College Basketball: Power Ranking the Top 25 Rising Seniors in the Country

Is it fair that when we think of the best college basketball players we judge them in terms of their NBA potential?

If they are truly great they must be able to hang with the best of the best and leave early. Surely if they are still in college they must have a bleak professional future.

Last season there were several juniors in the top 50 scoring list. Most of them are unknown though as they play in the smaller conferences.

Kemba Walker was one of the top juniors, if not the best, but he is now in the NBA.

This is a perfect example that when players distinguish themselves on a winning program, the NBA is an offer they can't refuse.

Not only top juniors, freshmen especially are coveted by the NBA. Why is that?

The problem with guys that stay in college is that they become veterans in the college game and are probably harder to mold into role players or stars in the NBA—especially the ones that are the main man on their team.

They are accustomed to leading their teams and because they normally have to do everything they never become great at that one thing that will make them standout at the next level. As the proverbial saying goes, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

However this is a list of the top rising seniors in college, and this is not only based on their individual statistics but their ability to lead their respective teams to the NCAA tournament.

Jeremy Green: Stanford Cardinal

Jeremy Green is the leading scorer of Stanford, the eighth-best team in the Pac-12 standings.

The Pac-12 is seeing a resurgence. Teams like Arizona and Stanford were down after losing great coaches. Arizona made a great run in the last NCAA tournament and so are further ahead of Stanford at the moment.

The Wildcats lost Derrick Williams but have a good nucleus of players and recruits coming in to ensure that they return to the days of Lute Olson.

Johnny Dawkins just signed an extension with Stanford, and with players like Green an NCAA selection is not out of the cards next March.

Green averaged 16 points a game and shot 42 percent from three.

Trevor Mbakwe: Minnesota Golden Gophers

Trevor Mbakwe averaged a double-double as a junior (14 points and 10.5 rebounds) for Tubby Smith and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The 6'8" senior from Miami originally committed to play for Marquette before transferring to the Gophers.

Minnesota finished ninth in the Big-Ten and lost the first game of the Big-Ten tournament to Northwestern. They had a good start to the season winning 11 of the first dozen games but struggled after Al Nolen was lost for the season through injury.

Mbakwe recorded 19 double-doubles for the season, made 58 percent of his field goals and added 1.5 blocks per game.

He will form a formidable frontcourt with center Ralph Sampson next season.

Orlando Johnson: UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

UC Santa Barbara came from the middle of the the conference standings and won the Big West tournament, only to be bludgeoned by Florida in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament.

Orlando Johnson was a big part of UC Santa Barbara's elevation. He made an incredible 51.9 percent of his field goals, scoring 28.3 points throughout the Big West tournament.

This was the highlight of a season where the 6'5" junior averaged 21.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

Johnson plays for a smaller conference, but in a year of an NFL and NBA lockout, this exciting player should help bring more exposure to UC Santa Barbara.

Scottie Pippen is an NBA Hall of Famer and considered one of the 50 greatest players in the NBA, but he too played for a small conference team at Arkansas Little Rock.

Johnson can look to Pippen for inspiration, while trying to lead his team back to the NCAA tournament as a senior.

Chace Stanback: UNLV Runnin' Rebels

Chace Stanback started college as a UCLA Bruin but eventually transferred to UNLV after a lackluster freshman season.

Coach Lon Kruger has taken on the challenge of rebuilding Oklahoma, leaving the Runnin' Rebels to alum Dave Rice.

Rice was a part of the 1990 team that included Stacey Augman, Greg Anthony and Larry Johnson, who all made a name for themselves in the NBA. That team is considered one of the greatest in NCAA history.

Rice has never been a head coach but he was recently an assistant at BYU during Jimmer Fredette's time.

With Stanback, a wing player who averaged 13 points, four rebounds and a steal a game, Rice has a good building block as UNLV looks to improve on their second round finish in the NCAA tournament where they were blown out by Illinois.

Kevin Jones and Darryl Bryant: West Virginia Mountaineers

“The fans were a big part of it [coming back]. [And] being able to graduate and get my degree and going out with Truck [Bryant],” said Kevin Jones after deciding to forgo the 2011 draft and return to West Virginia for his senior season.

Both players were around two seasons ago when the Mountaineers made a run to the NCAA Final Four but Bryant was coming off a bad injury. No doubt they would like to return there before their eligibility has expired.

