Hoops showstoppers
From the beginning of the decade, when Anthony Davis powered Kentucky to a national title, to the end, when Duke’s Zion Williamson provided a spectacular highlight reel, college basketball has entertained fans with a wide array of gamechanging athletes.
Several college stars lifted their teams to memorable March Madness moments. And while the one-and-done era only gives us a short season with future NBA superstars, their imprint still becomes stamped on the college game. For some NCAA standouts who didn’t become NBA stars, their greatness is best remembered in school record books.
Here is a look at the top players who defined the last decade in college basketball.
1. Zion Williamson, Duke
This isn’t because Zion’s brief college career remains a fresh memory. Williamson would have been in contention for player of the decade whether he played in 2010 or 2019, and his imprint on the sport will likely still resonate a decade from now. While the 6-6, 285-pound bowling ball-type forward didn’t carry the Blue Devils to a national championship, he had one of the finest college basketball seasons of the one-anddone era, averaging 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He provided a plethora of highlight-reel dunks and athletic plays to make 2018-19 a season to remember for the Zion show.
2. Anthony Davis, Kentucky
Another one-and-done sensation, Davis made his 2011-12 season at Kentucky one to remember, finishing as the Wooden Award winner and Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player while giving one of John Calipari’s best-ever teams a national title. The agile big man’s rimprotecting defense and offensive versatility were unmatched at the NCAA level – and still are at the NBA level, too.
3. Kemba Walker, Connecticut
In two seasons with the Huskies at the beginning of the 2010s, Walker was as clutch as he was relentless as a combo guard. In one 11-game stretch, Walker steered UConn to capture the Big East tourney title and national championship in ’11. That season, he averaged 23.5 points and 4.5 assists.
4. Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
Hield is high on this list based on longevity – a rarity in the college game during this past decade. The 6-6 shooting guard became a high-volume scorer as a sophomore and continued to blossom with the Sooners before his epic senior campaign, when he made 46% of his 3-pointers and averaged 25 points. Hield carried OU to the Final Four in 2016 and was the obvious choice as the season’s national player of the year.
5. Doug McDermott, Creighton
Another longevity-based ranking, McDermott was a national player of the year candidate by his sophomore season, then gave the Bluejays two more memorable campaigns to etch his legacy. McDermott almost single-handedly shifted Creighton from a mid-major in the Missouri Valley Conference to a perennial NCAA tourney team in the Big East, as the work from his career saw the program move to a power conference by his senior year. McDermott’s 2,569 points from 2011 to 2014 (his sophomore through senior seasons) are the most in college basketball history. While McDermott is the typical example of a college player-of-theyear-turned-NBA journeyman, it’s important to remember how dominant he was in the NCAA arena.
6. Jalen Brunson, Villanova
Given ’Nova’s two titles in three seasons from 2016 to 2018, one Wildcats player had to make this list. Brunson was part of both title teams, and while more of a facilitator in 2015-16, he was the national player of the year in 2017-18 on one of, if not the best teams of the entire decade. He wasn’t Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in ’18 because Sixth Man Donte DiVincenzo starred in the title game, but Brunson – the heady point guard with a clutch gene – stirred the drink for this team.
7. Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin
Kaminsky was the face of two great Badgers teams that reached the Final Four twice (’14 and ’15) but ultimately fell short of a title. Still, Kaminsky and his teammates’ upset of Kentucky in the 2015 Final Four might be one of the biggest NCAA tournament shockers ever, given the Wildcats were favorites and undefeated. The 7-footer was a threat both inside and out for the Badgers in the Bo Ryan era, averaging 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game as a senior. Not bad for a guy who averaged 1.8 points as a freshman. When asked why he held off on the NBA to stay for his senior season, Kaminsky claimed his life as a college basketball star was worth more than the millions he’s now making in the league.
8. Jimmer Fredette, BYU
Even though the Cougars never advanced beyond the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament (2011), Fredette’s legend as a high-volume scorer from a mid-major had the recipe that Steph Curry (Davidson) had the previous decade. His four seasons in Provo live on through the record books. He averaged 28.9 points per game in 2010-11 as a senior to become the national player of the year.
9. Jahlil Okafor, Duke
Although Okafor’s NBA career has been a disappointment, his dominance in one season of college basketball at the middle of the decade stands as one of the best one-and-done campaigns of all time. Okafor got Tim Duncan comparisons for his footwork and was the workhorse the Blue Devils rode to the national championship in 201415.
10. Frank Mason III, Kansas
The Jayhawks had to have one player on this list, considering their record 14 consecutive Big 12 regular-season titles came during part of this decade before ending in 2018-19. While coach Bill Self had ample oneand-done talent (2014 No. 1 and No. 3 draft picks Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, to name a few), it’s underdog Mason who cracks the list. The four-year point guard was ultra-clutch and became a mouthpiece to Self’s defensive-minded philosophies. He was the 2016-17 national player of the year while averaging 20.9 points per game and the general of two Elite Eight KU squads.