NCAA Basketball: Adam Morrison and the Top 10 Most Awkward College Players

Adam Morrison was an image for the ages.
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

You'll see quite a few things in NCAA competition that you won't see in the NBA.

Before the million-dollar checks are signed over. Before the lucrative shoe deals are inked. Before it becomes unacceptable to have a mop haircut and creeper stash (see Adam Morrison).

In honor and remembrance of that beautifully awkward part of the game, I have compiled this list of who I find to be most awkward college players of all time. Many different aspects were looked at in the decision-making process. It could be a funny last name, a strange facial expression when dunking or simply a funny hair-do.

I would also like to say I do not mean to offend anyone; I am simply pointing out the fashion and facial faux pas which amuse me to no end. At worst, anyone offended can take solace in the fact that you are about 1,000 times better than me at basketball, along with probably every other sport.

With that said, let the horror show commence and follow me on Twitter: @JeffNowak

10. Kevin "You Just Got" Pittsnogle"d": West Virginia Mountaineers

Pittsnoggle had the type of name that will survive forever in college basketball lore.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

This big man was chosen more for his last name than anything else. He had his fair share of crazy tattoos, but he fit in very well on a West Virginia team that looked like an oversized gym class team.

I don't say this out of disrespect, I say this out of amazement, as the Mountaineers went on a Pittsnogling tear, knocking out top team after top team. They went to the Sweet 16 in 2005 and 2006, Pittsnogling the likes of Chris Paul along the way.

Pittsnogle was given a flier by the Celtics but it never panned out. He is now playing in the CBA.

9. Josh Boone: UConn Huskies

I have to say, the cornrows always scared me a little.
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Boone has made it onto the list simply because of the hair. No man above or close to being 7-feet should be wearing cornrows.

This isn't even about fashion; I just feel for the poor girl who must have been standing on the ladder trying to perform high-altitude braiding miracles.

8. Mike Gansey: West Virginia Mountaineers

The shirt was just too much.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

I hate to throw two members of the same surprisingly good team under the bus here, but just look at the shirt.

I'm not sure if someone thought it would be funny to switch all of his medium shirts out with 2XL's or if he just likes the feeling of swimming in cotton.

Whatever the reason, the shirt was classically awkward, and he will be forever remembered on my list.

7. Greg Oden: Ohio State Buckeyes

You can use the baby-faced Roy Hibbert as a reference point to truly appreciate Oden's man-childness.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Greg Oden finds his way onto my list more because I am afraid of him than anything else.

Have you ever seen an older looking 19-year-old in your life?

If you have, he probably has the Benjamin Button disease where he ages backwards, because that's the only explanation I can come up with to explain Oden's man-childness.

That may even explain the truth behind his knee troubles. I think we're onto something here people.

6. Glen "Big Baby" Davis: LSU Tigers

Glen Davis looked like a different person when he played for LSU.
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Some people seem to forget when people called the man "Big Baby" they were referring to his baby fat more than anything else.

The kid was always a skilled basketball talent, but in college, he used his brute force to push people around. I mean, when you're that big and get inside position, no one is getting around you.

It's hard to call him out on it as it got him to the NBA, but Davis deserves as much respect as anyone for acknowledging he would have to change his game, along with his body, to make it in the association.

I think Big Baby wanted this transformation acknowledged, judging by his request to change his nickname. Unfortunately for the former LSU standout, he will always be Big Baby.

5. Cam Thoroughman: West Virginia Mountaineers

I'm almost positive he missed this dunk by a lot, if you need further proof. See the video.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

It would be difficult to find someone who looks less like a basketball player than Cam Thoroughman. I prefer to split up his name into Tho-rough-man, because that is what it looked he was trying to do on a layup last year against the Irish.

Cam is a great team guy; he does all of the dirty work and he plays hard. Unfortunately, that is not enough to keep him off my list.

I should probably watch out for any angry West Virginia fans.

Disclaimer: I love West Virginia!

4. Khalid El-Amin: UConn Huskies

El-Amin: "How you get so tall?" Hamilton: "Just did bro, just did."
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Regardless of the fact El-Amin is one of my favorite players of all time, he found his way onto this list more because of his goofiness and backstory than anything else.

El-Amin showed up at UConn already the father of a child—he now has seven of them.

El-Amin plays at 5'10", and I think that was even generous.

The guy who was too small, led UConn to its first ever National Championship in 1999, scoring the last four points of their 77-74 upset victory over the Duke Blue Devils.

He is now playing overseas, and I recently watched him play Ricky Rubio in a game I stumbled across on ESPN 3.

El-Amin is on this list more because he amuses me more than anything else. I hope you feel the same.

3. Scotty Hopson: Tennessee Volunteers

He went for it, and flopped.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Scotty, how many times have I told you? The flat top is not the answer!

I know there is a temptation to go with it. It seems more aerodynamic, it's well-balanced, birds can land on it.

The problem is, I don't approve, which is why you are on my list.

2. Joakim Noah: Florida Gators

Billy Donovan is not as tall as Joakim Noah.
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Joakim Noah, while always being a tad eccentric, clocks in at No. 2 on this list mainly because of the hair-pedemic as I've decided to call it.

I don't know the explanation for it. I also don't care to know the explanation as knowing the reason would not change how I feel. 

You know why bears want to eat you. You know it's just hungry and carrying out its natural instincts. You know little tricks to avoid being eaten by the bear.

Knowing all of this, however, does not change the fact that it hurts when the bear attacks you.

That's exactly how I feel when it comes to Noah's hair.

1. Adam Morrison: Gonzaga Bulldogs

THis picture was probably taken right after he found out he made the top of my list.
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Little really needs to be said about Adam Morrison and the domination he brought about when he played for Gonzaga.

He and JJ Reddick made the college basketball world their playground, throwing basketballs through the cylinder at a rate that suggests the rims may have been tampered with and replaced with hula-hoops.

Morrison's Beatle and 'stache choice, on the other hand, will never cease to entertain. I'm not sure if he lost a bet, was superstitious or just forgot.

Much like Joakim Noah, I don't care why, I just love it.