Ranking the 10 Best Defensive Players in College Basketball Right Now

Defense is a tough metric to measure. It’s not as binary as offense. The more you score, in theory, the better offensive player you are.

Sam Vecenie of CBSSports.com wrote, “Offensive numbers are responsible for player accolades like All-American honors and scoring titles, but it's often defense that wins championships.

Defense takes on a shade of gray. A great defender may never earn a steal or block a shot in a game. Defense then becomes a feel. Great offensive players can tell you how hard a defender is by levels of comfort.

Great defenders are great disrupters.

The following players don’t necessarily have the greatest numbers per se but come from highly rated defensive teams.

Let’s meet some of the best defensive players in college basketball

10. Kenneth Smith

Victor Calzada/Associated Press

Team: Louisiana Tech, 8-3

Defensive Stats: 2.1 steals per game

Impact: Bleacher Report’s Scott Henry referred to Kenneth “Speedy” Smith as a “Gulf Coast version of VCU pest Briante Weber.”

Like Smith’s nickname suggests, he flies around the court and disrupts. He’s the reigning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and with the ability to pressure the ball and clog up passing lanes when off it, Smith is one of the great stoppers this game offers.

9. Amida Brimah

Fred Beckham/Associated Press

Team: UConn, 4-4

Defensive Stats: 2.75 blocks per game, 4.19 blocks per 40 minutes

Impact: Just look at that photograph. That’s a nightmare, pure night tremors.

Amida Brimah, a 7-foot tarantula for the Huskies, was one of the best shot-blockers a year ago while playing just 16 minutes per game.

He has continued his development as a player on both sides of the floor (including 40 points against Coppin State) and as Sam Vecenia put it, “Basically, the paint shuts down when Brimah enters the game.”

Brimah will fall behind some of the other premier shot-blockers in the country, but his presence in the paint gives the Huskies a fighting chance in the AAC.

8. Myles Turner

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

Team: Texas, 9-1

Defensive Stats: 2.91 blocks per game, 5.74 per 40 minutes

Impact: Myles Turner is proving to be a great all-around talent for the Longhorns. Not only can the freshman spot up for three, but he can block shots.

Turner had six blocks in a rout of Lipscomb. The Bison are more prey than predators for a team of Texas’ caliber. Still, Turner tore them apart leading the way with those half-dozen swats.

Chris Hummer of Texas 247Sports wrote:

"

There is no doubt Turner is a good shot blocker, but Tuesday he appeared nothing short of a savant against Lipscomb’s small front line. With six total blocks, Turner totally negated any consistent option for Lipscomb inside. And on one notable occasion, Turner made 6-foot-10, 310-pound Chad Long look like a child. Long did not elevate going up for a layup, and Turner sent the ball back with such force it flew nearly to half court.

"

Hummer quickly noted that Turner didn’t have this kind of effort against Kentucky, but it was the type of performance you want to see from the former No. 2 recruit in the country.

7. Karl Anthony-Towns

James Crisp/Associated Press

Team: Kentucky, 10-0

Defensive Stats: 2.6 blocks per game

Impact: Karl Anthony-Towns is the first of two Kentucky defenders on this list.

This freshman leads his team in blocks with 2.6 of them per game in just 18.9 minutes per game. He’s as surprised as anyone that his defense has come around so soon from high school to college.

"I didn't think (the defensive prowess) was going to translate so well to college," Towns said in The Courier-Journal. "… I didn't think it would come around this early that I would have this feel on the defensive side."

A big reason for that is real boss in the Kentucky’s low block, Willie Cauley-Stein. While the latter is the better pure defender right now, Anthony-Towns is tough in his own right.

Anthony-Towns said, “I just always took pride in trying to make sure the rim was always mine. I protected the home. If my dad sees this he'll know, I always protect the kingdom at all costs."

6. Frank Kaminsky

Mike McGinnis/Getty Images

Team: Wisconsin, 10-1

Defensive Stats: 7.6 rebounds per game, 1.9 blocks per game, 1.2 steals per game

Impact: There isn’t much Frank Kaminsky doesn’t do on the floor. For a Badgers team that allows the fourth-fewest points per game in college basketball, Kaminsky has a hand in just about every face on the floor.

For a 7-footer, Kaminsky leads his team in steals with 1.2 per game and blocks with just under two. His 69 defensive rebounds lead his team as well.

Bleacher Report’s Daniel O’Brien wrote of Kaminsky back in March that, “Meanwhile, Kaminsky's defense is a strong selling point for the pro ranks. While he doesn't have the lateral quickness or strength to fall back on, he does have great instincts and a long reach to protect the rim.”

