ESPN: New 30 for 30 Documentary “I Hate Christian Laettner” To Premiere in 2015

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BleedGopher

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per ESPN:

ESPN Films today announced a new 30 for 30 film that will debut in 2015 as part of the award-winning and critically-acclaimed documentary series. “I Hate Christian Laettner,” directed by Rory Karpf (“The Book of Manning,” “Tim Richmond: To The Limit”), will premiere Sunday, March 15, at 9 p.m. ET after Bracketology on ESPN. Through interviews with former teammates and rivals as well as Laettner himself, the film explores why the polarizing basketball player was—and still is—so disliked.

“I Hate Christian Laettner;” Sunday, March 15, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
He made perhaps the most dramatic shot in the history of the NCAA basketball tournament. He’s the only player to start in four consecutive Final Fours, and was instrumental in Duke winning two national championships. He had looks, smarts and game. So why has Christian Laettner been disliked so intensely by so many for so long? Maybe it was the time he stomped on the chest of a downed player, or the battles he had with his teammates, or a perceived sense of entitlement. But sometimes, perception isn’t reality.

“I Hate Christian Laettner” will go beyond the polarizing persona to reveal the complete story behind this lightning rod of college basketball. Featuring extensive access to Laettner, previously unseen footage and perspectives from all sides, this film will be a “gloves-off” examination of the man who has been seen by many as the “Blue Devil Himself.”

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-r...-hate-christian-laettner-to-premiere-in-2015/

Go Gophers!!
 

My favorite era of college basketball. Teams got up and down the court and scored, some real polarizing players and teams, guys generally stuck around 3-4 years. Coaches were identifiable with their school. It really brought us some classic games and names.
 

He's misunderstood. Yes, how many times have we heard that - including about Royce White?
 

He's the best of my era

Laettner was always an easy guy to dislike, but since the time (early 80s) I intently started watching college basketball without question I'd define Laettner as the best college basketball player I've ever seen. 4-year player, productive, fiercely competitive, fantastic in the clutch, and most importantly, his teams won big.

If I had to compare him to one former Gopher, it would be Bobby Jackson. Stone-cold assassins on the court. You just knew they'd find a way to get something done when it mattered most.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Laettner was always an easy guy to dislike, but since the time (early 80s) I intently started watching college basketball without question I'd define Laettner as the best college basketball player I've ever seen. 4-year player, productive, fiercely competitive, fantastic in the clutch, and most importantly, his teams won big.

If I had to compare him to one former Gopher, it would be Bobby Jackson. Stone-cold assassins on the court. You just knew they'd find a way to get something done when it mattered most.
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Not sure about everything in your first paragraph, but the second paragraph is spot on. 'Stone cold assassins' was Bobby Jackson at crunch time in virtually every tourney game making sure at the end of a close game (a close game was every tourney game that year) that the ball was thrown in to him, dribbling until he was fouled, and with a 'cold as ice' fashion he swished free throws that insured a win for the gophers in the close affair. After watching the Gophers reach the final four and watching Jackson, there was no doubt a very productive and long Jackson NBA career was unfolding.
 


They should do a 30 for 30 on Clem Haskins and the 97 team
 

SelectionSunday said:
Laettner was always an easy guy to dislike, but since the time (early 80s) I intently started watching college basketball without question I'd define Laettner as the best college basketball player I've ever seen. 4-year player, productive, fiercely competitive, fantastic in the clutch, and most importantly, his teams won big.

If I had to compare him to one former Gopher, it would be Bobby Jackson. Stone-cold assassins on the court. You just knew they'd find a way to get something done when it mattered most.
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I have one degree of separation from the guy. He married a relative of a good friend. There is no doubting his basketball acumen, but the man is nuts and comes from a family that makes him look sane. Sad adult life unfolded for him. It will be interesting to see what the documentary does with that part of his life. The Royce White comparison is not far off.
 

I lived in Kentucky at the time, and count me in as a guy that hated Laettner. It wasn't just the "shot" that bothered me, but there was an incident when he stomped on Aminu Timberlake's stomach that did it for me. I was extremely disappointed when the Timberwolves drafted him.
 

Will this be narrated by Cherokee Parks?
 



i am surprised 30 for 30 can get it done in one episode. There should be enough material for a Ken Burns length mini-series
 

This 30 for 30 is tonight! I'm really looking forward to this one.

Go Gophers!!
 

WaterBoy said:
I lived in Kentucky at the time, and count me in as a guy that hated Laettner. It wasn't just the "shot" that bothered me, but there was an incident when he stomped on Aminu Timberlake's stomach that did it for me. I was extremely disappointed when the Timberwolves drafted him.
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The shot shouldn't have happened because Laettner should have been kicked out of the game.
 




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Go Gophers!!
 

Right near the end when talking about his T-wolves career they show a picture of him wearing a gopher athletics sweatshirt on!
 

Fascinating. It sounds like he has grown up a lot. He is not the same person he was as a teenager, but most of us aren't.
 

Never met him before. Heard stories from people who worked at a woodbury grocery store and met him after he was first drafted by the wolves. The stories weren't positive about how he treated people but who knows what is really true. What we do know is that he was really good when he was in college.
 

As 30 for 30's go (a high bar) this was mediocre, IMO. The last 45 minutes were pretty good, but it was pretty slow in the beginning.
 

howeda7 said:
As 30 for 30's go (a high bar) this was mediocre, IMO. The last 45 minutes were pretty good, but it was pretty slow in the beginning.
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I liked him as a player and I'm a Duke fan as well (after the Gophers of course).
Anyway... I thought it was well done but nothing was really uncovered in my opinion. A little more insight, but no incredible revelations.
 

Tough crowd. I thought it was great. All I could think was how lucky I am to have grown up in the golden age of college basketball. It's why I am still addicted even though the product is pretty bad now.

The Duke teams, UNLV teams, Fab Five, Shaq, Chris Jackson, 40 Minutes of Hell...wow. On top of that, the Willie and Melvin led Gophers with accomplishments that actually still count. Good times.
 

WilliamsArenaGuy said:
Tough crowd. I thought it was great. All I could think was how lucky I am to have grown up in the golden age of college basketball. It's why I am still addicted even though the product is pretty bad now.

The Duke teams, UNLV teams, Fab Five, Shaq, Chris Jackson, 40 Minutes of Hell...wow. On top of that, the Willie and Melvin led Gophers with accomplishments that actually still count. Good times.
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Totally agree with this. Although, after all the 30 for 30's, mainly this one and the Fab Five, I have really come to dislike Jalen Rose.
 

e.bigelow said:
Totally agree with this. Although, after all the 30 for 30's, mainly this one and the Fab Five, I have really come to dislike Jalen Rose.
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that's OK with him- he loves himself enough to make up for it.

stay away from the Grantland episodes with him and Bill Simmons then too- more of Jalen turning good stories about someone else into how it affected him in a negative way.
 


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