NCAA Basketball: Best player from each of the 50 states for 2022-23

We are mere moments away from the start of another exciting season of NCAA basketball. Months of coaching changes, transfer portal moves, conference realignment rumors, and prognostications have led us to early November. No matter what we think we know, nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen this season from the top to the bottom.

One thing we do know is that game of college basketball is always full of talented players. This year in particular finds us with a significant amount of returning talent among big men in particular. Some teams are returning a majority of their lineups or rotations, while others are trusting freshmen or transfers to fill some of the holes and gaps from last season. Expectations are likely high for a number of programs, though clearly not everyone can live up to what’s expected.

Today, our focus is specifically on the players, and we’ll be looking closely at a number of those talented pieces for this upcoming season. However, today’s focus is not on the 50 best players for this upcoming season, but on a different 50. We’ll be looking closely at the best returning player from each and every state in the nation. This isn’t about what state a player is originally from, but what state their college plays in.

There are 363 Division 1 programs, and they clearly are not spread equally among the fifty states. There aren’t any teams in Alaska, though those in the District of Columbia still give us 50 players to look at today. In bigger states like California, New York, and Texas, there are a plethora of programs, meaning great players will not be mentioned, while smaller states like New Hampshire and Vermont only have a few players even considered. We’ll toe the line of that balance and proceed with the best college basketball players for the upcoming season from each and every state.