Who is the best college basketball player YOU have ever seen? [Archive] - Message Board Basketball Forum

View Full Version : Who is the best college basketball player YOU have ever seen?

darius15

08-01-2010, 06:49 PM

Note: this is not an ALL TIME thread.

I've been watching since 98 or so, so here is my list, no order.

Tyler Hansborough (UNC): hurts to me to say this since I'm a Duke fan to the death, but he was incredible to watch.

Kevin Durant (Texas): Just one season, but damn what a player

Blake Griffin (Oklahoma): Just so dominating, it was unbelievable

Jay Williams (Duke): This dude could really do it all (except free throws). But IMO, out of all the guys I listed, he had the most "wow" factor.

Jameer Nelson (St Joseph): was impressed every time I watched him.

Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse): a standout season at Syracuse, you just knew he would be good in the NBA. A sure #1 pick in any other draft.

Juan Dixon (Maryland): Man, he was clutch!

Shane Battier (Duke): just a great player to have on your team overall.

JJ Redick (Duke): Could shoot the lights out at any given time

Adam Morrison (gonzaga): could score a bunch of points very quickly. With him in the game, you knew that the game was never over.

Roy Munson

08-01-2010, 08:10 PM

Glenn Robinson

TheGame414

08-02-2010, 01:33 PM

The best I've seen in person would be Glenn Robinson or Chris Webber.

Posterize246

08-02-2010, 01:37 PM

The best player I've seen in person is Durant, but far from the best performance because he was horrible that game.

JMT

08-03-2010, 06:00 PM

TheGame414

08-03-2010, 06:50 PM

Pistol Pete Maravich, followed very closely by Bill Walton.

Alcindor was likely even better, but his skill and mobility was so far and away beyond the other big guys of the era, it was truly hard to determine just how great he was.
If it was that far beyond, why does it make it hard to gauge how good he was? It's not like basketball had drastically changed between the late 60's and the mid-70's, when Walton played.

JMT

08-03-2010, 08:26 PM

If it was that far beyond, why does it make it hard to gauge how good he was? It's not like basketball had drastically changed between the late 60's and the mid-70's, when Walton played.

I understand what you're saying, because it looked strange when I wrote it too. But the game really did change dramatically in that time imo, at least in regard to talented bigs.

The influx and influence of black players absolutely shifted the game in that era. "Pace" took on a different meaning. Not that the 60's was slow or stall ball by any means, but the evolution of the big, athletic slasher really began post-Alcindor.

If you look at All America teams during the Lew years, you saw Alcindor/Hayes & Unseld...all centers, playing pretty traditionally (though Big E had some flavor) plus a bunch of guards.

In 69, Haywood came along, and he was the type player that was slowly evolving.

By Walton's era, you had guys like Ratleff, Wilkes, Thompson, McAdoo, Barnes, Russell.

Front lines became so much stronger. It was no longer a freakishly big guy surrounded by guards. Centers had to move more on defense, be more versatile. Offensively, there were guys big and fast enough to make double teaming a good center much more effective than just a few years earlier. It was the generation of player that ushered in Erving and the like.

To me, it became much more difficult to dominate a game when the forwards were big, athletic guys, as opposed to jump shooters. If memory serves, Maravich and Mount were both listed as G/F on one All America squad. That was gone by the 70's.

I guess, like most of the criticism he faced throughout his career, Lew/Kareem just made it look too easy.

TheGame414

08-03-2010, 09:08 PM

InspiredLebowski

08-03-2010, 09:09 PM

I third Big Dog, and no homer even. I remember watching him when I was like 11 and had no real context for just how good these guys really are and understanding he was something different offensively. I've never seen a guy score so easily at the college level. If only he'd had a heart.

joyner82

08-03-2010, 10:18 PM

Durant was the best I have ever seen. He was bigger than most college center's, more athletic than most forwards, and a better shooter than almost all guards. Just think this past season where he finished 2nd in the MVP would have been his sr. year. He could have averaged 40 and 20 in college if he had stayed.

TheGame414

08-03-2010, 11:50 PM

He could have averaged 40 and 20 in college if he had stayed.
I hate when people say things like this, because too often they're serious. No, Kevin Durant would not have averaged 40 and 20 in college as a senior. Most likely, his averages wouldn't have changed a great deal from his freshman year.

For one thing, if Durant's sticking around for most of his college career, it's unfair to assume that all the other early entries wouldn't, either. Durant sticking around till his senior year is one of the most extreme examples you can think of, because he's going to be one of the greatest players ever. So if he's sticking around, there's dozens more guys who would, also, and Durant would have tougher competition. Not to mention, better teammates: in this scenario, he's teaming up with Lamarcus Aldridge, P.J. Tucker and Daniel Gibson as a freshman.

