Ranking the Top Foreign-Born Players in College Basketball in 2015-16

College basketball is at an interesting point in history.

Never before have seemingly so many people complained about the game as a whole (everything from the shot clock to timeouts and awful scoring rates). And there's the ongoing debate about how long much staying in school—rather than bolting for the pros—would help not only the individuals, but also two levels of the sport.

Yet there's a high point here we don't talk about enough: the impact of foreign players on the American college game.

Recruiting pipelines used to merely come from United States hotbeds (or, if you wish to be more cynical, shoe companies and AAU coaches steering talent in certain directions). But now, just like the NBA, we're seeing basketball become a truly global game at the college level.

Australia is playing a huge role, as we'll examine a few times in this slideshow. But the international flavor has never been spicier. We're not just talking small schools (say Saint Mary's with the Aussies) finding warm bodies. There are legit conference and national POY candidates that weren't always raised in the USA but have emboldened the sport with their personalities, attitudes and talent.

Here's a ranking of the top foreign players to watch heading into the 2015-16 season.

11. Venky Jois, Eastern Washington

Don Ryan/Associated Press

Jois is Australian but is actually named after his Indian grandfather, so Venkatesha is actually a form of one of the Hindu Gods, Vishnu.

Jois could become a god of sorts at EWU this winter. Tyler Harvey is gone, so Jois (pronounced joyce) will have to do even more than the 16.7 PPG he averaged last winter.

Don't forget that he still managed to record eight double-doubles, including a stretch of five straight games late in Big Sky Conference play. At 6'8'', he's also a solid shot-blocker who will have to be careful not to get in foul trouble (he drew whistles at twice the clip as he committed them in 2014-15).

And remember that big early-season win against Indiana? Jois produced 20 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. Georgetown in the NCAA tournament didn't turn out to be his team's win, like so many pundits were figuring, but Jois still had a 19 and eight.

10. Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

That may seem like a cruel picture of Sabonis to run. It's from the final stages of Gonzaga's Elite Eight loss to Duke.

But it tells two great things: just how much Sabonis lamented that the season was ending, and that you don't have to be an American-raised kid to really cherish the NCAA tournament.

The Lithuanian, the son of basketball legend Arvydas Sabonis, should fare better than averaging nearly 10 points and seven rebounds as a sophomore. His numbers were up slightly in the four-game NCAA run.

Along with Przemek Karnowski, he'll form one of the great frontcourts in the country next season. And don't forget Kyle Wiltjer. We should note that Wiltjer, who was born in Oregon, holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship and has committed himself to Canada internationally.

Gonzaga loses three starters from last year, after making its deepest postseason run in school history.

9. Peter Hooley, Albany

Paul Vernon/Associated Press

The America East doesn’t get a whole lot of love. But Peter Hooley brought the league, and his school, attention in droves with a game-winning three-pointer that sent the Great Danes to the NCAA tournament.

According to the school's bio of him, it was selected as the SportsCenter top play for the month of March and the third week of March.

Hooley was named a co-captain before the season but wound up taking a three-week leave back home to Australia after his mother passed away from a long battle with cancer. He missed eight league games.

Hooley still averaged nearly 14 points despite all of the turmoil. He should be especially valuable next year at the foul line. He is a 75 percent shooter (he was higher than that in his first two seasons, but may have dropped off a little because of the outside distractions). Dooley committed only 1.3 fouls per 40 minutes last year but drew more than four.

That’s not court-storming stuff in itself, but the Danes will be after an unprecedented fourth consecutive NCAA bid.

8. Peter Jok, Iowa

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

There are tough calls on these types of lists. But Peter Jok, despite a relatively limited sample size,  has a chance to be a really smooth three-point shooter for the next couple years.

The 6'6'' junior played in all 34 games, starting 21, while averaging seven points per game.

The question is if he'll make sure to get his act together. He was suspended indefinitely in the summer of 2014 for another moped violation (not exactly the most heinous problem, but enough to warrant coach Fran McCaffery's ire.)

The Jok family journey started with all of the political strife in Sudan, then stopped in Uganda and Kenya before landing in Des Moines in 2003. Older brother Dau was six years old and Peter three.

Jok made 34 percent of his three-pointers (36 out of 105) last year but also looked like a considerably better rebounder (increased from 0.9 to 2.6 per game). It just feels like there's a much higher ceiling to be reached with him, if he can keep off the moped and keep on a decent diet.

7. Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

The big man from Poland may not get a ton of credit for his athleticism, but he has it in spades.

Same with confidence, which appeared to grow considerably from the start of his junior season. By the end, he was testing the NBA draft waters. He hasn't had a lightning-strike career by any stretch, but gradually his numbers have gone up. His minutes average went down last year, only because Gonzaga had so many trees in its forest.

He averaged 10.9 points and 5.8 rebounds last year and had a chance to learn a valuable lesson: He can, and must, get better. He had just four points and five rebounds (not to mention four fouls and as many turnovers) in the Elite Eight against Duke. Granted, counterpart Jahlil Okafor didn't play that great, either, (4-of-10 shooting) but Karnowski will return to be a bigger focal point in the Zags season.

He will bring his enthusiastic spirit back to the Spokane, Washington, campus and perhaps some highlight-reel moves as well. He had a couple of doozy passes against UCLA in the Sweet 16, dropping a no-look pass to Domantas Sabonis for a dunk and then hitting Sabonis again with some behind-the-back hijinks.

6. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Kansas

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

The Ukraine product could easily be considered the weakest prospect on this list, if we're merely talking about his starting-point production from last year (2.8 points and hardly a whisper during conference play and beyond).

But if we're talking Year 1 to Year 2 progress, perhaps no sophomore in the country—international or American—could presumably have as big of a leap. "Svi," as he's known, looked like a boy among men last year. And the kid born in 1997 had that excuse. He should've been going to a prom, not playing in the Big 12. He doesn't turn 18 until June.

But figure a summer around famed athletic trainer Andrea Hudy will get him better prepared. And figure everything else will come along with it. Mykhailiuk is a ridiculously versatile player who should have a good summer learning around Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden, who opted to remain Jayhawks.

5. Skal Labissiere, Kentucky

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Certainly there had to be a freshman in here somewhere. Any surprise he's heading to Kentucky?

University of Kentucky signee Skal Labissiere was selected No. 1 in Scout.com’s final class of 2015 player rankings.

The 7-footer from Haiti did not play high school ball in Tennessee last year because of transfer rules.

His hands, jump shot and confidence level are all considered to be high level. And UK sure could use a big inside presence after losing Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein to the NBA draft.

Not that most of the Wildcats' overhauled roster will know what it was like to play with those two.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/05/05/3836966_kentucky-signee-labissiere-is.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

4. Amida Brimah, UConn

Fred Beckham/Associated Press

Amida Brimah missed the offseason after his freshman year because of shoulder surgery, but there's one way it didn't seem to hurt him: when he had to get rid of someone's shot.

The UConn junior-to-be, an honest to goodness 7-footer,  averaged 3.5 blocks per game (second nationally), and he could be a full-court threat whom the Huskies can build around. His shooting can get better, but the big concern for the Huskies is obviously foul trouble.

He averaged 4.3 fouls per 40 minutes last year but drew about a half-foul less, meaning he needs to switch up his aggressiveness a little.

"When I try to get physical, I get fouls," Brimah told reporters after a midseason game. "I just try to use my body more, but sometimes when I use my body more, people score a lot on me. So it's hard to stay between playing hard and not fouling, but I'm working on that."

Still, coach Kevin Ollie has to love the Ghanaian's work ethic and attitude.

"I don't really care about offense like that," Brimah said of his overall interests. "I mean, if I have a chance to score, I'm going to score, but I don't really base my game on scoring. If I'm getting rebounds and I'm blocking shots, I feel good about myself. I don't really care about scoring. I just like playing hard and getting blocks and rebounds."

3. Ben Simmons, LSU

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

When Ben Simmons signed with LSU last November, the Australian (by way of a powerhouse Florida high school program) was going on his "first instinct."

Rated as the top high schooler by several pundits, it remains to be seen if he'll hold that decision so dearly after shot-blocking stud Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin (another forward) declared for the NBA draft.

Imagine the Tigers with that trio. Or maybe Simmons, a 6'9'' forward himself, will be just fine with more room and time to operate.

Simmons shot 70 percent from two-point range in his senior year at Montverde Academy.

The biggest ongoing story of his arrival at LSU, however, may be his main contact in Baton Rouge. LSU assistant coach David Patrick grew up in Melbourne, another prime example of how college basketball staffs are evolving to recruit globally.

2. Jakob Poeltl, Utah

Craig Mitchelldyer/Associated Press

When we think of where Jakob Poeltl's from, we can't help but think about the opening scene from the original Dumb and Dumber.

Poeltl has no Australian accident because, you know, he's from Austria. We don't know what they throw on "the barbie" there.

But the Utes' 7-footer should roast more than a few opponents now that he's back for a sophomore year. It was a rocket-like projection from presumed bench guy to a potential first-round NBA draft pick before Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak convinced him another year of seasoning would help.

Poeltl averaged 9.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. The interesting thing will be to see how Utah builds a game plan around him. Krystkowiak had the luxury of guard Delon Wright the last couple of years. Wright was terrific at late-shot-clock moves to the rim and either finding an open man or finishing himself.

Poeltl is going to have to develop some more moves. But his performance against Jahlil Okafor and Duke in the NCAA Sweet 16 in March shows what he's capable of. If the Utes aren't as efficient on offense, Poeltl can help make up for that. He's fantastic at creating extra chances.

1. Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

The cynical college fan just had to figure he was gone. But the guy from the Bahamas brought a different kind of drama.

Virtually last minute before the NBA draft declaration deadline (say it five times fast!) he opted to return to Norman. So arguably the best conference in the league last year (well...before the NCAA tournament) should remain near the top again with a ton of veteran experience.

"It was a tough decision, and I obviously took it near the deadline," said Buddy Hield, who led the Big 12 in scoring last year. "But I just went through the process. I listened to Coach (Lon) Kruger, I listened to my mentors back home, my high school coach, and my mom and my family. I did a lot of research on players and the history of the NBA Draft. I just did what I felt was best for me and my family. I feel like if I come back I'll be in a better situation next year."

OU reached the Sweet 16 last year for the first time since the Blake Griffin days and returns the vast majority of the roster (TaShawn Thomas graduates).

That should give Sooners fans plenty to talk about. And maybe even Hield, too, as anyone who knows him knows how much he loves to gab.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats courtesy of KenPom.com.