Updated Rankings for College Basketball's Best Power Forwards in 2014-15
Power forward has become the most diverse position in college basketball.
You still have your traditional "power" forwards. Those back-to-the-basket scorers give their teams good beef inside, but many teams these days are going with stretch 4's who can shoot the three.
This mix leads to a lot of fun matchups and has forced coaches to think outside of the box on both ends.
What you'll find on this list is some guys who can do it all—bang inside and shoot the three—some throwbacks who are all about power and rebounding and guys who don't really fit in either category but are still effective. There's definitely no shortage of talent at the position.
This is the penultimate edition of these lists. Centers are last up next week. Team value, team success and the eye test were used to determine the best of the best.
Just missed the cut: Brandon Ashley, Arizona; TaShawn Thomas, Oklahoma; Zach Auguste, Notre Dame; Jalen Jones, Texas A&M; Christian Wood, UNLV
All statistics are as of Monday, February 16.
20-16: Looney-Brown
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Kevon Looney, UCLA
Preseason rank: Unranked
Kevon Looney has a ton of potential, but because that's the case, we'll likely never see him be a great player on the college level. He's had his moments this season for the UCLA Bruins, who are making a late-season push to get back to the NCAA tournament.
Jarell Martin, LSU
Preseason rank: Unranked
Jarell Martin has been a consistent double-double threat for the LSU Tigers, averaging 15.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He had an impressive 21 points on just 11 shots last week against Kentucky's legion of length.
Troy Williams, Indiana
Preseason rank: Unranked
Troy Williams has been a great weapon for the small-ball Indiana Hoosiers, using his speed to put opposing big men in awkward spots. He's averaging a solid 13.7 points on 58.4 percent shooting.
Anthony Gill, Virginia
Preseason rank: Unranked
Anthony Gill has been Virginia's best back-to-the-basket threat this season, thanks to some solid footwork and a soft touch around the bucket. He's also a versatile and valuable defender in Tony Bennett's pack-line defense.
John Brown, High Point
Preseason rank: Unranked
John Brown is a powerful athlete with a great motor who would fit right in at the high-major level. He averages 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game for the Big South's best team.
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Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Preseason rank: Unranked
A case could be made that Alec Peters is the best shooter at his position in the country. He's made 68 threes this season and shoots at an impressive 46.6 percent clip from deep. He averages 17.0 points for the Valparaiso Crusaders, who are in first place in the Horizon League.
J.J. Avila, Colorado State
Preseason rank: Unranked
J.J. Avila is extremely skilled and one of the better passing big men in the country. He's a stat-stuffer for the Colorado State Rams, averaging 16.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
Perry Ellis, Kansas
Preseason rank: 4
Perry Ellis is a really good shooter who has improved this season putting the ball on the floor. When he can get the ball in space, he's one of the toughest covers in the Big 12. He's averaging 13.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Rico Gathers, Baylor
Preseason rank: Unranked
Rico Gathers beats you with energy, want-to and good old-fashioned strength. The man built like an NFL defensive end is the nation's leading rebounder at 12.4 boards per game.
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming
Preseason rank: 11
Larry Nance Jr. is a clever scorer from the blocks who can throw down some nasty dunks just like his dad. The Wyoming Cowboys were 19-4 until he got mononucleosis, and they lost two straight without him.
10. Jake Layman, Maryland
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Preseason rank: Unranked
Melo Trimble gets a lot of the credit for the turnaround in College Park, but Jake Layman should get a lot of love as well.
Layman has had a breakout season playing a stretch 4 for the Maryland Terrapins, averaging a career-best 13.5 points per game. He's knocking down 40.7 percent of his threes, and he can also put the ball on the floor when defenders try to close out.
Attacking off of the dribble is probably the area in which he's improved the most, drawing 5.0 fouls per 40 minutes and attempting nearly two more free throws per game than he did last season.
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9. Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin
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Preseason rank: 17
Nigel Hayes is just waiting his turn until Frank Kaminsky graduates. Hayes is already one of the best and most versatile scorers in the Big Ten.
Hayes extended the range on his jumper this year, and that's made him harder to guard. Last season, he didn't attempt a three all year; this season, he's knocked down 19 and is shooting 40.4 percent from deep. He's also a good shooter in the mid-range. He can score facing up or with his back to the basket.
Basically, he's the perfect fit in Bo Ryan's offense, and next season, he'll likely be the Badger in the National Player of the Year conversation.
8. Aaron White, Iowa
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Preseason rank: 5
Aaron White has never been a high-usage guy, yet he always puts up solid numbers. This season, he's averaging 14.6 points on 8.6 shots per game.
