MEAC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

4. James Daniel III

A 5’10 point guard originally from Hampton, Virginia, Daniel began his career at Howard and spent parts of four seasons in the MEAC. He was a major offensive juggernaut across three full seasons leading the Bison before injuries forced him to miss nearly his entire senior year. Daniel transferred to Tennessee for his final season, but his numbers in the MEAC were far superior.

An incredible athlete, he averaged 21.0 points per game and hit 39% of his 3-pointers as a freshman, albeit in a really tough season for the Bison. A 4th place MEAC finish was much better in year two, though Daniel’s best individual season came as a junior. That year saw him average 27.1 points, becoming one of the nation’s most heavily utilized players and rack up a handful of 30-point performances.

Daniel led the entire nation in points per game as a junior and was named MEAC Player of the Year for that season. He had seasons where he led his league in steals and 3-point shooting, and nobody in the nation topped his 280 free throws in that junior year either. He simply wasn’t the same high-powered scorer after transferring to Tennessee, and it’s hard not to appreciate what he did in the MEAC, scoring 1933 points in just over three full seasons.