College Basketball Players with the Best Signature Moves in the 2015-16 Season

Some players aren’t just better than others. They come with a style that shows up every night to help rise above the masses.

You know it’s coming. Scouting reports know it’s coming. But it still stands out, still thrives.

Some moves—along with attitudes and tendencies—are worth the price of admission in person. Or paying that cable fee (or heading to the local pub) to witness excellence.

We’re here to examine some of the signature moves that will be found across the country this year on college basketball courts.

Getting to the rim or protecting it are attitudes we’ll cherish in this slideshow. Looking for a certain type of shot, or keeping others from getting one off, is just as special in the broad scheme.

Hours and hours of blood, sweat and practice have gone into creating these creatures of habit. Let’s take a few minutes to savor some of the best of what we’ll see this winter.

Closing Space: Rico Gathers, Baylor

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Ever heard of Huston-Tillotson?

Neither had we, until Jan. 21, when Gathers made us aware of the NAIA school by turning in numbers for a nation to ponder.

The 6’8’’ forward set a school and Big 12 record by securing 28 rebounds.

Now, go ahead and say it: It was against some school named Huston-Tillotson.

But the fact Gathers didn’t treat the Rams (yeah, we looked it up) any different than say, Kansas, in his tenacity to go for the ball shows us something.

Gathers should be even more ready to impress, and perhaps atone for, an offseason shoplifting charge.

Gathers (275 pounds) is built more like a defensive lineman than a power forward. But it’s that full-body thrust to the target that could get him a chance in either sport.

“It’s like he’s trying to squeeze the air out of ball,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said during last season, via Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News.

“Just want-to and will,” Gathers said, per Carlton. “If you see it in the air, you’ve got to make sure it’s yours. Just going to attack tenaciously and being ferocious when you go to get it.”

Carlton also points out: Gathers works so hard in practice, Baylor coach Scott Drew has assigned a manager to follow him around to mop up the sweat.

It showed on the glass, so to speak. He was third nationally in offensive rebounding percentage.  

Lateral Movement: Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

A terrific defender, Brogdon regularly guards an opponent’s best perimeter player.

His most impressive defensive showing was when he held Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant scoreless in the first half and to six points for the game in Virginia’s 62-56 victory on Jan. 10.

According to Sports-Reference.com, he collects 7.5 percent of the available rebounds and assists on 16.5 percent of Virginia's field goals.

Brogdon shows just how skilled and smart (here’s a guy who once turned down Harvard) can be.

These days he’s also working on a master’s degree in public policy.

And the tenacity at knowing how to best control his fate—and steer it for the opponent, as well—comes from his freshman year. He had a solid beginning (roughly seven points, three rebounds) when a sore left foot wound up requiring surgery near the end of the season. 

His 6’5’’ wingspan is sure to keep an ACC (or non-conference) star from shining often this year.

First Step, Defense: Gary Payton II

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

OK, so we’re not going to judge Daniel Gomis here.

We’re not even going to question Oregon State’s defense.

Rather, we’re just going to praise Payton II and note he’s one in-your-jockstrap guard.

Last year’s Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year had a school-record seven blocked shots in one game. And that wasn’t exactly an anomaly.

He was second on the Beavers in swats with 1.2 per game, only 0.2 behind Gomis—who has seven inches (6’10’’) on his team’s point guard.

Payton is more known for his steals, but the blocked shots in a way make sense of that. He’s willing to close the gap on defenders—fit them like a Glove, if you will.

All-Around Help: Jake Layman, Maryland

Paul Vernon/Associated Press

We’ll admit—this is more intangible than skill.

But Layman’s progress is best marked by two concepts. First, that he doesn’t let a few early, missed shots dictate his game.

More importantly, he’s hardly about “only offense” these days while establishing himself as possibly the finest all-around player in the country: a classic role player.

"What I've tried to do is just be a basketball player and not really worry about scoring too much," Layman told Don Markus of the Baltimore Sun last season. "Now I'm comfortable letting the game just come to me."

He helped defeat Michigan State a couple of times in the regular season, Layman finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds in the win over the Spartans after he had scored just four points on four shots in the season’s first meeting between the teams, a Maryland victory in double overtime on Dec. 30.

“He did what you should do,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of Layman after one meeting. “You don’t play well, you go back, grab your lunch bucket, and you figure out what you did wrong.”

But it’s not all down-to-earth and nose to the grind stone. Layman has a flashy rep.

Or at least his hair does.

Footwork: A.J. Hammons, Purdue

Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press

The 7-foot junior averaged 3.1 blocks last year, made the Big Ten All-Defensive team and also posted six double-doubles in league play.

Pardon us for thinking that was just the tip of the iceberg.

He is about 15 pounds lighter than when he showed up on campus and loads heavier in maturity compared to an early-career suspension.

It bears noting that BeeJay Anya from North Carolina State and UConn’s Amida Brimah are big-time swat talents who actually ranked higher on block percentage.

But there’s something about Hammons, the way he glides.

