NCAA Basketball: Top 20 players midway through 2022-23 season

With Christmas coming and going and non-conference play winding down, we’ve got a healthy sample size of NCAA Basketball. There have already been some conference games played in the month of December but now it’s time for conference play to ramp up and for the REALLY important basketball to be played.

Plenty of teams like Purdue and UCONN have stepped up and stood out above expectations. Other teams like Houston and UCLA have played up to their lofty expectations this season while teams like North Carolina and Illinois have underachieved their lofty preseason expectations.

But here, we have to break down the best players in college basketball so far. Some players, mostly those who were on preseason award watch lists and All-America teams, have been in the college basketball spotlight while some have emerged as key players to watch for as we get into the fun part of the season. So let’s see who exactly has met those expectations and who has thrust themselves into Wooden Award contention.

So, with some brainstorming with Tristan Freeman, I have come up with my list of the 20 best players in college basketball this season. Obviously, this is a very objective list and this type of content is created so hoop heads like you and me can argue over them but I will quickly explain the main things I take into account when ranking one player above another: scoring volume and efficiency, passing and facilitation ability, defensive versatility, ability to get to the free throw line as well as offensive rebounding ability.

Of course, the classic eye test and other aesthetics are important and help fuel the narrative around the player but for me, personally, those previous traits are the ones I associate most with winning players. So let’s go ahead and get started with one of the best two-way guards in the country at number 20.