Jones, a 6'7" forward averaged 13.1 points and 7.5 rebounds as a junior.

Bryant was not far behind with 11.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and almost three assists a game for Bob Huggins.

Darius Johnson-Odom: Marquette Golden Eagles

Darius Johnson-Odom averaged 15.8 points, 2.4 asists and three rebounds for a Marquette team that lost to the North Carolina Tarheels in the East Regional Semifinals in the NCAA tournament.

Without graduated senior Jimmy Butler, Marquette will look to Johnson-Odom for leadership next season.

The 6'2" guard is a junior college transfer has been a revelation for Buzz Williams.

Laurence Bowers: Missouri Tigers

Laurence Bowers is a 6'8" power forward who decided to return to Missouri for his senior season after testing his NBA prospects in 2011.

New coach Frank Haith has the forward on a rigorous training program to bulk up before the season.

At 210 pounds, Bowers may be able to play power forward in college but may struggle in the NBA.

He needs to work on his post moves more and his rebounding is just about average for a standard college forward. He must show improvement in these two areas or look forward to a long career abroad.

Quincy Acy: Baylor Bears

Quincy Acy is a high energy, 6'7" power forward for the Baylor Bears. He puts the "power" in power forward.

He will be the elder statesman on a team led by mostly underclassmen.

Sophomore Perry Jones is back, even though he could have been a lottery pick in the last NBA draft. Quincy Miller is a 6'9" freshman that is seen as a game changer.

Deuce Bello is an exciting guard and YouTube sensation.

All these players could easily overshadow Acy who averaged 12.4 points and seven rebounds.

He is like the bad guy from Terminator 2, in that he attacks the rim relentlessly.

Robbie Hummel: Purdue Boilermakers

Robbie Hummel tore his ACL a couple years ago, bringing an end to Purdue's championship aspirations. After being cleared to play he tore his ACL again very early last season.

As always the 6'8" versatile forward was positive as he took a medical redshirt for the season.

Their is a lot of hope invested in Hummel's health. Without E'twuan Moore and JaJuan Johnson, two former Boliermakers that were lucky enough to be drafted by the Boston Celtics, Purdue will be in a rebuilding year.

This means that Hummell, a former player of the year candidate, will be looked upon for leadership and high production. Even if he is healthy the psychological effect of two devastating injuries will be enough to slow him down. If he can't trust those knees he will not be the fearless player he once was.

If he can regain his All-America status it would be one of the greatest feel-good stories in this era of college basketball.

Festus Ezeli: Vanderbilt Commodores

Festus Ezeli is a big reason why Vanderbilt will be ranked high in the preseason polls. The 6'11" center averaged 13 points and 6.3 rebounds in his first season as a starter.

Vanderbilt had a disappointing end to a promising season losing to Richmond in their first game of the NCAA tournament.

Ezili could have entered the NBA, as they tend to love his size, as at least a second-round pick but he will be back for his senior season. This seems like a very smart move in light of the current NBA lockout.

Malcolm Grant: Miami Hurricanes

In the last two years Malcolm Grant, a 6'1" Villanova transfer,  has led the Miami Hurricanes to two 20-win seasons.

Frank Haith left to coach the Missouri Tigers which means Grant will have to learn new coach Jim Larranaga's system.

Last season Grant was the leading scorer and assist man for the Hurricanes with averages of 14.8 and 3.2 respectively.

With a number of new coaching changes in the ACC, Miami was poised to make some noise. Unfortunately with center Reggie Johnson suffering a season-ending injury, Larranaga will have to rethink his game plan. Johnson is expected back for ACC play though.

Grant, from Brooklyn, New York will at least make an all-ACC team.

Erving Walker: Florida Gators

Erving Walker is expected to provide senior leadership for Billy Donovan next season. The 5'8" guard averaged 14.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game last season.

The Gators will be without SEC Player of the Year Chandler Parsons, Alex Tyrus and Vernon Macklin, all graduated seniors. Two other players, Erik Murphy and Cody Larson's scholarships are in limbo after being accused of breaking into a car.

Florida was the top winning team in the SEC conference but will have a complete new makeup next season.

Kenny Boynton and Walker make one of the best back courts in the SEC. 

New recruit Bradley Beal is expected to only stay one year in Gainsville before departing for the brighter lights of the NBA.

