Greatest Individual Men's College Basketball Tournament Runs Since 2000
Every edition of the men's NCAA basketball tournament has standout players, but only a small number are also remembered as March Madness icons.
It's practically impossible to forget what Stephen Curry or Kemba Walker accomplished in their respective legendary years. Carmelo Anthony and Anthony Davis put together some of the most memorable runs by freshmen, too.
Purdue's Zach Edey has pushed his way into the conversation this year as well.
That fivesome makes up just over half our selections, which are subjective but based on an individual's total production during a single tournament run.
For each player highlighted, his team at least advanced to the Elite Eight.
Jay Williams, Duke (2001)
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Shane Battier earned the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four on the way to a Duke national title, but both he and teammate Jay Williams dominated March Madness in 2001.
Williams averaged a team-high 25.7 points, including 30-point performances in the second round against Missouri and Sweet 16 opposite UCLA. He put up 28 points on USC in the Elite Eight as well.
Along with his scoring, Williams chipped in 5.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. He nabbed multiple steals in all six contests.
Williams played one more season at Duke before turning pro and heading to the Chicago Bulls as the No. 2 pick of the 2002 draft.
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse (2003)
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Freshmen usually don't become the superstars of March.
Carmelo Anthony, however, proved himself an exception in 2003 and propelled Syracuse to a national title.
The future NBA star netted 20.2 points per game while burying 47.6 percent of his three-point attempts. Anthony also tallied 9.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per contest in the six-game stretch.
Most importantly, Melo excelled in the Final Four. He collected 33 points and 14 rebounds in the semifinal win over Texas and went for 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the championship against Kansas.
Anthony became a one-and-done as part of a star-studded 2003 draft class—alongside the next guy, too.
Dwyane Wade, Marquette (2003)
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Dwyane Wade wrapped up a two-year stay at Marquette in style, leading the program to its first Final Four in 26 years.
While his production wasn't as glamorous as that of others, the Golden Eagles navigated a very difficult tourney in 2003. The third-seeded team slipped past Holy Cross in a scary opener before knocking off Missouri—a Top 25 opponent—second-seeded Pitt and top seeded Kentucky.
D-Wade gathered 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists opposite Mizzou. Then, he posted a triple-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists (plus four blocks) in the upset of Kentucky.
Kansas bounced Marquette in the national semifinals, but the future NBA legend averaged 21.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks in those five games.
Stephen Curry, Davidson (2008)
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Before we knew him as a four-time NBA champion, Stephen Curry became a household name at a plucky mid-major school
The son of pro Dell Curry, Steph averaged 21.5 points as a freshman and helped Davidson reach the NCAA tournament. The next season, however, he jumped to 25.9 and sparked a memorable surge to the 2008 Elite Eight.
In the first round, Curry lit up Gonzaga for 40 points while leading a 10-point comeback. Second-seeded Georgetown built a 17-point edge in the second round, but Curry scored 30 points in a 74-70 win. He dropped 33 points on Wisconsin, the nation's best defense, in the Sweet 16.
Davidson then put a massive scare into top-seeded Kansas, missing a buzzer-beating three in a 59-57 loss. Curry had 25 points.
Overall, the Baby-Faced Assassin averaged 32.0 points with 3.5 assists and 3.3 steals per game in March Madness.
Kemba Walker, Connecticut (2011)
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Connecticut roared out to a 17-2 start in 2010-11 but dropped seven of its last 11 games. At that point, very little about the Huskies screamed "future national champion."
Until the Big East tournament, that is.
Kemba Walker unleashed a brilliant five-game run at Madison Square Garden and launched UConn to a No. 3 seed for March Madness. That torrid hot streak continued all the way to the program's third NCAA title.
Walker flirted with a triple-double in the opener against Bucknell, putting up 18 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. He followed that up with 33 points, six boards and five assists in a win over Cincinnati, then torched second-seeded San Diego State for 36 points.
Kemba netted UConn-high scoring totals in every game, averaging 23.5 points with 6.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
Anthony Davis, Kentucky (2012)
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Unsurprisingly, most of the players highlighted had elite scoring numbers. Anthony Davis is an outlier.
Yes, he tallied 13.7 points per game on 51.0 percent shooting and a 77.4 free-throw clip in 2012. By no means was Davis an afterthought on the offensive end for national champion Kentucky.
The freshman shined in the paint, though.
In six outings, Davis pulled down 12.3 rebounds, swatted 4.8 shots and grabbed 1.2 steals per game. He totaled 74 rebounds and 29 blocks, which are both top-four individual marks for a single tournament.
Throw in 3.0 assists per night, and Davis was an all-around superstar in his final showings before the New Orleans Hornets took him No. 1 overall.
Shabazz Napier, Connecticut (2014)
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Shabazz Napier had an incredible view of Kemba's magical run, averaging 26 minutes on UConn's title-winning team in 2011.
Three seasons later, it was Napier's time to shine.
The senior guard gathered 21.2 points per game, draining 46.5 percent of his 7.2 triples each night. Napier, who went 31-of-33 at the free-throw line, also contributed 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals.
Napier didn't have a particularly dazzling showing but consistently paced the seventh-seeded Huskies. He scored 22-25 points in four contests, capping the 2014 tournament with an efficient 22 in the national championship win over Kentucky.
That six-game stretch—and LeBron James' campaigning—is a key reason Napier was a first-round pick.
Carsen Edwards, Purdue (2019)
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When a player catches fire, it's almost like the hoop is bigger. That must've been what Carsen Edwards experienced in 2019.
After netting 26 points against Old Dominion in the first round, the Purdue guard hammered Villanova for 42 in the second round. He drilled 9-of-16 threes to eliminate the defending champions.
In a thrilling Sweet 16 clash against Tennessee, he scored 29 points with two clutch, last-second free throws to force overtime.
Edwards had another brilliant game in the Elite Eight, even as the Boilermakers lost to future champion Virginia. He went 10-of-19 from the perimeter and scored another 42 points in the 80-75 overtime loss.
Purdue fell devastatingly shy of its first Final Four appearance in 39 years, but Edwards averaged 34.8 points in four memorable games.
Zach Edey, Purdue (2024)
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Five seasons later, Zach Edey picked up where Edwards left off.
The overpowering Purdue center traveled an adventurous road, though. As a freshman, he and the Boilers endured a first-round loss to 13th-seeded North Texas. Purdue fell to 15-seed Saint Peter's in the Sweet 16 the next season and No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson to open the 2023 NCAA tourney.
Thanks to Edey, however, the program's drought ended in 2024. He absolutely dominated on the way to the national title game.
Edey amassed 30 points and 21 rebounds in the opener against Grambling and then smoked Utah State for 23 points and 14 boards. Purdue knocked out Gonzaga behind his 27 points and 14 rebounds, and the Boilers secured their Final Four trip as Edey hammered Tennessee for a career-high 40 points and pulled down 16 misses.
He posted a double-double against NC State in the Final Four and stood tall against the rising UConn tide in the title game, posting 37 points and 10 boards in a loss to the repeat champs.
In short: He averaged 29.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.8 assists in those six games.
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