NCAA Basketball: Top 50 “One and Done” players since 2000
By Bryan Mauro
10. Trae Young – Oklahoma Sooners
27.4 Points, 3.9 Rebounds, 8.7 Assists
The point guard is the best shooter on this list. He also was able to put together one of the best seasons in Big 12 history. The guard tied the NCAA record for the most assists in a game with 22. The 811 points scored in one season broke the single season record in the Big 12. That record was previously held by Kevin Durant. When the season concluded Young led the country in scoring, assists, and turnovers. This led to a consensus first team All-America nomination and was given the Wayman Tisdale Award as the nation’s top freshman by the USWBA. Young led his team to the NCAA tournament where they would fall to the Rhode Island Rams. Young had a great game with 28 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, joining Chris Paul as the only freshman to have similar numbers in the NCAA tournament.
9. Kevin Love – UCLA Bruins
17.5 Points, 10.6 Rebounds, 1.9 Assists
Love chose UCLA over Oregon and North Carolina. His father was a basketball player for the University of Oregon, and the big man deciding to go elsewhere did not sit well with the Oregon fans. The big man helped lead UCLA to the final four. Love was the star player on a team that featured Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison. When the season concluded UCLA was a one seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the big man was named a consensus first team All-American. To go along with the one seed in the NCAA tournament Love led the Bruins to a conference regular season and tournament championship. He won Pac-10 Player of the year as well as Freshman of the year and led the team in double doubles with 23. He held shooting percentages of 55% and 35% from three-point range.
8. RJ Barrett – Duke Blue Devils
22.6 Points, 7.6 Rebounds, 4.3 Assists
Barrett and Zion Williamson, another member of this list, took college basketball by storm and were the first set of teammates to dominate all of college basketball since John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Barrett has the freshman scoring record in a debut with 33 points. The Canadian freshman was a consensus All-American and All-ACC and All-ACC Freshman. Barrett was a volume shooter and took many shots per game. He averaged 19 shots per game and made 45% of them. When the lights shined the brightest Barrett played his best. The freshman recorded a triple double, which was the fourth one in Duke history, and one of two players to record one under Coach K.
7. Marvin Bagley III – Duke Blue Devils
21.0 Points, 11.0 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists
When the big man left Durham, he had completed one of the most prolific seasons in Duke and ACC history. Bagley was the third player in the history of the conference to lead the conference in scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage in the same year, and the first freshman to accomplish the feat. The big man was one of two players to earn the freshman of the year and the player of the year in the ACC, the other being former Blue Devil Jahlil Okafor.
The NABC rewarded the big man with the freshman of the year and Pete Newell big man of the year. The consensus All American has numerous Duke freshman records including the most points in a season with 948, rebounds of 366, dunks of 98, which is also the school record, and seven 30-point games. His 21 rebounds in a game against Florida State is the freshman record for rebounds in a game. Bagley also scored 30 points in that game marking just the eighth time a Blue Devil has gone for 30-20 in a game. Bagley was one of the very best to play in college.
6. Greg Oden – Ohio State Buckeyes
15.7 Points, 9.6 Rebounds, 3.3 Blocks
The Buckeyes make their first and only appearance on this list. Oden helped lead his team to the national championship and he did it in dominating fashion. He didn’t play his first college game until a month into the season as he was recovering from offseason wrist surgery. Once he took the floor the Big Ten understood why the big man was so hyped coming out of high school. He scored his points in the paint as a traditional back to the basket center and made 61% of his shots.
The defensive end of the floor is where Oden dominated. He was an elite shot blocker and his block in the final seconds of a sweet sixteen game led Ohio State to the win, that win sparked the run to the National Title. Oden was a consensus first team All-American as well as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the year. He was also the Big Ten rookie of the year and won the MVP of the conference tournament. Players as big as Oden and would could dominate a game like he could don’t come around very often. It’s a shame his career was cut short due to injuries.