Top 20 Greatest College Basketball Players of All Time

Contributor Written on March 31, 2009

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Who are the greatest college basketball players of all time?

In this list, I will count down the 20 best college basketball players, looking at 10 honorable mentions before getting to the Top 10 countdown.

The honorable mentions are a great group of players, but they just missed the Top 10. Here are some players that missed the Top 20 altogether, but are still worth mentioning.

Michael Jordan (North Carolina)
Tim Duncan (Wake Forest)
Elgin Baylor (Seattle)
Isiah Thomas (Indiana)
Phil Ford (North Carolina)

20. Danny Manning (Honorable Mention)

Team: Kansas (1985-1988)
First Team All-Americans: 2 (1987-1988)
Player of the Year: 1 (1988)
NCAA Titles: 1 (1988)

19. Magic Johnson

Team: Michigan State (1978-1979)
First Team All-Americans: 1 (1979)
Player of the Year: 0
NCAA Titles: 1 (1979)

18. Larry Johnson (Honorable Mention)

Team: UNLV (1990-1991)
First Team All-Americans: 2 (1990-1991)
Player of the Year: 1 (1991)
NCAA Titles: 1 (1990)

17. Bill Bradley (Honorable Mention)

Team: Princeton (1963-1965)
First Team All-Americans: 2 (1964-1965)
Player of the Year: 1 (1965)
NCAA Titles: 0

16. George Mikan (Honorable Mention)

Team: DePaul (1943-1946)
First Team All-American: 2 (1944-1945)
Player of the Year: 1 (1946)
NCAA Titles: 0 (1945 NIT Title)

15. Ralph Sampson (Honorable Mention)

Team: Virginia (1980-1983)
First Team All-American: 3 (1981-1983)
Player of the Year: 3 (1981-1983)
NCAA Titles: 0

14. Christian Laettner (Honorable Mention)

Team: Duke (1989-1992)
First Team All-American: 1 (1992)
Player of the Year: 1 (1992)
NCAA Titles: 1 (1991-1992)

13. Tom Gola (Honorable Mention)

Team: La Salle (1952-1955)
First Team All-American: 3 (1953-1955)
Player of the Year: 0
NCAA Titles: 1 (1954)

12. Wilt Chamberlain (Honorable Mention)

Team: Kansas (1957-1958)
First Team All-American: 2 (1957-1958)
Player of the Year: 0
NCAA Titles: 0

11. Patrick Ewing (Honorable Mention)

Team: Georgetown (1982-1985)
First Team All-American: 3 (1983-1985)
Player of the Year: 1 (1985)
NCAA Titles: 1 (1984)

10. Elvin Hayes

Team: Houston (1966-1968)
First Team All-American: (1967-1968)
Player of the Year: 1 (1968)
NCAA Titles: 0
Final Four: 1 (1968)
PPG: 31.0
RPG: 17.2

9. Jerry Lucas

Team: Ohio State (1960-1962)
First Team All-American: 3 (1960-1962)
Player of the Year: 2 (1961-1962)
NCAA Titles: 1 (1960)
Final Four: 3 (1960-1962)
PPG: 24.3
RPG: 17.2

8. Larry Bird

Team: Indiana State (1977-1979)
First Team All-American: 2 (1978-1979)
Player of the Year: 1 (1979)
NCAA Titles: 0
Final Four: 1 (1979)
PPG: 30.3
RPG: 13.3
APG: 4.6

7. Jerry West

Team: West Virginia (1958-1960)
First Team All-American: 2 (1959-1960)
Player of the Year: 0
NCAA Titles: 0
Final Four: 1 (1959)
PPG: 24.8
RPG: 13.3
APG: 2.8

6. David Thompson

Team: NC State (1973-1975)
First Team All-American: 2 (1974-1975)
Player of the Year: 2 (1974-1975)
NCAA Titles: 1 (1974)
Final Four: 1 (1974)
PPG: 26.8
RPG: 8.0

5. Pete Maravich

Team: LSU (1968-1970)
First Team All-American: 3 (1968-1970)
Player of the Year: 1970 (1)
NCAA Titles: 0
Final Four: 0
PPG: 44.2
RPG: 6.4
APG: 5.1

4. Bill Walton

Team: UCLA (1972-1974)
First Team All-American: 3 (1972-1974)
Player of the Year: 2 (1972-1973)
NCAA Titles: 2 (1972-1973)
Final Four: 3 (1972-1974)
PPG: 20.3
RPG: 15.7
APG: 3.6

3. Oscar Robertson

Team: Cincinnati (1958-1960)
First Team All-American: 3 (1958-1960)
Player of the Year: 3 (1958-1960)
NCAA Titles: 0
Final Four: 2 (1959-1960)
PPG: 33.8
RPG: 15.2
APG: 7.1

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Team: UCLA (1967-1969)
First Team All-American: 3 (1967-1969)
Player of the Year: 2 (1967, 1969)
NCAA Titles: 3 (1967-1969)
Final Four: 3 (1967-1969)
PPG: 26.4
RPG: 15.5

1. Bill Russell

Team: San Francisco (1954-1956)
First Team All-American: 2 (1955-1956)
Player of the Year: 1 (1956)
NCAA Titles: 2 (1955-1956)
Final Four: 2 (1955-1956)
PPG: 20.7
RPG: 20.3

Begin Slideshow

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Top 20 Greatest College Basketball Players of All Time

Josh Turner

20. Danny Manning (Honorable Mention)

19. Magic Johnson

18. Larry Johnson (Honorable Mention)

17. Bill Bradley (Honorable Mention)

16. George Mikan (Honorable Mention)

15. Ralph Sampson (Honorable Mention)

14. Christian Laettner (Honorable Mention)

13. Tom Gola (Honorable Mention)

12. Wilt Chamberlain (Honorable Mention)

11. Patrick Ewing (Honorable Mention)

10. Elvin Hayes

9. Jerry Lucas

8. Larry Bird

7. Jerry West

6. David Thompson

5. Pete Maravich

4. Bill Walton

3. Oscar Robertson

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1. Bill Russell

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