NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of New Jersey of last decade

8. Tyson Etienne – Wichita State

When he came out of high school, including a postgrad year in Connecticut, this 6’2 guard from Englewood was a pretty sought after recruit. Etienne chose Wichita State over a number of power conference schools, arriving on campus back in 2019. Under coaches Gregg Marshall and Isaac Brown he’s played an important role for the Shockers, especially in these last few seasons.

Etienne worked his way into the starting lineup and a few standout performances in the pandemic-shortened season. He really came onto the scene as a sophomore, averaging 16.3 points a game and helping lead the Shockers to the AAC regular season title. He scored a career-high 29 points each in a pair of win at Mississippi and against UCF, though his performance in his one NCAA Tournament game was less successful.

For that breakout campaign as a sophomore, Etienne was named AAC Player of the Year. He also received All-AAC honors as junior and ranks among the conference’s best shooters in their short history. He helped lead Wichita State to an unexpectedly great season after losing coach Gregg Marshall and played his role well on this squad. He skipped out on the rest of his eligibility and recently signed with the Atlanta Hawks after going undrafted.