Ranking the Top 10 Mid-Major Basketball Players of the 2000's

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Some of the best collegiate players in the 2000's have come from mid-major schools.

A surprising number of All-Americans and national Player of the Year award winners have come from schools outside the power conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big East, SEC, Big 12 and Pac 12).

The following is a list that ranks the Top 10 mid-major players of the 2000's

You will quickly see that these individuals made their mark and accomplished much during their time on the collegiate hardwood.

10. C.J. McCollum (Lehigh)

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It was a sad day when C.J. McCollum got injured this season.

He returned for his senior year to finish a career that has been highlighted by two Patriot League Player of the Year Awards.

McCollum scored over 2,000 points in his first three seasons at Lehigh and led the Mountain Hawks to one of the most surprising March Madness upsets last year over Duke.

9. Isaiah Canaan (Murray State)

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Isaiah Canaan is an under-the-radar player for a list like this.

For his junior and senior seasons, Canaan has been one of the best scoring guards in the country.

He is currently No. 8 in the nation in scoring average (21.6 PPG).

He has made Murray State a relevant team out of the Ohio Valley Conference.

As a junior, Canaan was selected as a Second-Team All-American.

8. Doug McDermott (Creighton)

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Doug McDermott is the best current mid-major player. There’s no question about it.

As a sophomore, McDermott was named First-Team All-American by the Associated Press, USBWA, NABC and ESPN.com. He was also the No. 3 scorer in the nation, averaging 23.2 points per game. 

As a junior, the 6’8” forward is the No. 2 scorer in the nation (23.4 points per game) and is likely to repeat as a First-Team All-American.

7. Kenneth Faried (Morehead State)

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Kenneth Faried is the NCAA all-time rebound leader.

In his career at Morehead State, he pulled down 1,673 boards.

Faried was selected as the 2011 National Association of Basketball Coaches Defensive Player of the Year.

He was a consensus NCAA All-American second-team selection and a two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year.  

6. Andrew Bogut (Utah)

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Andrew Bogut’s two years at Utah were fantastic.

As a freshmen, he averaged 12.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.

As a sophomore, Bogut elevated his game exponentially, averaging 20.4 points and 12.2 rebounds.

The seven-foot center won the John Wooden Award, and was selected as the AP Player of the Year and the Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year.

5. David West (Xavier)

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From the time that David West started as a freshman at Xavier, he was putting up double-doubles.

For his four-year Musketeer career, West averaged 16.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

He was named an AP Second-Team All-American as a junior (2002) and an AP First-Team All-American as a senior.

He was also a three-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.

As a senior, the 6’9" power forward was the 2003 AP National Player of the Year and the Oscar Robertson Trophy winner.

4. Adam Morrison (Gonzaga)

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Adam Morrison was known for being an emotional and expressive player for Mark Few at Gonzaga.

More than that, Morrison was an excellent scorer.

He averaged 11.4 points per game as a freshman, 19 points per game as a sophomore and 28.1 points per game as a junior.

Morrison helped the Zags get to the Sweet 16 during his junior year.

He was selected as a 2006 First-Team All American and won the Oscar Robertson Trophy.

3. Stephen Curry (Davidson)

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Stephen Curry was one of the most dynamic college scorers in the 2000’s. He scored 2,635 points in three years at Davidson.

He hit 414 three-pointers and shot 41.2 percent from beyond the arc.

As a sophomore, Curry was selected as a Second-Team All-American, and as a junior, Curry was selected as a First-Team All-American.

2. Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph's)

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Inch-for-inch and pound-for-pound, Jameer Nelson was one of the best collegiate scoring point guards in the 2000’s.

He not only scored lots of points (2,094 for his career), but Nelson was also a skilled distributor (5.7 APG) and a solid rebounder (4.6 RPG).

Nelson started and finished his career with national awards. He was selected as the 2001 National Freshmen of the Year. As a senior, he won the 2004 Naismith College Player of the Year, the Oscar Robertson Trophy, the John Wooden Award and the Bob Cousy Award (top point guard).  

1. Jimmer Fredette (BYU)

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There have been very few shooters in college basketball in recent years like Jimmer Fredette.

The 6’2” guard from BYU could fire from anywhere this side of half court.

After a common freshman season, Fredette started filling it up.

As a sophomore, he averaged 16.2 points per game. As a junior, he dropped in 22.1. Then as a senior, Fredette went crazy, leading the nation in scoring with 28.5 points per game.

Fredette won just about every single 2011 National Player of the Year award.