NCAA Basketball: Top 50 “One and Done” players since 2000
By Bryan Mauro
45. De’Aaron Fox – Kentucky Wildcats
16.7 Points, 4.0 Rebounds, 4.6 Assists
Fox teamed up with another member of this list to make up an exciting backcourt for a year at Kentucky. One of the more athletic players to play for Calipari. The point guard is one of the two players in Kentucky history to record a triple-double. Fox made Kentucky must watch TV with his frequent highlight reel plays. The point guard made a name for himself and really displayed his athleticism and talent in the NCAA tournament. In the Sweet 16 matchup Fox scored 39 points to carry his team to the elite eight.
44. Anthony Randolph – LSU Tigers
15.6 Points, 8.5 Rebounds, 2.3 Blocks
The former Tiger big man chose LSU over Memphis. Many feel he chose LSU because of the chance to play right away. The freshman did play right away starting all 31 games that season for the Tigers. Randolph was a huge factor for LSU all season and started to play stronger as the year went along, averaging 20 points per game over the last nine games of the season. In his one season at LSU, Randolph ranked third in the conference in scoring, and was named to the first team All-Freshman team.
43. TJ Leaf – UCLA Bruins
16.3 Points, 8.2 Rebounds, 2.4 Assists
The UCLA Bruins have tremendous history and Leaf is one of the Bruins who left his mark on the program after one season in Westwood. In his one season Leaf played with another member of this list, Lonzo Ball together those two formed a great freshman duo. The big man led UCLA in scoring and rebounding, and was one of just three players, the only freshman to finish in the top ten in the league in both rebounding and scoring. Leaf was incredibly efficient on offense, he made over 60% of his shots from the floor and that included shooting 47% from long-range. The former Bruin also holds the second highest scoring output of any Bruin freshman at 32 points. Leaf was a great player on both ends as he averaged over 1 block per game. He may not have gotten the publicity that Lonzo Ball got, but Leaf belongs on this list.
42. Joel Embiid – Kansas Jayhawks
11.2 Points, 8.1 Rebounds, 2.6 Blocks
The 7’0” native of the Cameroon, did not start playing basketball until he was 16 years old. He grew up a volleyball player, the fact he was able to make this list should make it even more impressive. The center is another player who is on the list more for his defensive ability than his offensive ability. He set the Kansas freshman record for blocks in a season with 72. The big man had at least one block in his last 22 games played. He also owns the Kansas freshman record for field goal percentage at 61% and he also holds the freshman record for rebounding at 8.1 per game. Embiid had his freshman season cut short due to a stress fracture that saw him miss all of postseason play.
41. Collin Sexton – Alabama Crimson Tide
19.2 Points, 3.8 Rebounds, 3.6 Assists
If you could describe Sexton in one word it would be flashy. He played the game with a certain swag and it rubbed a lot of teams and fan bases the wrong way. The point guard scored 40 points in a game against Minnesota. In that game Alabama had to play most of the second half with 3 guys as much of their team was ejected. Sexton scored 31 points in the 3 on 5 portion of the game. Sexton holds the Alabama freshman scoring record. The Crimson Tide have Sexton to thank for their tournament appearance, without the freshman Alabama would not have made the NCAA tournament. Sexton contributed 25 points in the opening round win over Virginia Tech.