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

3. Jerian Grant – Notre Dame

Things aren’t always easy, and they certainly weren’t along the journey for Grant. A 6’5 guard from Bowie, he arrived on campus at Notre Dame in 2010, leaving five years later as one of the best guards in the nation. He played four impressive seasons under Mike Brey, redshirting his first year on campus before dealing with some academic issues as a junior.

Grant was a solid scorer and ball distributor across his entire career, averaging at least 12 points and 5 assists per game in each of his four seasons. Those academic issues forced him to miss most of his junior year, but he really made up for it as a senior. During that season, he had a 23-point, 12-assist effort in a win over Duke, while also having very solid games in leading the Fighting Irish to the Elite Eight in 2015.

Honored by multiple conferences, he excelled in the Big East, but had his finest season as a senior in the ACC, being named not only First Team All-ACC but First Team All-American. Grant led the conference in free throws and assists and led the entire nation in minutes played during that impressive senior season. A first-round draft pick, he spent parts of five seasons in the NBA but has played overseas in recent years. He was certainly a very talented collegiate point guards, and one of the very best Fighting Irish in recent memory.