Even still, his improvement over the course of his college career would likely come in terms of his all-around game: passing, positional defense, ballhandling, etc. Because as he stuck around, he'd have been surrounded by far more talent and not needed to do it all.

Look at the talent he'd have been playing with at Texas this year:

PG- DJ Augustin (we're assuming he stayed too, right?)/Dogus Balby
SG- Avery Bradley/J'Covan Brown/Justin Mason
SF- Durant/Jordan Hamilton
PF- Damion James/Gary Johnson
C- Dexter Pittman/Alexis Wangmene

I mean....does he even put up the same numbers on this team as he did his freshman year? Why would he need to?

But forget all of this. Even if we assume that nothing changes, that everyone else left school early and for some crazy reason, only Kevin Durant stuck around for four years....it's still outrageous to think he'd average 40 and 20. I'll give you 30/12, tops. (Now, if he he wanted to be a shot-mongering, ball-stopping asshole? Sure, he could top 35 ppg in college. But what about him suggests he would?)

joyner82

08-04-2010, 12:02 AM

You do realize Durant averaged 28 and 13 in conference play during his freshman year, right?

TheGame414

08-04-2010, 12:29 AM

Yep. And I watched almost every game of his that was nationally televised.

But like I said, it just does not logically follow that because he did x as a freshman, he would do 2x as a senior. It just does not happen when your numbers start out so astronomically high. He was incredibly efficient to begin with, so do you think he's going to suddenly start taking 8-10 more shots a game?

Like I said, he'd be playing with way better players later in his career. You know why his team lost 11 games and didn't make the Sweet 16 while he was putting up those absurd numbers? Because aside from a decent year from DJ Augustin, he was basically doing it himself. As the talent around him significantly improved- and it would have considering who was at Texas...not to even fathom who else would've came to play with Kevin Durant- it would be borderline retarded for one guy to keep taking 20 shots, no matter how great. The best college teams have balanced scoring.

My guess? His scoring goes down to 22-24 ppg (taking way less shots to get it with outrageous shooting percentages), his rebounding levels off because he'd be playing a little more on the perimeter, and he develops an unfairly complete, all-around floor game, getting everyone involved in a point forward capacity and becoming a Battier-like defensive player. While his points and rebounds would probably level off, he'd end up averaging 4-5 assists, 2+ blocks and 2+ steals. There's only so far you can go as a scorer and a rebounder. The next step in his improvement is becoming the total package, kind of like where his as an NBA player now.

There's a really good chance his points/rebounds averages may have actually peaked his freshman year, had he stayed. Since Lew Alcindor was mentioned earlier in this thread, there's a great example. He averaged 29 ppg and 15.5 rpg as a sophomore (freshmen, of course, not being eligible then). As a senior? 24 and 14.7.

Michael Jordan averaged 13.5/4.4 in a slowdown system, playing with James Worthy and Sam Perkins as a freshman. Did his numbers double as he became the featured guy the next two years? Nope, he topped out at 20.0/5.5. (Yes, I realize percentage-wise, that's a similar increase to what Durant would make going to 40/20. But MJ didn't start out with outrageous numbers. So look at MJ as an NBA player. He peaked as a scorer well before he peaked as a player, improving his all-around game as the talent around him improved.)

You're just not thinking this through if you think KD would have put up anywhere near those numbers. Not only wouldn't he, but it would be stupid if he did.

JMT

08-04-2010, 07:09 PM

Yeah, I guess now that I think about it, that was about the time that a semi-dramatic shift started to happen in basketball. Bill Simmons said it best about Kareem, though: he was the surest two points in the history of basketball.

No doubt.

Aside from the evolution at the forward position, I'm sure Walton's fire vs Lew's serenity made a difference in the way that I viewed them at the time.

TheGame414

08-04-2010, 10:42 PM

I think that's true of the way a lot of people view those two, respectively, in historical terms. While no one questions Kareem's place in basketball history- a strong case can be made that through every level of basketball, he had the most accomplished career ever- it seems to me that Walton is remembered more fondly. Part of that is the total unselfishness and surreal passing ability, and part of it is the mystery, the "what if?" factor, not knowing just how great his career would've been if he didn't have such mangled feet.

