College Basketball Encore: Reliving the Top 10 Plays from the 2010-2011 Season

A lot of us didn't want the season to be over but, until October 15, we'll have to live vicariously through this past year for our college basketball fix (since EA Games and 2K Sports scratched future installments of their respected college hoops basketball titles—don't even get me started on that tangent).  

This past year may not have featured a number of future NBA superstars like in years past, but there was still no shortage of remarkable plays that made us jump out of our recliners, couches, bean bags, beds, you name it.

Let us pay homage to this unforgettable season: a season where a team that didn't receive a single vote for the AP Pre-Season Poll won the national championship (I'm sure this is the first time you've heard that statistic); a season where the story of Butler went from "I can't believe they did it!" to "I can't believe they did it again!"; a season where no No. 1 or No. 2 seeds met in the Final Four; and a season that was Twilight-esque in that you were either Team Kemba or Team Jimmer.

There was a lot to love and appreciate about this past season, and here's my selection of the top 10 plays it had to offer.   

10: Vandy's Jeffrey Taylor Throws Down. Hard.

Vanderbilt's Jeffrey Taylor one-hand SLAM from inbound.

This is a great example of two-man basketball.  Taylor cuts hard to the basket and the inbounder lobs him the ball just in time.  

It looks like even the Georgia team enjoyed this dunk.

9: U of L's Preston Knowles Behind-the-Head Buzzer-Beater

He's had to have practiced this before.

Nothing better than going into halftime after hitting an impossibly-lucky shot as time expires—unless you play for the team that didn't hit an impossibly-lucky shot as time expired.

8: Derrick Williams Says 'Nope'

Would you like some turkey with that stuffing?

Would you like some turkey with that stuffing?

Aside from Kemba Walker, Derrick Williams took the nation by surprise like nobody else this season.  

It's plays like these that catapulted Williams into super-stardom among college basketball's most elite players.  

7: Kemba Walker's Hail Mary from Mid-Court as Shot Clock Expires

Hi. My name is Kemba Walker and I make ridiculous shots look easy.

This shot is absolutely unfathomable.  That's all I got.

6: Harrison Barnes Shows Shades of Vintage Vince Carter

Anyone remember Vince Carter's dunk on Alonzo Mourning in 2006? Yeah, this is kind of like that one.  

For those of you who haven't seen the Vinsanity dunk over 'Zo, click here.

Ok, ok—Vince Carter's dunk was 10 times better than Barnes'.  But Barnes was only a freshman!

5: Terrence Jones Drops It Like It's Hot During Maui Invitational

Dunking on one person just isn't enough for Terrence Jones, so he ups the ante.

Jones, while inconsistent toward the end of the season, was one of the most dominant players in college basketball this year.  Plays like this reinforce that point.  

Little would you know that UK lost this game by 17.  Good thing UConn ended up winning the national title or this might have been considered a "bad loss."  

4: White on White Crime: Perpetrator: Kyle Kuric, Victim: Scott Martin

Kyle Kuric proves that white men CAN jump.  But only a select few.

When your coach stands up and claps after you teabag-dunk over someone, that's when you know your chances of winning the Papa John's Dunk of the Year award are pretty solid.

And you've got to love the old-school-coach advise from Bob Knight about how to act after "making a great play." Clearly Bobby never dunked on anyone before.

3: "I Don't Know How He Made That Circus Shot"

This video is just two replays of the shot.  You'll understand why.

Purdue's E'twaun Moore combined a little MJ, a little Dr. J, and a little A.I. to pull off this shot, which I still have no idea how he managed.  

I'm surprised he didn't strain a back muscle with all that winding, twisting and turning. 

2: Little Guy Dunks BIG

High Point is in North Carolina, for those of you wondering. And the guy dunking? Oh that's Shay Shine. He's 6-foot-2.

I'm at a loss for words to describe this dunk.  So I'll just let you re-watch the video, over and over again as I did.

Kemba Time

Do you remember where you were when you watched this shot?  Be it live, on SportsCenter, on YouTube, a buddy's cell phone?  

I do.

I was on my couch, on Facebook, hoping that Kemba would do something Kemba-ish.  I believe my response after watching this play was: "OH MY GOD.  OH MY GOD.  OHHHH MYYYYY GODDDDDDD!"  

Something along those lines at least.  

I made a Facebook status about this shot, and then about 15 of my friends commented on that status about how they saw the shot, too, and then proceeded to make a status about it themselves.  

Let's just say Kemba didn't disappoint.

This was cooler talk for at least a week.  Everything there is to love about Kemba Walker is demonstrated in this play.  The shake, the bake, the fall, the shot, the swish, the crowd erupting in a frenzy.  Yeah, this play was the total package - that's why it earned my No. 1 spot.

Hopefully you've enjoyed this countdown of the year's top plays (in my humble opinion).  Feel free to disagree.  If you find videos that you think didn't make the cut but should have, please add the link to them in a comment below.  

Here's to hoping next year's season has just as many memorable moments in store.

(Please note that I only had access to videos that YouTube provided.  So if there's a "no-brainer" play that I missed, chances are it simply wasn't on YouTube.)