Big 12 Basketball: Ranking of top 20 overall players since 2000

18. Rodney McGruder – G Kansas State (2009-2013)

Career Stats (4 seasons): 11.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG

A lot of guys pop early and continue that consistency. That’s what makes their entire body of work so amazing. That was not the case, however, for Rodney McGruder. Averaging just 3.9 PPG as a freshman, McGruder had minimal playing time and did not start once for a team headlined by Jacob Pullen and Dennis Clemente.

The tide would change for McGruder as he started almost every game as a sophomore and flashed his potential, scoring 11.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and shooting 40% from three per game.

As a Junior and Senior, he would average 15 points per game, while also being one of the premier defenders in the conference. He would finish with Third Team, Second Team, and First-team All-Big 12 awards. McGruder also was part of the All-Big 12 Defense team as a Junior.

Kansas State had a stretch of five straight NCAA Tournament appearances and McGruder was apart of four of them.

Although McGruder didn’t have the most eye-popping offensive stats or wasn’t the flashiest guy on the court, team success means something when legacy comes into question. The seismic shift of the program in time and the best of Bruce Weber came when McGruder touched the floor for the Wildcats.