NCAA Basketball: Top 50 “One and Done” players since 2000

35. Jamal Murray – Kentucky Wildcats

20.0 Points, 5.2 Rebounds, 2.2 Assists

Murray had one of the more historic seasons of any freshman on this list from an offensive standpoint. Not only was the guards season one of the best freshman seasons of any player on the list, his 20 points per game are a Kentucky freshman record. Murray made 113 three pointers in his one season in Lexington. That is good for second most in a freshman season, trailing only Stephen Curry. The guard made at least one triple in every game that season. Murray averaged over 26 points per game in February. For an entire month Murray was the best scorer in the country among all classes. The guard is one of the best shooters to ever play college basketball and he only played for one season.

34. Mo Bamba – Texas Longhorns

12.9 Points, 10.5 Rebounds, 3.7 Blocks

The big man is the first player on the list to average a double-double for the season. Bamba was one of the more highly regarded prospects coming out of high school due to his 7’10” wingspan. The former Longhorn was a force on the defensive end of the floor and utilized every bit of that wingspan to block shots and play smothering defense. Bamba had games with gaudy rebounding numbers, his season high in rebounds was 18, and he had many games with 14+ rebounds. His rebounding prowess and ability to alter every shot earned him Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors. Head coach Shaka Smart has Bamba to thank for his only tournament appearance in his tenure as the coach of the Longhorn. The big man led his longhorns to the NCAA tournament where they would lose in the first round.

33. Dennis Smith Jr. – NC State Wolfpack

18.1 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 6.2 Assists

When head coach Mark Gottfried landed Smith Jr., the fans in Raleigh had no idea the type of player they would be watching. The athletic ability of the point guard could be one of the sole reasons he is on this list. Fortunately for the Wolfpack fans Smith Jr. had an ability to stuff a stat sheet. The point guard had a handful of 20-point games and had a career high of 30 points. Like most of the other players on this list Smith Jr. finds himself in the Wolfpack record book. He is one of only two players in NC State history to record a triple double. The point guard recorded two triple-doubles on the year, which makes him the only player in ACC history to record multiple triple doubles in a conference season.

32. Julius Randle – Kentucky Wildcats

15.0 Points, 10.4 Rebounds, 1.4 Assists

Another player to play for legendary coach John Calipari. Randle averaged a double-double and was a great offensive player. The big man recorded 24 double double’s in his career which is the second most by any player in Kentucky history. The offensive glass is where Randle made his living, of his 10.4 rebounds per game he averaged 4 offensive rebounds per game. The offensive rebounding often led to easy put backs or dunk for Randle. The Wildcats made the National Championship game in the one season Randle played in Lexington.

31. Malik Monk – Kentucky Wildcats

19.8 Points, 2.5 Rebounds, 2.3 Assists

Another John Calipari player who was an offensive star. Monk was a great scorer and he was able to score in a lot of ways. Teaming up with De’Aaron Fox in the backcourt made Kentucky a tough matchup for everyone they played that season and the guard was a source of many of the opponents’ problems. Monk has the Kentucky freshman scoring record of 47 points which he did against North Carolina. The guard scored 30 or more 4 times throughout the season. If he would have contributed to stuffing a stat sheet more than scoring, he would be higher on this list.