On the flipside, for multiple reasons- some his fault, some completely not his fault- Kareem just wasn't beloved. Everyone knows he was great, but the warm, fuzzy memories that people have of Walton's brief career just aren't there with Kareem, no matter how indisputable his greatness was.

rosonviyavong

08-05-2010, 05:27 AM

Not going to be pretend like ive been watching college ball for 20 years cus I havent but from the years I have started watching the best player I have seen play is definetely JJ Redick. I would like to say Durant but I never watched any of hi sgames when he played and only saw his crazy stats but in terms of taking the time to watch a whole game every time I watched Duke play JJ Redick was just lighting teams up with his range.

OJMayoDaFuture

08-05-2010, 10:15 AM

since im 17 and only been watching college ball since 2002 i would say melo

Barbian

08-05-2010, 12:04 PM

These are just a few that I enjoyed watching in college.

JJ Reddick
Kevin Durant
Carmelo Anthony
Chris Webber
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Shaq

joyner82

08-05-2010, 02:47 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6juMVqT09bo

He's the only freshman to ever win ANY NPOY award and he won all 5 of them..I mean..it wasn't really fair

Rowe

08-05-2010, 02:52 PM

Best player I've ever seen in college basketball: Gary Neal

He went to a mid major, but this guy was literally unstoppable on the court at Towson.

Im glad hes getting a chance at the NBA now.

playball201

08-28-2010, 10:32 AM

durant.

Hawker

08-28-2010, 10:47 AM

Blake Griffin: We got him in foul trouble early on so we were able to compete with Oklahoma but we ended up losing in the end.
Cole Aldrich: We should've beat Kansas last year. We were so close and the crowd was so banging. We barely lost and we were all devastated.

For those saying Durant, the Texas A&M vs. Texas @ Texas a few years back was probably one of the best college games I've seen.

Acie Law vs. Kevin Durant. Both were clutch as hell. Too bad Acie sits the bench now.

Wally450

08-29-2010, 02:39 PM

Since I'm young, I'd have to say Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. It seemed every time id be watching Sportscenter and see the bottom line going by, Curry was always scored like 40+. Durant was just a man among boys.

UNCNY

08-31-2010, 05:16 PM

I have a few

Some:Notables
Carmelo Anthony
Kevin Durant
Tyler Hansbrough:Maybe not skill wise but Tyler was great to watch me for. Hard working kid,and ultimate team player.

TheGame414

09-01-2010, 09:22 PM

UNC fan or not, you don't have to apologize for including Hansbrough on any list of the best college players you've seen in recent memory. His accomplishments speak for themselves.

liquidrage

09-01-2010, 09:35 PM

Ralph Sampson and Danny Manning stand out to me.

MyrOsLove

09-02-2010, 09:13 AM

Im fan of NCAAB since 2008...so i think - Tyler Hansbrough

KG215

09-02-2010, 08:02 PM

If we're talking about in person, just about any and every big time player that's played in teh SEC the last 10-15 years I saw once in their carrer at Bud Walton Arena; unless they were a one-and-done player from the East that played Arkansas at home the one year they were in school.

The one that stuck out the most was Corliss Williamson. Granted, i was 8-10 during hsi college career, saw him play in high school numerous times, and saw him in college numerous times. I was probably more enamored with him as a player than I was with Arkansas' national championship team in 1994.

JellyBean

09-12-2010, 03:40 PM

On television. Too many I have been following college basketball since 1977-78. Living in Minnesota, we only got to see Big Ten games back in the day and Fighting Irish games. But the best to me back in the late 70s and early 80s were Magic Johnson, Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Ralph Sampson, Jordan, and Ewing, just to name a few.

In real life. I have seen: Kevin McHale,Keith Lee, Sheryl Swoopes, Chamique Holdsclaw, Glenn Robinson, Mychal Thompson, Glen Rice, those guys stand out. But there are sooo many that I can't even list.

mayo'sgrizz

09-15-2010, 09:44 AM

blake griffin was just a monster who clouldnt be stopped teams would hack him, play him very dirty and he'd still just put up a double double every night in convincing fashion.

Thorpesaurous

09-16-2010, 12:24 PM

There have been some impressive careers of late, like Hansborough and Reddick. And some really impressive quick hitters. Melo, Durant, and Beasley for example. Like em or not, all were dominant.

I've been watching college hoops since the early to mid eighties, mostly Big East, and guys I've seen in person that come to mind, would definitely be Ewing, Mullin, Derrick Coleman, Iverson, Mourning.

And the other big guys that come to mind would be Webber, Glenn Robinson, Danny Manning. And the Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill group, as much as I disliked them at the time, has become a little underrated now.