John Shurma: Northwestern Wildcats

John Shurna is a 6'8" rail thin, offensive weapon for the Northwestern Wildcats. He averaged 16.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season.

His numbers are slightly down from his sophomore season but Northwestern (20-14) still ended with the same record. The dip in numbers can be attributed to a number of injuries the small forward suffered throughout the 2010-2011 season including an ankle injury and a concussion.

“I have no excuse for how I played,” Shurna said. “There were some ups and downs. If you step out on the floor, you try to go out there and perform well. I didn’t do that for a while. I let my team down, which is frustrating, especially for the seniors. We were having a great year and we let it slip away.”

In spite of the injuries Shurna still managed to hit 43 percent of his three-point attempts.

With his size and shooting ability he will make an NBA player in the mold of Kyle Korver of the Chicago Bulls or Mike Dunleavy Jr. for the Indiana Pacers one day.

Tyshaun Taylor: Kansas Jayhawks

With averages of 9.3 points and 4.6 assists Tyshawn Taylor is ranked this high because Kansas will need him to lead a young team in a rebuilding year.

With Markus and Markief Morris expected to draw NBA paychecks, when the NBA lockout ends, the Jayhawks will be depending on a lot of untested players.

Taylor who played in high school for the legendary Bob Hurly, at St. Anthony's, has enough experience for the task in hand.

Yancy Gates: Cincinnati Bearcats

Yancy Gates averaged only 12 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game last season but his game is more than numbers.

It is not a coincidence that the Bearcats season got on track when Gates started to consistently produce at the end of the season.

Cincinnati placed sixth in the Big East and are projected to finish higher next March.

Draymond Green: Michigan State Spartans

Raymond Green is a stat filler. He averaged 12 points 8.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks a game as a junior.

Injuries derailed a very promising season for the Spartans, but Green was a shining light.

With the graduation of Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers there will be a lot of shots available however Green is not a high scoring player.

He plays best as a point-forward selflessly setting up other players, hence the high assist average for a forward. Incoming freshman Branden Dawson will also be a scoring phenomenon.

Green is currently one or 22 players invited to try out for USA's team attending the world university games later this summer.

Tim Abromaitis: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Tyrone Nash is gone, and so is Ben Hansbrough and Carleton Scott. All three were a big part of the season where Notre Dame came down to the wire of winning the Big Esat regular season, but ultimately they lost out to Pittsburgh by one game.

The good news for Notre Dame is that fifth-year seniors, Scot Martin and Tim Abromaitis are back.

Abromaitis who comes from a basketball playing family, averaged 15.4 points, 6.1 assists and 1.8 steals a game last season.

Abromaitis had scored 21 points in vain as the Fighting Irish lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Florida State.

JaMychal Green: Alabama Crimson Tide

In his first year, Alabama's coach, Anthony Grant won 17 games but made clear progress in his second year winning 25 games and securing an NIT invite, where Alabama lost in the finals.

Having a power forward like JaMychal Green certainly makes things easier for a coach stepping up to the big leagues. The 6'8" power forward averaged 15.5 points and 7.4 rebounds a game.

Will the Tide do enough to not just secure an NCAA invite but go deep in the tournament? With players like Green and Tony Mitchell around Grant should show why he is considered one of the best rising coaches in the nation.

Green, a former McDonald's All-American, is one of a handful of rising seniors that could sneak into the NBA lottery.

Jeffery Taylor: Vanderbilt Commodores

At one point Jeffery Taylor was thought to be Vanderbilt's first NBA lottery draft pick. He is 6'7", 225 pounds and extremely athletic.

He is the same size as Vince Carter and just as athletic. As a matter of fact Taylor's junior season closely mirrors Carter's junior and last season at North Carolina.

Jeffery Taylor : 14.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1 steal

Vince Carter (1997-99): 15.6 points, 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals.

Carter made 41 percent of his three-point attempts and Taylor, even though this is his weakness, has shown steady improvement his three years at Vanderbilt and hit a respectable 34 percent last season.

The Commodores small forward is the son of former NBA player Jeff Taylor, a second-round pick of the Houston Rockets in 1982. A former Texas Tech guard, the elder Taylor moved to Sweden where he finished his career and had his son.

The young Taylor has played for the Swedish junior national teams and has a good chance of being the second man from his country to be drafted in the NBA after Detroit took Jonas Jerebko in 2009.

