NCAA Basketball: Ranking of top 100 senior players from 2019-20 season
30. Mason Peatling (Eastern Washington)
Career stats: 10.6 ppg 6.1 rpg 1.5 apg
One of the best scorers this season overall, Peatling has been a key piece in the Eagles’ best years in Big Sky and program history. He was the Conference Player of the Year this season, averaging 17.2 ppg and 9.1 rpg while having a school and league record 54-point effort against D-II Multnomah, the best for any player in NCAA Basketball.
29. Markell Johnson (NC State)
Career stats: 9.7 ppg 3.0 rpg 5.1 apg
An excellent passer, Johnson led the ACC in assists for two seasons, including going 7.3 apg for the Wolfpack in 2018 who ended up in the NCAA Tournament. He evolved into a double-digit scorer in the past two years as well, to provide more offense but will be remembered most as the 3rd all-time leading passer in NC State history (607).
28. Breein Tyree (Ole Miss)
Career stats: 13.8 ppg 2.7 rpg 2.5 apg
One of the best SEC scorers in the past couple of seasons, Tyree was a two-time All-Conference performer. He led the Rebels in scoring the past couple of years, including 19.7 ppg this season alone. He also played a big part on the 2019 Ole Miss Tournament team, keeping them right in the picture despite how strong the conference has grown in recent time.
27. Alpha Diallo (Providence)
Career stats: 12.2 ppg 6.4 rpg 2.3 apg
Diallo has been the star of the Friars for the past few years, getting a pair of Al-Big East nods. The 6’7 wing came up big when the team needed him throughout his time at Providence, including a huge 35-point effort to beat Seton Hall this season. The Friars were on track to complete their comeback bid from the deal to make the NCAA Tournament, which would’ve been his the third in fourth years.
26. Nathan Knight (William & Mary)
Career stats: 17.1 ppg 7.7 rpg 2.1 apg
One of the best mid-major players you may not have heard of, Knight was this year’s CAA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, coming off averaging 20.7 ppg and 10.5 rpg. He has three straight seasons scoring at least 18 ppg and was a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for best center in the country. Knight put up monster numbers, regardless of the talent around him on a yearly basis.
25. Jermaine Marrow (Hampton)
Career stats: 20,9 ppg 3.9 rpg 4.9 apg
The transition for Hampton going from the MEAC to the Big South went as well as a program could ask. That may be because of the Pirates 24 ppg scorer Marrow, who was one of the best pure scorers in all of college basketball. The 6’0 guard was 3rd in the country this past season with 24.8 ppg, while also ranking in the top-15 with 6.5 apg. The ball was in the program’s all-time leading scorer (2,680 points) all the time and there will be few players with as high a usage rate as Marrow had with Hampton these years.
24. Grant Riller (College of Charleston)
Career stats: 18.7 ppg 3.3 rpg 2.8 apg
Starting out in the background a bit with fellow all-conference guards Joe Chealey and Jarrell Brantley, Riller became the star of the Cougars. He has the program’s D-I record for a single-game performance with 43 points while having back-to-back seasons of averaging 21.9 ppg. Riller did more than just score, landing a triple-double (21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists) in a game against Northeastern this season.
23. Jake Toolson (BYU, Utah Valley and BYU)
Career stats: 11.0 ppg 3.8 rpg 2.4 apg
After leaving BYU two years into his career, Toolson became a star at Utah Valley, ultimately winning WAC Player of the Year as a junior. He followed head coach Mark Pope back to the Cougars as a grad transfer, showing that the seasons prior wasn’t a fluke. He played a big role in BYU’s big season, ranking as one of the top three-point shooters (47%) and being an All-WCC performer.
22. Sa’eed Nelson (American)
Career stats: 17.9 ppg 4.7 rpg 4.4 apg
An ironman of sorts, Nelson played and started every game for the Eagles, going for at least 35 mpg. He produced when on the court, leading the team in scoring in all four seasons. As for this year alone, the 6’2 guard led American in all three main categories, en route to winning Patriot League Player of the Year. Nelson is the all-time scoring leader for the program while placing in second in both assists and steals in conference history.
21. Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
Career stats: 13.4 ppg 3.6 rpg 3.1 apg
The reason why the Bearcats have been on top of the AAC in recent years, Cumberland was the 2019 Conference Player of the Year after averaging 18.8 ppg. His scoring production went down a bit but he became a quality facilitator, ranking second with 4.9 apg. Between his offense, defense and actually coming back for a new head coach as a senior, Cumberland has played a huge part of the program’s best-ever campaigns.