The Most Polarizing Players in College Basketball in 2015-16

Where have you gone, Marshall Henderson? A college basketball nation turns its lonely eyes to you...or not.

But the truth is, no one on the scene this season quite inspires the kind of loyalty, hatred or downright must-see-TV as the former Ole Miss standout did a few years ago.

Yet that doesn't mean we're lacking for players we love to hate or hate to love. Or just have strong opinions about.

This season features a solid nine who have fans drawing lines in the sand. You're either for that player—and that says something about you. Or you're against him—and that also evokes emotions about the type of fan you are.

It's not quite like declaring Democrat or Republican. Really, it may even draw more intense feedback.

We'll look at a shooting-happy coach's son and a couple of future NBA draft picks, along with a constant smiler (and we don't mean a huge Miley Cyrus fan). Most of these nominees are debated hard by their own fanbases.

It's also worth examining another Dukie who draws a reaction from just about anyone who follows the sport.

These are guys you're thrilled to have on your side, but you'd dislike them if they suddenly switched allegiances.

And, yes, we have our fair share of long-range (streaky) bombers in here.

So follow along, pick a side and realize these are some dudes who can get houses pretty divided.

Bryce Alford, UCLA

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Combine a head coach who's constantly been in the limelight—and often faced a ton of criticism from his own fanbase—with his son, and we should probably be amazed that UCLA's Bryce Alford can even get out of bed in the morning.

"It's tough, being a coach's kid," Alford told USA Today's Nicole Auerbach last season during the NCAA tournament. "It's not something I can really explain to anybody unless you are a coach's kid. You really don't know what it's like. I'm under the microscope 100 percent of the time. It's just something that comes with having the last name of Alford. Whether I was playing for him or not, I'm still a coach's kid."

Complicating matters is that Bryce Alford figured he'd be playing for his dad at New Mexico. When Steve Alford—also a lightning rod in his playing days at Indiana—took a new job, plenty of UCLA fans figured the two were in over their heads.

Bryce made nine of his 11 three-point attempts in last year's first game of the NCAA tournament, stunning SMU. He showed he can play at the highest level.

The 6'3" junior took close to seven three-pointers per game last season and made almost 40 percent of them. But he's streaky. That total even included three Pac-12 games in which he failed to make a three (two against Colorado, one against Utah) and clanked a combined 17 tries.

Bryce certainly has a green light from his dad. But he's not his dad.

Steve Alford made 53 percent of his three-point attempts (107-of-202) in Indiana's 1987 national championship season. In the title game against Syracuse, he made seven of 10 three-pointers and scored 23 points.

The coach may have found a unique way to diffuse criticism of himself and his son—Bryce is expected to walk on (no scholarship) next year to help allow for a deeper recruiting class.

Trevor Cooney, Syracuse

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Syracuse fans see Trevor Cooney and want to be reminded of former sharpshooting hero Gerry McNamara.

It's just not happening, though, even as the senior Cooney continues to fire away—arguably at the detriment of the rest of the Orange sometimes.

He's just outside the top 50 on arc attempts but is nowhere near that group in percentage, connecting on just 31.9 percent. (And he's only shooting 35 percent from the field.)

Cooney—who's averaging almost an entire game played this year, 39 minutes—at least has raised his percentage slightly and has reduced his number of attempts compared to last year.

But Syracuse fans have to be conflicted. He's just 6-of-19 in the last three games. At least, the Orange defeated UConn and Texas A&M while just barely losing to Wisconsin at home.

Cooney played 43 of the 45 available minutes but made just three of his 10 shots. A few fadeaway jumpers down the stretch weren't ideal looks in crunch time against a Badgers team that always forces opponents to respect possessions.

In fairness, his season-long numbers aren't that far off from McNamara's over the course of his career. McNamara (now a Syracuse assistant coach, by the way) just happened to play on better teams (to date) and have more shining heroic moments.

