Busting Brackets
Fansided

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

By Logan Butts

GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 18: C.J. McCollum #3 of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks reacts in the second half against the Xavier Musketeers during the third round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 18, 2012 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 18: C.J. McCollum #3 of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks reacts in the second half against the Xavier Musketeers during the third round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 18, 2012 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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RALEIGH, NC – MARCH 23: Stephen Curry #30 of the Davidson Wildcats looks on against the Georgetown Hoyas during the 2nd round of the East Regional of the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at RBC Center on March 23, 2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Wildcats defeated the Hoyas 74-70. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – MARCH 23: Stephen Curry #30 of the Davidson Wildcats looks on against the Georgetown Hoyas during the 2nd round of the East Regional of the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at RBC Center on March 23, 2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Wildcats defeated the Hoyas 74-70. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

America East

Albany: Jamar Wilson

Binghamton: Willie Rodriguez

UMBC: Jairus Lyles

Stony Brook: Jameel Warney

Vermont: Taylor Coppenrath (Shoutout to T.J. Sorrentine)

Lyles and Warney have brought the recent fireworks, but Coppenrath (and Sorrentine) put together a mid-major career for the ages, including the first round upset over Syracuse.

Atlantic 10

Davidson: Steph Curry (Shoutout to De’Mon Brooks and Jake Cohen)

Dayton: Brian Roberts

Duquesne: Bill Clark

George Mason: The whole 2005-06 squad

George Washington: Pops Mensah-Bonsu

La Salle: Steven Smith

UMass: Stephane Lasme

Rhode Island: Jared Terrell

Richmond: T.J. Cline

St. Bonaventure: Andrew Nicholson

Saint Joseph’s: Jameer Nelson (and Delonte West)

Saint Louis: Jordair Jett

VCU: Eric Maynor (The first star of this era and still the best)

There’s some juicy stuff here: Nelson and West led St. Joe’s to a 30-2 record, Curry’s bonkers run to the Elite Eight, and George Mason’s wild Final Four ride.

ASUN

FGCU: Brandon Goodwin (shoutout to Sherwood Brown)

Jacksonville: Ben Smith

Liberty: Jesse Sanders

Lipscomb: Garrison Mathews (shoutout to Adnan Hodzic)

North Florida: Dallas Moore

Dunk City might’ve been the more memorable moment, but Goodwin takes the ASUN individual top spot.

Big Sky

Eastern Washington: Bogdan Bliznyuk

Montana: Kareem Jamar (Shoutout Will Cherry)

Montana State: Jason Erickson

Northern Arizona: Cameron Jones

Northern Colorado: Devon Beitzel

Portland State: Jeremiah Dominguez

Sacramento State: Mikh McKinney

Weber State: Damian Lillard (shoutout to Joel Bolomboy)

It’s a shame we never go to see Lillard and Weber in the NCAA Tournament.

Big South

Campbell: Chris Clemons

Charleston Southern: Saah Nimley

Hampton: Tarvis Williams

High Point: John Brown (shoutout to Arizona Reid)

Radford: Artsiom Parakhouski

UNC Asheville: Matt Dickey

USC Upstate: Ty Greene

Winthrop: Xavier Cooks (shoutout to Keon Johnson)

This is a very underrated group of mid-major stars. Clemons, Brown, and Greene were among the best scorers in the country.

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