NCAA Basketball: Best mid-major players of the 21st Century

In the final part of our Best of the Century series, it is time to dive into the mid-majors of NCAA Basketball. Who were the best players of the era for each team?

It has been a long, winding road with pit stops across the country, but the Best of the Century series (and the offseason at large) are almost over. I can smell the college basketball around the corner. Sneakers squeaking across the gym are already ringing in my ear.

But, with one last post in the series left, it is time to focus on the mid-majors, who often get the short end of the stick. I had originally envisioned this series extending to posts for every mid-major conference, but the hours and research that would have been needed to dedicate to that are full-time job level. So, I will be sticking to this method of having all the conferences in one post.

So yes, in a way, I am continuing the trend of giving the mid-majors the short end of the stick, but I am still going to include all of the eligible* teams. Feel free to argue with the choices in the comments section or on social media, because I’m sure I will get some of these wrong. Mid-majors just simply did not get the same coverage at the beginning of the 2000’s as they do now. I’m sure some really great players fell through the cracks. I’m going to try and shout out as many deserving local legends as possible.

*Eligible teams will include teams that have made at least one NCAA Tournament or NIT appearance or had a conference player of the year during the 2000-present period.