Will Cooney keep gunning to replicate them? 'Cuse lovers are probably torn about wanting to find out and may prefer if he didn't take about 6.7 treys per game.

Wayne Selden, Kansas

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Kansas fans these days are concerned with two players (well, three if you count the recent addition of Cheick Diallo).

But watch out for Old Wayne vs. New Wayne.

The old is an overhyped product out of high school who has had trouble looking comfortable for extended periods as a Jayhawk. If you believed he was at one point a lottery pick, then it's probably a disappointment to see him as a college junior.

Thing is, draft pundits and fans placed those expectations on Selden. This perception isn't his fault.

But he even started this year slowly, fading in the NCAA Champions Challenge against Michigan State and again bringing out the critics who said KU might be wise to look elsewhere for production and leadership.

Selden's career has often careened from disappointment to resentment.

And then New Wayne came along again. The Wayne who showcased himself over the summer at the World University Games—against notably inferior competition—came to life again at the Maui Invitational. He won MVP honors as KU won the prestigious Thanksgiving week tournament for the first time since 1996 (a span of five appearances).

Selden took a lot of heat for the loss to the Spartans because Denzel Valentine outplayed him.

Well, these days, who hasn't been outplayed by MSU's star?

That's just another relatively unfair comparison in a career that has been full of them for Selden. But KU fans are always debating his merits.

Grayson Allen, Duke

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Of course, we must have a Duke Blue Devil on the list.

The most polarizing ones tend to be preppy-looking, great scorers and emotional.

There's a good one this year.

We're not ready to put Allen in the Christian Laettner/Jon Scheyer/Steve Wojciechowski Hall of Fame quite yet.

But as one of the top scorers in the country, fiery and pesky, Allen has fans across the nation continuing to wonder what they should think about him.

Allen brings a lot of personality to the court and can be regarded as a shooter with a lack of consciousness. Even when he was hardly playing last year—before his NCAA title-game heroics—fans would chime in on Twitter about his supposed smugness/cockiness.

Heck, he's a floor-slapper who has often got called the A-word by his own coach at practices.

If that's not a polarizing figure, we'll never convince you.

Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

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Seinfeld had us laughing about close-talkers.

But how about fast ones?

That's Buddy Hield in a nutshell. He's a fantastic player who can run the court and run his mouth. Oklahoma fans adore him to death. And after reading Jason King's recent profile of him, it's hard not to appreciate everything he's been through and become.

But Hield also has to drive some opponents batty with his hyperactivity.

He is also regarded as one of college basketball's biggest trash-talkers, as noted by Bleacher Report's King. Hield even went as far last season as to publicly proclaim the Sooners would halt Kansas' run of 10 straight Big 12 titles. The prediction didn't pan out, but Hield told King he hardly regrets the statement.

"I have my happy moments," he said, "but when I look at the other team, I want to tear them apart. I want to expose them. That's what fuels me."

At the NCAA tournament last year, a reporter for Syracuse.com unofficially measured Hield's words per second during three minutes of actual speaking with reporters. He came in at about five words per second—299 per minute.

Imagine taking a couple of earfuls from Hield after he hits some shots. That joyfulness surely rubs some folks wrong.

Or imagine being Big 12 fans who have to see that big, bright smile after he's beaten your team.

The toughest people to be around are the ones who can talk your ear off and then rip your heart out.

Kris Dunn, Providence

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Providence point guard Kris Dunn does it all at both ends of the floor. KenPom.com regards him as a top-five candidate for Player of the Year.

What's so polarizing about that? We're actually going to look into the future with Dunn: Would you want your favorite NBA team to draft him, knowing his past issues with injuries?

In 2012-13, an injured shoulder forced him into season-ending surgery. Four games into the next season, he hurt the same shoulder.

Dunn played great last year and has arguably been better this year (considering Providence has had to do some retooling). But you can bet a lot of college basketball fans are watching him to see if he's beyond a specific health issue.

