy with horse teeth?
March 18th, 2013 at 11:06 AM
Didn’t take you for a closet Marquette fan
March 18th, 2013 at 11:07 AM
striped shirt.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:08 AM
So much to love in that in that GIF. Security guard is just laughing at it all.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:08 AM
Fruit Stripe Gum kid.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:09 AM
How dare you, him having success and pissing off MU fans is the only redeeming quality I can see there
/Go Davidson
March 18th, 2013 at 11:09 AM
That guy next to the old standing guy, he might be 120 years old. Props to him for showing up.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:09 AM
The dude who strafes in with the double bird flying is also fantastic. The old man calling Henderson a jackass. The black dude in the white shirt smiling. The guys at the booth (media I assume) smirking while it goes down. The hot blonde (Aub has plenty of them) who gets hit in the head with the sign. It’s just awesome.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:10 AM
The old man in the front calling Marshall a jackass has always been my favorite
March 18th, 2013 at 11:10 AM
GIF of the Year; Non-alluring female category. Shut it down.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:12 AM
Doug Gottlieb hates Aaron Craft
March 18th, 2013 at 11:12 AM
The old man in the front calling Marshall a jackass has always been my favorite
/high five
March 18th, 2013 at 11:13 AM
He’s atop my list. Dude gets alot of calls his way, and he pushes off defenders like he’s moving his dingy from the dock.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:14 AM
He’s just jealous.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:14 AM
That Aaron Craft gif is anticlimactic
March 18th, 2013 at 11:15 AM
To be fair Doug Gottlieb hates everything…he’s attempting to become the new Billy Packer but just can’t replicate the original, too much smug and not enough curmudgeon
March 18th, 2013 at 11:17 AM
I hate Eric Devendorf more than anyone in college basketball, and he’s been gone for a few years. That dude was straight trash.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:17 AM
Anyone else hate that targeting the head flagrant foul? That’s gonna fuck some team at a critical point during the tourney.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:18 AM
I can’t think of any reason on-court or off to hate either one of these guys. Craft probably isn’t hateable either.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:21 AM
/eats cupcake
March 18th, 2013 at 11:21 AM
Top Five most hated players in the Masters field:
Phil – the moobs, the permagrin, also highly likely to have a lobster face from forgetting suntan lotion.
Bradley – Phil’s protege. His constant bug eyes is becoming a tired act.
Poulter – Euro Ryder Cup hero with a lot to say for somebody who without a major.
Molinari – Little euro weasel with potential to make the weekend unwatchable.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:22 AM
Shoot, meant four. I’d put Kevin Na on there for slow play but he is not a threat to win so I wont include him.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:24 AM
Agree. Especially about Poulter.
Molinari – Little euro weasel with potential to make the weekend unwatchable.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:25 AM
Wow. I messed that up. Must be a case of the “Mondays”.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:27 AM
1. poulter – always poulter
2. rory – ()
3. furyk – should be banned from wearing a 5 hour energy hat on augusta grounds
4. phil – not sure why tho
5. bubba – fake
March 18th, 2013 at 11:27 AM
Ha.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:28 AM
And flops incessantly. Hate that guy.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:28 AM
neither is molinari…not sure how he’s hateable unless you watch a ton of euro tour, and even then, not sure how.
/team wops
March 18th, 2013 at 11:29 AM
Gottlieb doesnt hate everything. He feels like he has to overcompensate for East Coast bias in the media. He hates on Duke/Carolina/Kentucky and the Big East above everything else. The smug is definitely strong in him though, but he’s just too young to be curmudgeonly.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:29 AM
Devendorf was probably my most hated player ever, also.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:30 AM
Put me down for Brian Cardinal whose 7 years at Purdue didn’t do anybody any good
March 18th, 2013 at 11:31 AM
tom coverdale was very hateable.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:33 AM
Worst shooting high major point guard in recent history?
Worst shooting white high major point guard in recent history, I would say.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:36 AM
Doesn’t Laettner have to be on this list?
March 18th, 2013 at 11:38 AM
I’d of listed Furyk but to me he’s dead to me. Suck a sucky piece of shit unworthy of further comments.
There’s always one of those weasels that is a fly in the ointment of Masters powerplayers. That all said, I’d be happy if Phil or Keegan won I am just saying they have high hate potential.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:39 AM
tom coverdale was very hateable.
that’s raycess to gingers.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:40 AM
Chris Webber.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:41 AM
oh, well if it’s hate potential, tiger’s gotta be number one on that list. people will hate on him for literally any reason.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:46 AM
You gotta love how Trevor Immelman and Mike friggin Weir have green jackets, but Greg Norman does not.
I’m probably alone on this but Norman should have a lifetime exemption at Augusta. Him contending on a Sunday one more time would be absolutely amazing. And the inevitable choke even more so.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:46 AM
It’s different with Tiger. Some people we hate when they win. With Tiger and LeBron I feel like we hate them when they lose.
March 18th, 2013 at 11:57 AM
agreed…i like norman more and more as time goes on, win or lose. win, he’s fucking great and probably rolled the field. lose, probably an epic disaster. win-win for viewers. plus, dude could fucking drive the shit out of the ball.
agreed.
March 18th, 2013 at 12:01 PM
stop fucking linking to posts without comments!
March 18th, 2013 at 12:08 PM
Tiger better dial in a major this year. Lotta pressure.
March 18th, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Rotnei Clarke – Butler – Known chucker
March 18th, 2013 at 12:40 PM
Aaron Craft plays basketball the right way and wouldnt fit in with the culture of 99.99999% of AAU teams across the country.
Thus, he’s hated and a piece of shit.
March 18th, 2013 at 12:43 PM
Aaron Craft plays basketball the right way and wouldnt fit in with the culture of 99.99999% of AAU teams across the country.
Thus, he’s hated and a piece of shit.
i think we just don’t like awkward white boys. for instance ryan kelly may be a fine player but i want to punch his weak-chinned enthusiastic face with a hellboy fist
March 18th, 2013 at 12:48 PM
If missing jump shots is the right way to play ball it’s time to shut basketball down for re-tooling
March 18th, 2013 at 1:38 PM
Craft carries the ball and gets away with a lot of grabbing on reputation.
And Tom Crean does coach his players to grab the opponents arm and hit themselves. Sheehey tried it in the closing minute of the Minnesota loss.
March 18th, 2013 at 2:13 PM
Craft very much so played AAU basketball. He played with Sullinger if I remember correctly.
March 18th, 2013 at 2:16 PM
I don’t think Shabazz is hated whatsoever. I just think he’s overrated.