Oh, and small school guys, I'll throw out a couple guys I used to play with at DII power house Bridgeport (Manute Bol went there). But they had an undersized PF named Lambert Shell who won multiple DII POYs and was unbelievable. The Jazz gave him a fair shot, but he couldn't quite adjust. He was a SF by nature. And two PGs who went there who growing up were some of my idols. They ran that weird UB sideline break to perfection. Stevie Ray, and Derrick Russell.

OnceInADECADE

09-16-2010, 03:56 PM

JerrySteakhouse

09-16-2010, 11:25 PM

GTFO NO Michael Beasley:facepalm
I knew you would say that as soon as I saw you were the one posting. :facepalm

Rose

09-16-2010, 11:33 PM

In person, I saw CDR tear up my college, a couple years before I decided to go here. On TV probably Durant. He tore up so many guys, won so many awards it was just amazing.(keep in mind I've been watching live college basketball for about 5 years)

JerrySteakhouse

09-17-2010, 12:36 AM

Terrance Williams was awesome.

Hawker

09-17-2010, 02:11 AM

boozehound

09-17-2010, 12:23 PM

yeah, for hawkster, that durant game at Reed was nuts. definitely the most exciting college game I have been to. and, yes, durant is the best college player I have seen live. Probably by a shit ton.

stridge

09-17-2010, 02:51 PM

Melo and Durant

Crystallas

09-17-2010, 05:46 PM

Bird, Ewing, Jordan, or Shaq. Those guys were pure electricity and domination. They have to be the best that I have seen.

Of course, there are Adam Morrisons, Joakim Noahs, players who played outside any real mold, and weren't good enough to carry their teams, but they did it anyways with all of the drive in the world. It was an honor to see those guys play college ball.

Hawker

09-17-2010, 09:44 PM

yeah, for hawkster, that durant game at Reed was nuts. definitely the most exciting college game I have been to. and, yes, durant is the best college player I have seen live. Probably by a shit ton.

It wasn't at Reed. It was @ Texas. The A&M vs. Baylor game at Reed was nuts though. 5OT. We lost but it was still a great game...free throws ****ed us.

Maga_1

09-17-2010, 09:45 PM

Adam Morrison
Kevin Durant

SourPatchKids

09-17-2010, 10:02 PM

jeremy lin

OnceInADECADE

09-18-2010, 01:13 PM

26/12 NUFF SAID:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

MasterDurant24

09-18-2010, 01:45 PM

26/12 NUFF SAID:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:
Oh, shut up.

boozehound

09-18-2010, 09:34 PM

It wasn't at Reed. It was @ Texas. The A&M vs. Baylor game at Reed was nuts though. 5OT. We lost but it was still a great game...free throws ****ed us.
yeah, I conflated the game from the year before at reed (which AnM won on a buzzer beater IIRC) with the game at reed the next year. I was not at the game in austin that went to OT, though I do remember it. damn, im getting old.

Kobe8

09-18-2010, 10:01 PM

Adam Morrison , I feel so sorry for him..

Jailblazers7

01-28-2014, 11:04 AM

I'd probably say Jabari is the best I've ever seen live after last night. He is a lot more explosive in person and his skill was just clearly a step above everyone else on the court. Really impressive offensive display in the 1st half and he had really nice footwork around the hoop. Looked stronger than I thought too but Pitt's bigs play soft so that probably helped.

Didn't get to see Melo play during his Big East days or he would be #1. Before Jabari, it was probably one of the UCONN guys (Kemba, Ben Gordon, or Emeka).

IGOTGAME

01-28-2014, 11:30 AM

Kevin Durant.

JtotheIzzo

01-30-2014, 02:20 AM

Larry Johnson

Goliath Uterus

01-30-2014, 10:26 AM

Melo and KD. Slight edge to Melo 'cause he won the ship. KD at Allen field house was ridiculous, dude was hitting consecutive pull up 3's with 3 dudes in his face.

Blake Griffin: We got him in foul trouble early on so we were able to compete with Oklahoma but we ended up losing in the end.
Cole Aldrich: We should've beat Kansas last year. We were so close and the crowd was so banging. We barely lost and we were all devastated.

For those saying Durant, the Texas A&M vs. Texas @ Texas a few years back was probably one of the best college games I've seen.

Acie Law vs. Kevin Durant. Both were clutch as hell. Too bad Acie sits the bench now.

Cole Aldrich was never even the best player on KU, lol.

JohnnyBravo5

02-03-2014, 04:45 PM

RJ Hunter for Georgia State. SG avg 20/4. Team is on 13 game winning streak. Hit 12 3's in a game at UT-San Antonio earlier in the year.

When tournament time comes remember that name.