It’s March Madness - so what better time to talk about college basketball’s greatest players? A poll by www.HOFmagazine.com provides a consensus list of the Top 10 college players of all-time from which to choose. The list consists of (alphabetically):
- Lew Alcindor, UCLA
- Larry Bird, Indiana State
- Bill Bradley, Princeton
- Wilt Chamberlain, Kansas
- Pete Maravich, LSU
- Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
- Bill Russell, San Francisco
- David Thompson, NC State
- Bill Walton, UCLA
- Jerry West, West Virginia
Again, the poll question asks who is the greatest - not who’s your favorite. That’s an important distinction. For me, my favorite college basketball player was Bill Bradley. But my greatest Top-5 is as follows:
- 5. Oscar Robertson
- 4. Pete Maravich
- 3. Bill Russell
- 2. Lew Alcindor ( Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
- 1. Bill Walton
Choosing between Walton and Alcindor was difficult. I give the slight edge to Walton for his rebounding and more aggressive style of play. However, being a three-time Player of the Year with two National Titles, plus leading his UCLA team to an 88-game winning-streak certainly helped!
the fact there there is not college basketball player in the past thirty years is ridiculous. what are you 100 years old?
Comment by lou costello — March 25, 2008 @ 9:43 am
any list without Christian Laettner is invalid. you said college. wilt played one year. and lost in the finals….Lattner played in four straight final fours…..and was both a national champion and the player of the year….he needs to be on any list…..wake up bay-bee
Comment by Dickie V — March 25, 2008 @ 9:49 am
Hey Lou … instead of just bitching, why don’t you name of few players better than those listed!
Comment by GZguy — March 25, 2008 @ 10:59 am
I did not see most of the listed players play in college, but the list certainly makes sense. One name for Lou of a more modern-day player who might be eligible for the list (although not too recent either) is Lenny Bias.
Comment by Delmartian — March 25, 2008 @ 11:05 am
well, better is arbitrary, however wilt only played one year in college and never won a championship..few consider him a college legend….as college players go christian laettner went to the final four all four years he was in college….won a national championship and was player of the year…..he would be on a more current list and many might rank him above even Bird as a COLLEGE player….certainly david thompson….
guy named Jordan might also sneak on a list….unfortunately like you guys I too am an old man….but i THINK there have been some pretty good college players since 1979…..Lou
Comment by lou costello — March 25, 2008 @ 5:55 pm
An ESPN list had Thompson 8th; Bird 9th; and Chamberlain 10th. They ranked Laettner 12th.
Comment by Delmartian — March 26, 2008 @ 11:34 am
And Jordan was 13th.
Comment by Delmartian — March 26, 2008 @ 11:36 am
Hey Lou - first you say the list is “ridiculous”. Then you later say “better is arbitrary.” It’s a freakin’ poll - not an amendment to the constitution!
Comment by GZguy — March 26, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
Don Gilbert should have sited his source in the first place……by the way, if Don Gilbert is actually, uh, you know not the man’s first name and is a job title….like Don Cordelone….I agree with him completely…….DV
ps: it’s neither an amendment or a poll…it’s a blog.
Comment by Dickie V — March 26, 2008 @ 8:34 pm
Dickie V: I did site my source. It was the HOFMAG.com poll.
Comment by D. Gilbert — March 27, 2008 @ 12:11 pm
where am I
Comment by rick barry — March 28, 2008 @ 8:37 pm
The greatest college basketball player of all time is
Stephon Curry of Davidson………
Comment by OZ — March 28, 2008 @ 8:38 pm
Hey OZ …. Stephon who? Going 9-25 won’t put him on any list of great players. His 15-minutes is up!
Comment by GZguy — March 31, 2008 @ 9:25 am
I liked your list and would just switch Big Lew with Walton.
As far as players in the past twenty years, I believe Danny Manning would suffice over Laettner. Also I agree Jordan does not belong. If it wasn’t for James Worthy then Michael would be just another good player without a title. He became a winner about five or six years into his pro career.
Comment by Carl Braun — April 3, 2008 @ 5:49 pm