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

1. D’Angelo Russell – Ohio State

A five-star recruit from Louisville, Russell was certainly in hot demand, ranking as one of the top recruits in the 2014 class. The 6’5 guard ended up picking Ohio State, playing his singular collegiate season under Thad Matta with the Buckeyes, but he certainly made it a season to remember.

He filled statsheets and averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. He helped lead Ohio State to 24 wins and an opening-round victory in the NCAA Tournament. He had a 23-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist performance in a win at Rutgers, and had a number of clutch performances in Big Ten play down the stretch. Over the season, he shot 41% from long distance and was one of the top scorers in the conference.

As a result of a fantastic campaign, he was named a First Team All-American, Big Ten Rookie of the Year, and also won the Jerry West Award, the award for the nation’s best shooting guard. He ranked top ten in the Big Ten in points, steals, assists, and field goal percentage, certainly making his mark during his freshman campaign. Russell was then drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second pick of the 2015 NBA Draft and has already had success in a seven-year NBA career to this point.

We’ve completed our deep dive into the best college basketball players of the last ten years from the state of Kentucky; are there any players you think should’ve been ranked higher or lower from this list?