White has been such a great fit through the years in head coach Fran McCaffery's uptempo offense. He's a speed freak who can outrun opposing bigs, and it's extremely difficult to guard him in space because of his quickness, which is why he gets to the line so often. He averages nearly seven free throws per game and ranks 23rd nationally in free-throw rate, per KenPom.com.
7. Georges Niang, Iowa State
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Preseason rank: 2
Georges Niang is one of the most skilled players in all of college basketball, and it's a good thing, because he'd have a hard time getting on the floor if he wasn't.
He's a little slow, his vertical is almost nonexistent, and he's undersized. But Niang produces because he can pass, shoot and dribble with the best of them. He's been really shooting it well from distance lately, knocking down 51.4 percent of his threes over the last nine games.
Head coach Fred Hoiberg plays Niang all over the court—it's not unusual to see him bring the ball up the floor—and he's a constant mismatch for opposing big men because of his skill.
6. Le'Bryan Nash, Oklahoma State
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Preseason rank: Unranked
Le'Bryan Nash has found his niche late in his career as an undersized 4. Big men struggle to guard him off of the bounce, and he thrives in the mid-range. He is not a great shooter beyond the arc, which is why he'll have a hard time making it in the NBA, but he no longer tries to be something he's not, and he's figured out a way to become a really productive college player.
The Cowboys weren't expected to be very good this season, but they've been able to ride Nash and Phil Forte to a probable NCAA tourney bid.
5. Jordan Mickey, LSU
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Preseason rank: 6
Nobody gets off of the floor like Jordan Mickey.
The Tigers' jumping jack is leading the nation in blocks (92) and has been a double-double machine. He averages 17.1 points and 10.8 rebounds, and he has 15 double-doubles this season.
Mickey has really been on a tear lately, averaging 21.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.0 blocks over LSU's last seven games.
4. Montrezl Harrell, Louisville
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Preaseason rank: 1
Montrezl Harrell is the ultimate energy guy who has found a way to be a dominant college player by just playing harder than everyone else and dunking everything. It also helps that he's pretty darn strong.
He's putting up the best numbers of his career this season, averaging 15.4 points and 9.3 rebounds. He's improved his back-to-the-basket game, but that will never be his specialty. With guards who are pretty good at creating for him, Harrell has been able to consistently produce as one of the best finishers in the game.
3. Bobby Portis, Arkansas
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Preseason rank: 18
Bobby Portis has led the revival at Arkansas this season, getting the program on track to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008.
The athletic big fella who runs the floor well has thrived in head coach Mike Anderson's uptempo attack, but he's also skilled enough to give Arkansas a go-to guy when forced to play in the half court.
Portis has a solid jumper—47.4 percent from deep on a limited number of attempts—but he does most of his damage around the bucket. He's a 77.9 percent shooter at the rim, according to Hoop-Math.com. That efficiency has helped him be a consistent force in the SEC, and he's the league's second-leading scorer at 17.7 points per game.
2. Seth Tuttle, Northern Iowa
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Preseason rank: Unranked
Seth Tuttle is the star on one of the best mid-major teams in the country. The big fella is highly skilled and serves as the centerpiece to an extremely hard-to-guard offense.
The Northern Iowa Panthers have six guys in their rotation, including Tuttle, shooting better than 40 percent from deep. You can try to double-team him, but he's a great passer—3.2 assists per game—and good luck with all of those shooters around him.
Tuttle can beat you from deep (48.6 percent from beyond the arc), he can beat you inside (makes 65.5 percent of his two-pointers), and not surprisingly, he gets to the free-throw line often. He draws 6.6 fouls per 40 minutes and is a solid 77.1 percent at the line.
He also had one of the best single-game performances on a big stage this year, dropping 29 points on Wichita State in a 16-point win last month.
1. Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga
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Preseason rank: 16
Kyle Wiltjer has been the perfect fit at Gonzaga. He's extremely skilled and a great shooter. At Kentucky, head coach John Calipari would try to get him pick-and-pops and some isolation plays, but he just couldn't get enough touches to really be a great scorer.
At Gonzaga, he's once again surrounded by talent, but he's now the go-to guy. Head coach Mark Few's offense has always been friendly to skilled bigs, allowing them to float to the perimeter and getting them plenty of touches on the blocks. Wiltjer can score in both spots and has thrived.
Wiltjer is making a career-best 44.4 percent of his threes, 56.9 percent of his twos, 80.3 percent at the line and is averaging 16.4 points per game. No big man in the country—not even Wisconsin's Kaminsky—is putting up better efficiency numbers. He's worthy of All-American honors at the end of the year and plenty worthy of this spot as the nation's best power forward.
C.J. Moore covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @CJMooreBR.
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