Taylor, John Jenkins and Festus Ezeli all returned to Vanderbilt for another season even though they are all legitimate NBA prospects.

Coach Kevin Stallings should have a solid team for the coming season with these guys.

Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine: Syracuse Orange

These two players will carry the scoring load for Syracuse next season.

Scoop Jardine averaged 12.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and a team leading 5.9 assists.

Kris Joseph chipped in with a team leading 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals a contest as Syracuse stumbled to a third place finish in arguably the best conference in college basketball last season, The Big East.

Leading rebounder Rick Jackson has graduated. If Fab Melo is able to return to the Orange and deliver on the expectations of his freshman season, Syracuse will challenge not only for Big East supremacy, but for a No. 1 seed in the 2012 NCAA tournament.

Tu Holloway: Xavier Musketeers

The Xavier Musketeers only lost one conference game last season but finished the season in the first round of the NCAA tournament with a loss to Marquette.

A big part of Xavier's great season, ignoring the first round loss, was Tu Holloway who turned in an average of 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists a game.

The Atlantic 10 player of the year returns for his senior season, and will look to take this award again.

The six-foot guard has the determination of a Tour de France rider and will team up with fellow senior Kenny Frease to dominate the Atlantic 10 once again.

Ashton Gibbs: Pittsburgh Panthers

Ashton Gibbs narrowly missed out on the Big East player of the year award, to Notre Dame graduated senior, Ben Hansbrough. Kemba Walker, Final Four MVP also lost out on this award.

Without Brad Wanamaker, Gary McGhee and Gilbert Brown, all major contributors last season, Gibbs will be looked upon to be the leader of a fairly young team.

The 6'2" guard averaged 16.8 points and 2.8 assists as a junior.

For the coming season he will be expected to play more point guard than off guard, his position last season playing next to Wanamaker.

Due to his height, if he wants to play in the NBA he will have to prove that he can play the point guard position.

Gibbs was All Big East first team as well.

Tyler Zeller: North Carolina Tar Heels

Zeller is one of a handful of the 2008 McDonald's All-American selections still playing in college and producing big. Most players that get voted to that prestigious boys high school tournament bolt for the NBA as soon as they can.

Having Zeller back for his senior year is a reason why North Carolina will be a top ranked preseason team, and are the favourites to run away with the ACC title.

The joint leading scorer with Harrison Barnes, Zeller averaged 15.7 points 7.2 rebounds a game.

He forms one of the best if not the most lethal front courts in college basketball with John Henson and Barnes. All three skipped the 2011 draft and returned to UNC for another year.

Zeller's younger brother Cody will be suiting up for Indiana next season.

William Buford: Ohio State Buckeyes

William Buford is another McDonal's All-American from the 2008 team still in college.

Playing with David Lighty and John Diebler, Buford averaged 14.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Expect these numbers to rise next season as there will be even more playing time for the 6'5" shooting guard.

He is a player in the mold of Ray Allen, currently the NBA's leading three-point shooter and a Boston Celtic.

Thad Matta and Ohio State is very lucky to have a player like Buford still available and for this reason, along with Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft, the Buckeyes are expected to have a high preseason ranking.

Jordan Taylor: Wisconsin Badgers

With averages of 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game, Jordan Taylor made the Big Ten First Team and Big Ten All Defensive team.

Wisconsin placed third in the conference with a 13-5 record and made it to the NCAA tournament where they became one of Butler's victims in the Southeast Regional Semifinals.

Taylor is top of this list because unlike other top players, Wisconsin's season rests on the shoulders of this 6'1" point guard from Bloomington, MN.

Bo Ryan has not had a guard like Taylor, since the days of Devin Harris, now Utah Jazz.

The Badgers need to replace Jon Leuer's production. Leuer was drafted 40th overall in the 2011 draft by Milwakee Bucks.

Taylor is a prototypical Bo Ryan player in that he literally came from nowhere to be a star. Ryan has a knack for finding gems.

Even now, although Taylor was one of the best point guards in the country last year, he is still very underrated as a player.

His NBA aspirations does not look great as he is not extremely athletic in the mold of Derrick Rose or John Wall, but he gets the job done nonetheless and could become a second round draft pick in the 2012 draft.

Taylor's play next season can elevate him to a higher draft pick, it's all in his hands.