Christian Laettner hopes Grayson Allen learns from his mistakes at Duke, calls criticism of guard â€

Christian Laettner knows what it’s like to be the hated white player at Duke — he’s the godfather of them all, in fact — and he hopes that the current Blue Devil who’s picked up that mantle looks at the two-time NCAA champ and learns from his mistakes.

Duke sophomore Grayson Allen is being viewed through the Laettner Lens this season — tripping two players this season only adds to his reputation as a borderline dirty player — and while Laettner says that he thinks it’s “a little unfair” he does admit that Allen could do himself some favors by playing against the stereotype.

“He’s got to see that, ‘Hey, Laettner made a mistake and it’s haunted him for 25 years, and I would never make that mistake, so I’ll never do that,’” Laettner told USA Today.

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Laettner cemented villain status when he stomped on the chest of Kentucky’s Aminu Timberlake during the 1992 NCAA Tournament. Outside of Durham, North Carolina — and his hometown outside of Buffalo — Laettner is widely reviled, and fans’ contempt for him has lingered long after his playing days finished and inspired an ESPN 30 for 30 feature, “I Hate Christian Laettner.”

In that documentary, Laettner admitted that stepping on Timberlake was a mistake and apologized for it. He did the same with USA Today.

“It’s a mistake. ... I’ve seen replays of that play a thousand times. And every time I’m like, ‘Ew, I wish I didn’t do that,’” he told the paper.

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But, and this crystallizes why people feel so strongly about him, Laettner then added:

“But it’s no big deal. It’s really no big deal. No one got hurt. Timberlake didn’t get hurt. Nothing got hurt, you know?”

Kentucky fans would argue against that, as Laettner was allowed to stay in the game and later hit one of the most memorable shots in the history of college basketball.

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But with Allen, who leads No. 4 Duke against No. 1 Oregon in the Sweet 16Thursday night in Anaheim, Laettner said the treatment he’s getting is “not nice, it’s not fun and it’s a little unfair."

Laettner said that he hasn’t spoken with Allen, but said that he would caution him to avoid doing “something stupid at any time,’’ saying that broadcast enhancements put players under an even bigger microscope.

“And when they’re older they’ll be glad they didn’t do any stupid things like Laettner did that one (time),” he said. “They all know they’ve got to contain themselves, compose themselves, have self discipline all the time and they’ll do just great.’’