Near the end of the 93rd annual Purdue Basketball Banquet, Hammons was presented the Most Valuable Player award—his first at any level, as Nathan Baird of the Lafayette Journal & Courier pointed out.

Hammons raised his game in production and consistency during Big Ten play. What could happen if he built off that in November?

It seems like the more he’s grown confident in himself and his game, the more effortlessly those feet and arms have moved, too.

Midrange Shooting: Perry Ellis, Kansas

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

Ellis is one of those guys who is hard to figure out.

He’s not an every-shot three-point shooter. He’s not a slasher, per se, who rams it home at the rim.

He’s crafty but not tricky. He’s sharp but not sizzling. He’s not as consistent as his stoic face might suggest, considering his scoring can go in swings that madden coach Bill Self that he's not more consistently assertive.

But get Ellis inside the arc, along the wing in one-on-one situations, and that’s when he can become a killer. His speed at 6’8’’ helps, and he can either drive and dish or use a spin move near the rim.

He’s gotten much more effective at simply popping shots. He was among the Big 12’s best players until he suffered a knee injury March 3. A 45-percent shooter was relegated to 35-percent accuracy upon return.

Defenders get stuck in a tough spot. Swarm him and he goes by. Play back, and he’ll shoot and can keep defenses honest.

It’s that spot from about 15-18 feet which continues to be a lost art at the college level but is fine form to Ellis.

Communicating: Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

There’s talking, and then there’s communicating.

Oklahoma’s senior does a lot of both.

How fast does Hield speak? Well, the local newspaper in Syracuse examined that when the Sooners visited last March for the NCAA tournament. Let's just say he talks up-tempo.

Hield’s numbers were down a little as a junior (17.4 ppg), but he’s still the guy who makes teammates tick. Watch for that big smile. If you’re sitting close—like at workouts during the NCAA tournament—you can feel his infectious spirit.

The Sooners are Final Four material, chiefly because of Hield’s relentless attacking style. And his gift for gab is part of the package.

"When he first got here we all thought he was crazy," said Oklahoma senior forward D.J. Bennett, as part of Chris Carlson's aforementioned speech column. "We all thought he had mental problems or something. He's a real goofy dude, too, and just how fast he would talk...Being around him and seeing the person he is, we realized how passionate he is about basketball."

Smooth Shooting: Ron Baker, Wichita State

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Youth coaches, high school coaches—heck, maybe even some college coaches—have to be DVRing Wichita State games to show their players footage of Baker.

Don’t let the wispy haircut throw you off, as scouting reports have known for years. The style here is perfectly nuts-and-bolts.

And, oh, that jumper—elbow in, rise and fire.

Baker has the kind of form, and continued accuracy, that is reminiscent of Jimmy Chitwood in Hoosiers. Watching him fire away is certainly a far cry from watching paint dry on the picket fence.

Baker averaged 14.7 points and shot 38 percent from three-point range as he shined over the summer for the U.S. team at the Pan-American Games.

Kids, listen, watch, read and learn from him, as spoken last year in a column from the Wichita Eagle's Bob Lutz:

"This game is mental, so you’ve got to be confident and trust your game.”

First Step, Offense: Jalen Brunson, Villanova

Andrew Nelles/Associated Press

As if it were actually possible, there’s finally something at Villanova sleeker than Jay Wright’s suits.

It’s Brunson’s quick burst.

That killer first step earned him MVP honors for Team USA at the U-19 tournament over the summer.

But college basketball pundits throughout the country have raved about what a freshman find Brunson will be. He sure can take over a game, as evidenced on video.

The son of former NBA point guard Rick Brunson can get to the rim, set up teammates or use that burst and stop-on-a-dime breaks to get a patented shot off from the elbow.

Figure some non-conference opponents will struggle with facing the diversity Brunson will create off the bounce. It’ll be very interesting to see what league opponents do early in 2016 when we’ll see if he hits the freshman wall—or at least potentially gets figured out a little.

Relentlessness Near the Rack (Drawing Contact): Melo Trimble, Maryland

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

James Harden fans have to also love Trimble.

Neither is reckless, but each knows what he wants and will go at-all-costs to get it: either points at the rim, or even less contested ones at the foul line.

Trimble had a pretty spectacular 2014-15 season by basically every statistical account. The 6’3’’ guard averaged 16 points and shot 41 percent from the arc.

But it was from the charity stripe that he was really into giving—his team better chances to win, that is.

He was among the most prolific of foul shooters last year after being among the leaders in fouls drawn per 40 minutes, according to KenPom.

“It’s a weapon,” said Trimble, according to the Washington Post's Roman Stubbs, who noted Trimble shoots at least 100 free throws a day. “It just comes from me being patient on offense.”

The Terps were getting about five points a game more than the previous year, thanks in large part to Trimble producing a significant number of opportunities compared to his predecessors.

Throw in his 86-percent accuracy, and no wonder they didn’t have nearly the maddening scoring droughts of 2013-14 and could rally (or finish off) teams in close games.

Hope you like watching free throws when he’s around.