NCAA Tournament History: Ranking Final Four Most Outstanding Players Since 2001
The 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament has been nothing short of remarkable.
The fact that this year's Final Four has no No. 1 or No. 2 seeds remaining tells a huge part of the story.
Virginia Commonwealth and Butler will square off in the first national semifinal game...a David vs. David matchup.
UConn and Kentucky, two college basketball heavyweights, will battle it out in the second semifinal contest.
One of these teams will win the title, and a single player will emerge (likely from the championship team) as the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
From history, we know that it will not necessarily be the most obvious player (highest regular-season scorer, biggest name, etc.) on one of these teams, but it will be the individual that makes the biggest contribution to his team's ultimate success.
Who do you predict will win it this year: Kemba Walker? Matt Howard? Brandon Knight? Jamie Skeen?
If the past is any indicator of what will happen over the next week, there's a better than decent chance that it won't be any of these players.
The following is a Final Four Most Outstanding Players Power Ranking from the last 10 years.
Before looking at the list, see how many of these players you can name.
10. Mario Chalmers: Kansas Jayhawks (2008)
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Mario Chalmers hit what Jayhawk head coach Bill Self called "the biggest shot in KU history", helping Kansas win the 2008 NCAA men's basketball championship, beating Memphis 75-68 in overtime.
In the semifinal game, Chalmers helped throttle North Carolina 84-66. The junior point guard scored 11 points, pulled down four rebounds, dished out three assists and grabbed three steals.
In the championship game, Chalmers' three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation put the game in overtime. Aside from hitting this big shot, Chalmers put up 18 points, pulled down three boards, handed out three assists and grabbed four steals.
The win gave Self his first title and Kansas its first national championship since Danny (Manning) and the Miracles did it 20 years before.
9. Corey Brewer: Florida Gators (2007)
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Corey Brewer helped the Florida Gators win the 2007 NCAA men's basketball championship by beating Ohio State 84-75.
In the national semifinal game, Brewer caused UCLA nightmares on both ends of the court, scoring 19 points, pulling down two rebounds and grabbing two steals.
In the championship game, Brewer scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, blocked a shot and grabbed three steals.
This win gave Florida back-to-back titles, the first team to do so in 15 years (Duke 1991-92).
8. Wayne Ellington: North Carolina Tar Heels (2009)
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Wayne Ellington came up big as North Carolina manhandled Michigan State 89-72 for the 2009 NCAA men's basketball championship.
In the national semifinal game, Ellington hit five of seven three-pointers on his way to scoring 20 points. The junior guard also pulled down nine rebounds and handed out four assists as the Tar Heels tarred and feathered Villanova 83-69.
In the championship game, Ellington came back for more. This time, he was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, scoring 19 points and grabbing four rebounds against the Spartans.
This was UNC's fifth title in school history. Roy Williams won his second national title in his seventh Final Four appearance.
.png?w=256 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
7. Kyle Singler: Duke Blue Devils (2010)
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Kyle Singler's outstanding performance helped Duke defeat Butler 61-59 for the 2010 NCAA men's basketball championship.
In the national semifinal game, Singler scored 21 points, connecting on three of five shots from beyond the arc, as the Blue Devils wiped out West Virginia 78-57. The junior forward also grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists.
In the championship game, Singler led the way to an exciting game against tournament darling Butler that came down to a last-second shot that nearly gave the Bulldogs a miracle of miracles victory.
Singler scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out two assists and blocked two shots.
The title was the fourth for Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is now tied with Adolph Rupp for second place on the all-time list.
6. Shane Battier: Duke Blue Devils (2001)
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Shane Battier helped the Duke Blue Devils defeat the Arizona Wildcats 82-72 in the 2001 NCAA championship.
In the national semifinals, Duke overcame a 22-point Terrapin lead to beat Maryland 95-84.
Battier averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds in the entire 2001 tournament.
In the championship game, the senior forward made life miserable for Arizona by scoring 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, grabbing 11 boards, dishing out six assists and blocking two shots.
5. Joakim Noah: Florida Gators (2006)
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As a sophomore in 2006, Joakim Noah (and his young Florida Gators teammates) stormed onto the national college basketball scene, beating UCLA 73-57 for the NCAA men's basketball championship.
In the national semifinal game, Noah did a little of everything, as Florida burst George Mason's mid-major bubble by beating the Patriots 73-58. He scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out two assists and blocked four shots.
In the championship game, Noah dominated UCLA. His versatility was on display as he scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked a championship-record six shots.
This blowout victory helped Gators head coach Billy Donovan and the University of Florida to their first men's basketball title.
4. Juan Dixon: Maryland Terrapins (2002)
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In 2002, Juan Dixon led Maryland (No. 1 seed) as it defeated Indiana (No. 5 seed) 64-52 for the school's first national championship and the first for coach Gary Williams.
This was the second straight year the Maryland Terrapins earned a bid to the Final Four.
In the semifinal game, the Terrapins played Kansas in a back-and-forth battle that ended up a Maryland victory, 97-88.
Dixon scored 33 in this semifinal game.
In the championship game, Dixon didn't miss a shot in the first half, going 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. The fifth-year senior finished with 18 points.
3. Emeka Okafor: Connecticut Huskies (2004)
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The UConn Huskies rode the broad shoulders of All-American center Emeka Okafor all the way to the 2004 NCAA championship.
In the semifinal game, Okafor was limited to just 22 minutes because of early foul trouble. But he came up clutch with several big plays down the stretch and finished with 18 points (all after halftime) and seven rebounds as UConn defeated Duke 79-78.
The title game was a different story. Okafor dominated the game from start to finish, scoring 24 points (on 10-of-17 shooting) and grabbing 15 rebounds.
The victory gave Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun his second national championship (1999).
2. Sean May: North Carolina Tar Heels (2005)
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In 2005, Sean May helped Roy Williams win his first NCAA men's basketball championship by defeating Illinois 75-70.
In the national semifinal game, the No. 1 seed Tar Heels defeated the No. 5 seed Michigan State Spartans 87-71. May was a force to be reckoned with, scoring 22 points and pulling down seven rebounds.
In the title game, May was nearly unstoppable for the first 12 minutes of the second half, when he scored 16 of his 26 points. He finished the game with 10 rebounds as well.
The win gave North Carolina its fourth overall title, fourth-most in NCAA history and one more than archrival Duke.
1. Carmelo Anthony: Syracuse Orange (2003)
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Carmelo Anthony carried the Orange from the Carrier Dome to the 2003 NCAA championship.
In the semifinal game, the high-flying freshman scored 33 points to lead Syracuse (No. 3 seed) past Texas.
The Longhorns were the last No. 1 seed remaining in the tournament.
In the championship game, Jim Boeheim's Syracuse squad took down Kansas 81-78 for the coach's and school's first NCAA men's basketball championship.
In the title game, Anthony was a few assists shy of a triple-double, scoring 20 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and handing out seven assists.
.png?w=480 "NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship")
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