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J.J. Redick

Grayson Allen becomes the latest Duke player fans love to hate

Nicole Auerbach
USA TODAY Sports

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke guard Grayson Allen gained a measure of celebrity following his performance in the 2015 men's basketball Final Four.

Duke's Grayson Allen (3) reacts to a call against Wisconsin during the second half of the NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament championship game Monday, April 6, 2015, in Indianapolis.

He used to slip through campus unrecognized. Now, there are congratulatory high-fives. Photos requested, or secretly snapped. Requests for autographs while shopping in Target. Seventy-six thousand Twitter followers. More "Fifty Shades of Grayson" signs in the Cameron Indoor Stadium student section. His mother, Sherry Allen, says she's heard that someone has named their child Grayson Allen.

It's strange for Allen, it's strange for his parents — but it's not strange for a certain subset of sports fans: Those who proudly call themselves Duke haters. They're used to finding The Guy they love to hate, The Guy they just simply can't stand. Christian Laettner is the best example; J.J. Redick and Jon Scheyer two of the most recent. Grayson Allen's turn has come.

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"There always seems to be one," says Jeff Capel, Duke's associate head coach. "It's always fascinating to me how it's usually a white guy. It's so odd that that's the case."

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Says Allen: "I noticed it when I wasn't even playing. I would play like one minute or not even get in at all. I'd see on Twitter — people would say, 'I hate that Grayson Allen guy at the end of the bench.' I'm like, 'What did I do?! I was in the game for 30 seconds.' I guess that's just kind of risen to an extreme now."

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Though Allen doesn't embrace the idea of being That Guy, he understands it. He's earned it.

"With Duke, there's about just as much hate as there is love, and I think that's going to come with it," he says. "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."

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