NCAA Basketball: Top 50 “One and Done” players since 2000
By Bryan Mauro
One and Done players are a way of life in NCAA Basketball now. Some of those players have left an everlasting impact on the college game.
Every child who ever picks up a basketball has dreams of playing in college and then playing in the NBA. Not many get to fulfill those dreams. The ones who are fortunate enough to play NCAA Basketball are still not guaranteed a roster spot in the NBA. Then there are those players who go to college for one year before taking their talents to the professional leagues. These players are in a class by themselves on the basketball floor.
The “One and Done” player has become increasingly more popular as the years have gone on, but it didn’t really start to take off until the year 2000. The next 19 years after that have seen some of the best players in the college game only on the floor for one season.
For the purposes of the list, the year 2000 was the starting point all the way to the modern day. It was difficult picking the 50 best one and done players. There were many factors to keep into account when ranking the players. The individual awards in the conference and school were the first factor considered. National awards were also considered.
The two factors that separated a few from the rest were how well did the team finish, and how much should the finish be attributed to the player. Overall considering every factor, the top 50 players are below. It should also be noted that this list considers zero accomplishments of these players in the NBA.