It's even more interesting when you look at NBA draft history. Those who were picked in the top 10 after turning 22 years old—which Dunn will be next summer—haven't exactly been sure bets or great producers.

We're not debating Dunn's excellence right now. But there will be a lot of people chiming in when NBA teams are picking players next June.

Chase Fischer, Brigham Young

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BYU's Chase Fischer is a streaky shooter who is also competing for opportunities with a local legend.

The senior is a little scary to Cougar followers right now. He's taking about a half-shot more per game compared to last year from the three-point line (7.7) for the uptempo Cougars, but his field-goal accuracy is about nine percentage points lower than his 2014-15 breakout year.

Meanwhile, his perimeter-shooting competition is Nick Emery, a former local high school star who's in the mix after spending the last two years away from basketball, performing church service.

Emery is shooting 41 percent overall (four points better than Fischer) and just slightly better from the arc.

The two have recently traded off on having good games. That's a positive in some ways—BYU has options. But it also can be maddening.

Fischer should get even more shots in the near future. You may have heard Emery was involved in a one-sided scuffle with Utah's Brandon Taylor Wednesday night.

Emery was given a flagrant-2 foul—an immediate ejection. He will also miss the Weber State game Saturday.

Fischer thrived in the second half at Utah, scoring all 26 of his points. Problem was, BYU trailed by 23 at halftime (51-28) and still lost handily.

BYU's outside shooting—as evidenced by last year's First Four game collapse against Ole Miss—continues to be one of the biggest Jekyll-and-Hyde setups in the country.

Fischer is a big part of those highs and lows, and that draws some debate around the team's fanbase.

Ben Simmons, LSU

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Ben Simmons makes us want to jump out of our seats. But shouldn't we also pump the breaks once in a while?

People are comparing the LSU freshman almost daily to LeBron James. Now, we don't have any actual comparison to make—of course, the King never had a coronation into college basketball.

But weren't Jabari Parker and/or Andrew Wiggins supposed to be the next James? They were solid in college...but come on. And now here comes Simmons.

And it goes both ways with him.

He's a man-child. But he also passes up shots.

He's great at many things. But, hey, his shooting could use some work.

Simmons finished Wednesday night's game with 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and three blocks. He made 15 of 20 shots from the field and 13 of 15 foul shots...

But wake us up when LSU is back anywhere near the NCAA tournament bubble list. And did we mention the Tigers still trailed at halftime to hot-shooting North Florida?

So what that Simmons is doing things the college game hasn't witnessed in 20 years?

There's zero debate that Simmons will be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft next June. He's a freak athlete with his combination of nearly 7-foot height, jaw-dropping athleticism and ability to run the floor, not to mention ball-handling.

But there's stuff to criticize, too. Mind you, we're not expecting a national title from a young, often outcoached team. But is an NCAA tournament bid too much to ask?

Right now, yes. And some of that has to fall on Simmons, right?

Max Bielfeldt, Indiana

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Indiana's Max Bielfeldt is a late addition, because of some action right as halftime started Wednesday at Duke.

Yahoo's Jeff Eisenberg wrote, "When Indiana big man Max Bielfeldt appeared to accidentally bump Mike Krzyzewski on his way off the floor after the first half, the Duke coach initially took offense to it, leading to a nose-to-nose conversation with Tom Crean before they both left the floor."

Who's the bad guy? The player or the coach who alluded afterward he would have expected an apology if it was an unfortunate bump—and also expressed some regret that he didn't stick up for himself.

We've already examined Duke star Grayson Allen. It's no secret virtually everyone has some strong opinion of the Blue Devils (it's what makes them great).

Clearly, some will fault Krzyzewski for making such a big deal out of this.

But Bielfeldt is going to be judged too, for better or worse when the biggest nudge the Hoosiers needed at Cameron Indoor Stadium was toward their defensive effort.

Besides, who would you take, the college kid or the 68-year-old coach? That's a polarizing debate in its own right.