It’s March Madness time. What you get with March Madness is five weeks of do-or-die basketball and, at the end, the crowning of a national champion. In concordance with this annual ritual, we’re subjectively analyzing 16 of the greatest college basketball players of all time. These are players that were not only talented but are icons of competitive greatness.
Certainly, this list is subject to scrutiny. There have been many great college basketball players. Many of whom could be on this list. However, even if your favorite player is not on the list, there is no arguing about the 16 players listed below. These are not only our picks, but the picks based on a composite score from a survey of sports writers, editors, and bloggers.
We’re certain you may have your own opinion about who should be on the list. Please feel free to share. We certainly welcome adverse opinions. Honorable mentions go out to J.J. Redick, Glenn Robinson, Freeman Williams, the late and great Hank Gathers and Len Bias, Glen Rice, Anthony Davis, Hakeem Olajuwon, George Mikan, Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Jerry Lucas, Bill Bradley, Austin Carr, Dan Issel, Shaquille O’Neal, Artis Gilmore, Tom Gola and many more.
Danny Manning (Kansas, 1985-1988)
Overview: He brought the Kansas Jayhawks a title. He’s the all-time leading scorer and re-bounder in KU history. He was also a 3-time consensus All-American. May the Jayhawk fans unite around this pick.
Fun Fact: Danny Manning’s spectacular run at Kansas during his Senior season was accompanied by a team moniker: “Danny and The Miracles.” Sounds like a Mo-Town group from the 1950’s, doesn’t it? Kansas’ tournament run did not transpire in conjunction with a prominent regular season. They were a 6 seed heading into the tournament, yet inexplicably advanced and advanced.
Tyler Hansborough (North Carolina, 2005-2009)
Overview: Perhaps the quintessential college basketball player, Hansborough led the resurgence of the North Carolina program and the 2009 NCAA championship. A great all-around player, he is the only player in ACC history to be named an All-American and a first-team All-ACC selection in the four years he played for the Tar Heels.
Fun Fact: Known as “Psycho-T,” Hansbrough’s 2,872 points are the most in ACC and UNC history. He marks the halcyon point of Roy Williams tenure at UNC, resurrecting the greatness of the Dean Smith era.
Tim Duncan (Wake Forest, 1993-1997) – 16 of the Greatest College Basketball Players of All Time
Overview: The Big Fundamental. Before he was an outsize star on the Spurs, Timmy D starred on Wake Forest. He led the Deacons to four consecutive post-season appearances. He was a two-time ACC player of the year. He was also on Bill Simmon’s Celtic wish-list. The guy is a baller.
Fun Fact: During his SR season, Tim Duncan was named both the Naismith and Wooden player of the year. Once his NBA eligibility became imminent, various franchises throughout the NBA battled for the ensuing no.1 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. In a draft that defied probability, the San Antonio Spurs managed to attain the coveted pick, a franchise Duncan would play for for the remaining duration of his career. He won 5 NBA championships.
Jerry West (West Virginia, 1957-1960)
Overview: The Logo for the NBA and the moniker of West Virginia Mountaineers basketball. Mr. Clutch, averaged 25 points and 13 rebounds as a Mountaineer. He remains the Everest of a Basketball Idol and the GM of GM’s in the NBA.
Fun Fact: Unsurprising as it is, West was a veritable star at West Virginia. He brought the Mountaineers 3 consecutive conference championships, was named the “Most Outstanding Player in the Tournament” in 1959, and co-captained the US Olympic Team that won the Gold Medal in 1960.
Elvin Hayes (Houston, 1965-1968)
Overview: The Prince that organized a proper coup of UCLA’s Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar), Elvin was a crucial player in battering down racial prejudice in the South and a supreme talent, averaging 31 points and 17 rebounds for his career at Houston.
Fun Fact: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had actually sustained a eye-injury during a previous performance against Cal, prior to the UCLA vs Houston game in 1968. His performance during their regular season contest was consequently impaired. In the Finals, Lew Alcindor, now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, posted a double-double and UCLA routed Elvin Hayes and the Cougars, 101-69.
David Thompson (North Carolina State, 1972-1975) – 16 of the Greatest College Basketball Players of All Time
Overview: Air Thompson led the Wolfpack to an undefeated season in 1973 and the NCAA championship in 1974. Thompson was named the National Collegiate Player of the Year in 1975. Nicknamed “Skywalker,” Thompson defied gravity before it was sexy.
Fun Fact: Thompson was the player who essentially broke UCLA’s streak of national championships in the NCAA semi-final.
Wilt Chamberlain (Kansas, 1956-1958)
Overview: Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain redefined the center position in College. He averaged 30 points and 18 rebounds per game and was a consensus All-American for both of the seasons he was at Kansas. A rangy track athlete in a basketball uniform, Wilt was a basketball unicorn before we even understood the term.
Fun Fact: The “Big Dipper” did not bring a championship to KU during his playing days there. A minor detail, seemingly, until one considers his paltry record against Bill Russell during his eventual professional career.
Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati, 1957-1960)
Overview: The Big O was often called the Grouch. He may have been a curmudgeon, but the wonderfully talented Robertson averaged 33.8 and 15.2 rebounds per game. He is often called the greatest player to never win a championship. Robertson was a three time consensus All-American and was called “the best all-around player in the history of college basketball” by the National Basketball Hall of Fame. Oscar made Cincinnati the Bearcats.
Fun Fact: Oscar Robertson, apart from his basketball achievements at the University of Cincinnati, was a pioneer in racial relations. Robertson was the first African-American player to play basketball for the Bearcats.