Kaminsky has really come into his own this season with an all-around game that could earn him Player of the Year honors.

5. Chris Obekpa

Jason DeCrow/Associated Press

Team: St. John’s, 9-1

Defensive Stats: 3.5 blocks per game, 6.64 blocks per 40 minutes, 8.9 rebounds per game

Impact: To think Chris Obekpa nearly transferred away from the Red Storm last season. Coach Steve Lavin would have hated to see 3.5 shots get swatted for someone other than him.

Rickey O’Donnell of SB Nation.com wrote, "There's no one else on the Red Storm who can do what Obekpa does, because there aren't many players in America this physically gifted. At 6'10, 240 pounds with wingspan close to 7'5 and great athleticism, Obekpa has lifted St. John's to the No. 9 [now fifth] defense in the country, according to KenPom."

Obekpa is a fixture under the hoop and a reason why St. John’s could end up back in the NCAA tournament. St. John's backcourt funnels offensive players right into the violent storm under the basket.

4. Chris Jones

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Team: Louisville, 10-0

Defensive Stats: 2.3 steals per game

Impact: Chris Jones is the tenacious leader of the second-ranked defense, according to KenPom.com.

Last year, as a freshman, Jones paired up with senior Russ Smith to give new meaning to the full-court press. That kind of pressure turns coal into diamonds.

Sam Vecenie of CBSSports.com said of Jones, "Now without Smith around, Jones will have to take on an increased role, as guard Terry Rozier is not quite the defender that Smith was. However, if anyone can do it Jones can with his excellent lateral quickness and hand-eye coordination."

As a team the No. 4-ranked Cardinals are 10th in the country in points allowed (54.3), seventh in rebounding (29.0), seventh in blocks (6.8) and fifth in steals (10.4).

Louisville hosts No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday Dec. 27. If there’s a team that could send Kentucky away with maybe its only loss of the season, it could Jones and the Cardinals defense.

3. Robert Upshaw

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Team: Washington Huskies, 10-0

Defensive Stats: 45 blocks, 4.5 blocks per game, 6.8 rebounds per game

Impact: Robert Upshaw has been a force this year for the surprisingly undefeated Washington Huskies.

Upshaw told Yahoo! Sports:

"

What I've tried to do is be the person Washington has been missing, a big man that can block shots, run the floor, rebound and also score. I'm having success but I'm not satisfied. I know I can be a lot better than what I am right now. I think this is the start of what I can be, and I just have to keep improving.

"

Upshaw’s 4.5 blocks per game are tops in college basketball, and his 9.33 blocks per 40 minutes make him one of the best guardians in the land.

2. Briante Weber

Skip Rowland/Associated Press

Team: VCU, 8-3

Defensive Stats: 39 steals, 3.9 steals per game

Impact: Briante Weber has been pegged as a potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate before this season.

VCU’s defense is about as fun as running through a swarm of hornets. In the middle of that is Weber’s nation-leading 3.9 steals per game.

Writes Sam Vecenie of CBSSports.com:

"

To call Weber a great defender is an understatement. Weber is an historically great collegiate defender. He is the linchpin of Shaka Smart's "Havoc," a player with an indefatigable motor as well as superb quickness that allows him to stay in front of everyone that the opposition can place in front of him. He presses, pests and annoys offensive players through sheer speed and energy.

"

Weber is doing it again this year and is a big reason VCU is 14th in the nation in steals with 9.5 per game.

1. Willie Cauley-Stein

David Banks/Getty Images

Team: Kentucky, 10-0

Defensive Stats: 1.8 blocks per game, 1.8 steals per game, 6.7 rebounds per game

Impact: Were it not for John Calipari’s platoon system, Willie Cauley-Stein could be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. His numbers don't show it, but this young man is the best defender in the land.

Cauley-Stein’s numbers in just 24.1 minutes per game make him about as welcome as a nightclub bouncer. His skill around the basket is barely matched, and he’s a big reason why (along with Karl Anthony-Towns) Kentucky has the No. 1 defense, according to KenPom.com.

Sam Vecenie wrote:

"

For my money, Cauley-Stein is the most complete big defender in the NCAA. Yeah, he takes the occasional play off, but when he's engaged it's just about impossible to score on him. As a legitimate 7-footer with the quickness of a wing, Cauley-Stein moves from one side of the paint to the other better than any other player in college basketball. 

"

Cauley-Stein is a defensive monster. Like Vecenie said, when this guy is engaged, he will carry the Wildcats deep into the tournament and maybe even an undefeated season.

All stats came from ESPN.com.