NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Arizona of last decade

7. Jahii Carson – Arizona State

A former Top 30 prospect from Mesa, Carson was a talented 5’10 guard who found his way to Arizona State in 2011. Unfortunately, he was deemed academically ineligible, having to redshirt and waiting until 2012 to make his debut for the Sun Devils. From that point, he was a stud in two seasons at Arizona State, starring under coach Herb Sendek in the early days of the Pac-12.

In his freshman season, Carson averaged 18.5 points and 5.1 assists per game and was named the Pac-12 Rookie of the Year. He totaled an impressive 34 points in a conference tournament win over Stanford and had the first double-double of his career in an NIT game against Detroit. The following season was just as impressive, averaging 18.6 points per game and scoring a career-high 40 points in a road win over UNLV.

Carson was named All-Pac-12 First Team in each of his two seasons with the Sun Devils, leading the conference in points, field goals, and minutes played his freshman year. He was a high-volume scorer and distributor and got his chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, with 19 points and 9 assists in a first-round loss to Texas in 2014. Carson declared for the NBA Draft and has spent much of his professional career overseas, including time in Greece, Turkey, and the Netherlands, among other places.