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

22. Jamal Murray

A Top 75 recruit from the Class of 2015, Murray watched Kentucky march to the Final Four with an unbeaten record and joined the Wildcats a few months later. A 6’5 wing from Ontario, Murray wouldn’t quite lead Kentucky to those same heights as 2015, but would have himself a pretty productive freshman season, the only year he’d spend playing college ball.

During that freshman campaign, he averaged 20.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, playing what was clearly a major role on offense for a Wildcats squad replacing a lot of talent from the year prior. He made 41% of his 3-pointers and was a great free throw shooter as well. Murray had a few 30-point outings and dropped 35 points against Florida during conference play. He’d lead Kentucky to another SEC Tournament title, though their season and his career would end in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

A fantastic player right off the bat, Murray was honored as First Team All-SEC. He was 2nd in the SEC in scoring and was the top 3-point shooter, truly blossoming on offense for the Wildcats during a 27-win season. It’s unfortunate that the Wildcats won just a single Tournament game, but Murray certainly showed his abilities when he could. He became the 7th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft and just won an NBA title a few months ago with the Denver Nuggets.