Larry Bird (Indiana State, 1976-1979)
Overview: The Great White Hope. Likely the best three-point shooter in history, even before there was a three-point line. Consider this – Bird averaged 30.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game to along with 4.6 assists. He not only was a great scorer and rebounder but a great passer as well. His basetball IQ was off the charts. Stunningly efficient and gritty to the core, Bird led Indiana State, a team with no basketball credentials, to the NCAA Championship game where they fell to Magic Johnson’s MSU team. Let that Bird fly like an Eagle.
Fun Fact: Larry Bird initially committed to Bob Knight’s program at IU. However, after feeling uncomfortable in Bloomington, yearning for French Lick, he unceremoniously departed from the Hoosiers. After returning to French Lick, Bird eventually committed to nearby Indiana State, vaulting the program to national significance.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson (Michigan State, 1977-1979) – 16 of the Greatest College Basketball Players of All Time
Overview: Does this need a preface? Magic was “magic” for a reason. He was so good, he almost averaged a triple double for his career at Michigan State with 17.1 point, 7.6 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game. Johnson became college basketball’s most popular star and led the Spartans to the 1979 NCAA championship win. Magic was the ultimate team player, the ultimate passer, the ultimate point guard. He elevated an MSU program that was previously relatively somnolent onto the national stage.
Fun Facts: Earvin (Magic) Johnson selected Michigan State over Michigan because Coach Judd Heathcote promised the aspired guard that he could play point guard. Johnson consequently committed and led the Spartans on a glorious two-season run. Johnson would eventually meet Larry Bird and the Indiana State Sycamores in the 1979 Final Game, a precursor to their NBA rivalry, and the highest rated basketball program — according to television ratings — in college basketball history.
Christian Laettner (Duke, 1988-1992)
Overview: The walking embodiment of Duke Fatigue. Hateable. Annoying. Irritating. But, nonetheless, one of the best college basketball players of all-time. His fade-away jumper in the last second against Kentucky to send Duke to the Final Four is a stuff of legend and remains one of the greatest shots ever. The simple fact is Laettner is arguably the best Blue Devil of all time, leading Duke to four consecutive Final Four appearances and back-to-back championship wins in 1991 and 1992.
Fun Fact: The 1992 “Dream Team” consisted of only one college player — Christian Laettner. Though the intent of the Dream Team was to consist entirely of professional athletes, it nevertheless paid homage to the traditional amateurism associated with the Olympics and offered Laettner an invitation.
Pete Maravich (LSU, 1967-1970)
Overview: John Wooden famously said, in reference to Pete, “I don’t ever recall seeing a player who could do so much with a basketball, but he never played on a championship team.” However, “Pistol” Pete averaged 44.2 points per game in an era where there wasn’t a three-point line and holds the NCAA’s all -time career points record. The Pistol was extraordinary, almost robotic in his movements. The technical mastery he achieved in college, and the NBA, hasn’t been superseded.
Fun Fact: “Pistol” played for his father, Press Maravich, who almost regarded him as a lab experiment. The results were extraordinary, if only confined to a single player, rather than his team. Pete was the Naismith Award winner in 1970.
Bill Russell (San Francisco, 1953-1956) – 16 of the Greatest College Basketball Players of All Time
Overview: Bill Russell is better known for his 11 NBA championships, so not enough is made of his college career. Let it sink in — He led USF to back-to-back NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956. What have the Dons done since? Russell is the “King of Competitiveness.” Want proof. He averaged 20.7 point and 20.3 rebounds per game.
Fun Fact: Preceding the ban on the dunk that Alcindor’s play made seemingly compulsory, was the NCAA’s ban on basket interference as a result of Russell’s presence.
Bill Walton (UCLA, 1971-1974)
Overview: The “Ginger Patriarch” or “Big Redhead” as he was often called, led the UCLA Bruins to 88 consecutive wins, an exemplar of near perfection, two undefeated seasons, and two consecutive NCAA championships in 1972 and 1973. Walton was named the National Collegiate Player of the Year three years in a row from 1972 to 1974. Yeah, and his 21/22 shooting against Memphis in the 1973 finals is as close to perfect as you will ever get. A man, a myth, a legend.
Fun Fact: Bill Walton won his first 73 games as a UCLA Bruin.
Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) (UCLA, 1966-1969) – 16 of the Greatest College Basketball Players of All Time
Overview: Lew Alcindor, who later changed his name to Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, was the author of the skyhook, the most powerful and efficient basketball move in the history of the game. During his college career, Jabbar was so dominant, the rules of the game had to be changed to outlaw dunking. That’s right, NCAA officials felt Jabbar would be unstoppable, so they changed the rules. The dunking ban lasted from 1967 to 1975.
Did it stop Kareem. Absolutely not. Jabbar was the best player on the most dominant team of all time. In all three of his Varsity seasons at UCLA (freshman were not allowed to play Varsity ball at the time), he lead the Bruins to three consecutive NCAA championships from 1967 to 1969 and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player in each of those years. Nevertheless, Kareem is perennially underrated, but is arguably the greatest college basketball player of all time.
Fun Fact: (Then) Lew was offered over 60 scholarships from colleges throughout the country. Due to his budding activism, Jackie Robinson’s association with the Bruins, Alcindor became interested in UCLA. Upon meeting Wooden, whose only “sell” was a quality education, he signed with the UCLA. It led to 3 consecutive national championships.
March Madness. Let’s go! What a time.
This article originally appeared on Sizzlepixs.com.
