What's college basketball without a bile-spitting, hate-you-more rivalry? Kentucky is, of course, no stranger to this phenomenon, with the Big Blue Nation holding more than a few grudges against both playes and programs across the historic board. A few, however, stand out above the rest.
Whether it be for one shining moment that caused years of hatred or consistent, unrelenting snarls that have pressed the blue and white's buttons for years, three players have earned their special spot on our list as the most disliked (in kind words) in Kentucky hoops history.
Hold your banners tight as we revisit these memories, BBN. Anger is a natural instinct.
3. Christian Watford
"The Wat Shot" is all I need to say to remind Cats fans of this one. Christian Watford's buzzer-beating jumper to elevate the Indiana Hoosiers over the eventual national champion Kentucky Wildcats is undoubtedly one of the most memorable moments in either program's history.
Kentucky was the favorite against everybody that year, so falling 73-72 to Indiana, and in such dramatic fashion, no less, was a stake to the heart of a fanbase that felt invincible at the time. What's far worse, though, is the aftermath to this shot.
Hoosier fans stormed the court, leaving Wildcats stranded within the chaos, which then resulted in John Calipari stating that he wouldn't take his team back to Assembly Hall. The series has since been reinstated, but Watford's shot essentially ended a years-long rivalry on a sour note for Kentucky. Bleh.
2. Montrezl Harrell
This may be a sneaky pick, as Harrell never actually beat Kentucky during his three-season run with Louisville, but he's the only name on this list that keeps finding ways to anger Kentucky fans across the Bluegrass.
Most recently, he was gloating on the scorer's table after Louisville's alumni team The Ville blew out Kentucky's own La Familia - before La Familia went on to win the series, mind you. Still, over the years, his continued beef with Willie Cauley-Stein has fueled the negative energy of the BBN, who have been happy to boo Harrell for more than a decade now, on and off.
His damage to Kentucky hoops is overall minimal, but every time Harrell is in Lexington, there's something rivalry-centered to talk about by the time the buzzer sounds.
1. Christian Laettner (Duke)
What's to say about this one that hasn't already been said? Laettner was widely seen as college basketball's villain during his time as a Duke Blue Devil, and his turnaround, miracle shot against Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight cemented him as both a tournament legend and the BBN's least favorite player of all time.
The whole ordeal was made much worse by Laettner having stomped on the chest of Wildcat Aminu Timberlake. After being spared an ejection in favor of a simple technical, he went on to win Duke the game in one of the craziest "what could've been" moments in March Madness history.
This list is debatable, no doubt; with years of battles with the likes of Duke, Louisville, Kansas, and others, I'm sure Cats fans have countless experiences they assign to their own most maligned rivals to ever play against Kentucky.
Laettner's stomp, however, is a non-negotiable. That's outrageous even now, almost 35 years later. I'll never be quiet about that one.
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