[JNixonParticipant]

I think Tyler Hansbrough. He represented everything a college player should be if he’s the best: Tenacious, tough, productive, and a model citizen and student.

Who do you think it is?

[llperez]

yeah, hard to argue with him. I mean as long as you seperate college from having a pro career or pro potential, i can’t think of anyone who did more this past decade then him in college. Plus like you said he was a good person off the court too from what i’ve heard.

[torontoraptors10Participant]

Kevin Durant

[llperez]

Durant only played one year and got bounced in the sweet 16. If you are talking about who had the single best individual season, then yeah durant could be on the list. BUt player of the decade should be more then that.

[TheFutureofthisgameParticipant]

It depends what your talking about, one year or four years or just pure dominance. Obviously Kevin Durant had a tremendous one year career at Texas. But if we are talking four years it has to be Tyler Hansborough, he may not be the most skilled or athletic but he was one hell of a college player and left his mark indefinitely on the game, for God’s sake his jersey was retired next to Jordan’s thats got to mean something on how good he was for UNC. I am not a fan of his but he did dominant well in college that cannot be denied.

[knicksfan7Participant]

I think Jay Williams needs to be considered, though it is hard to argue Tyler Hansbrough.

As for freshman of the decade how can we forget Carmelo Anthony he averaged 22 and 10 along with a National title. I think hands down it is Carmelo Anthony as Freshman of the decade.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

The top 2 R J.J. Reddick and Tyler Hanbrough but I’d have 2 go with Hansbrough as the best college b-ball player ever.

[llperez]

wow hansbrough as best ever? How about guys who used to dominate the sport like Jabbar or walton or marovich? I didn’t watch them play, but they won and put up legendary numbers.

[JNixonParticipant]

Jay Williams does deserve mention as. He is the best PG of the Decade IMO, he was a bad, bad man when he was at Duke.

And I think you can make an argument for Michael Beasley, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo as the Best Freshmen of the Decade. Carmelo was a title as a Freshman. That has to count for something

[DanEboyParticipant]

Lew Alcinder or Bill Walton for best ever. Tyler hands down best of the decade though. Pistol Pete could be in the arguement for best ever as well.

[RickyRubio9Participant]

Pyscho T for sure…
Durant for Individual, he was SICK
Adam Morrison because Gonzaga wasn’t as big a School…
J.J Reddick b/c it’s Duke, Four Years, but Hansborough did more then Score and Won so he Wins

[canesboy6Participant]

Definately. He is College basketballs Tebow. 4 time All American, 3 time number 1 seed, 2 final fours, NPOY, National Champion. Its hard to argue with that.

[Adi Joseph]

Kareem would unquestionably be the best college player ever. He’s been voted as such by just about every publication out there at this point. But in the same way, Hansbrough is the best of the decade.

Hansbrough MIGHT be the best four-year varsity player ever, keeping in mind that Walton, Robertson and Alcindor all were from the era when college players could play just three seasons. Christian Laettner and Tim Duncan deserve some mention in that distinction, as well.

Still, I suppose it’s worth examining Hansbrough’s credentials in comparison to J.J. Redick.

Hansbrough’s career college stats: 20.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 53.6 field goal percentage in 142 games.

Redick’s career college stats: 19.9 ppg, 42.1 3-point field goal percentage in 139 games.

Hansbrough’s first two years were significantly better than Redick’s. And he contributed in more ways. Oh, and his team won a title, made an additional Final Four and won two ACC Tournament titles and three shares of regular season titles.

Redick made one Final Four, his sophomore year and won three ACC Tournament titles and two regular season shares.

As far as Durant, I’m not necessarily even sure he should be considered freshman of the decade. Carmelo Anthony won a title and dominated March Madness with a team that really wasn’t much more talented than Durant’s Texas squad. That’s a very interesting debate, and I may come back and post some thoughts on that later.

[kpi03Participant]

Juan Dixon 01-02 20 ppg and a national championship

[the I in winParticipant]

Hansbrough overall but i think Beasley had the best individual season.

[KevinDurantRocksParticipant]

Was better then J.J redick in college so adam would be 2

[JNixonParticipant]

How so? How do you think Morrison was better than Redick?

[Kobe4PrezParticipant]

Hands down college PLAYER OF THE DECADE has to go to Carmelo Anthony! How can this guy not be?! He averaged 22 and 10 and he led his team to a National Championship in his freshmen year. Now if you talking about best career in college it hands down goes to Tyler Hansbrough because of what he did for the program for all four years.

[MagikKnickParticipant]

you cant be the player of the decade…if you only played for 1 year in the decade..

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Does Brandon Roy deserve any mention??

I have to agree with Tyler with JJ as a second…

[JNixonParticipant]

Kevin Durant was arguably the FRESHMAN of the Decade (Mike Beasley and Carmelo deserve mention), not the Player of the Decade.

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

adi,

tyler was great… no question. and before i say anything, i dont even necessarily think JJ was any better. but, don’t forget that tyler played on some pretty AMAZING teams, and that might have something to do with his team accolades…We all saw how good shelden williams really is. (fine, he was a very good college player.) that said, i felt like UNC should have one more than 1 with Lawson, Green, Ellington, Hansbrough, not to mention deon thompson and ginyard!!!!

JJ also is the career scoring leader at Duke… made a ridiculous % of FTs… Led the Final Four team in scoring… not sayin he’s the best, but i think he makes a strong case.

and for the record, 42% from 3 is like 63% from 2! wow.

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

also forgot to mention JJ dropped 30 to win the ACC championship game his freshman year, and led the team in scoring his soph. year, so don’t discount his role too much his first 2 years.

[Adi Joseph]

Hansbrough is the all-time leading scorer at North Carolina, a school with a significantly longer history of being great than Duke.

Redick was one-dimensional and his NCAA Tournament career numbers were far below his regular season/ACC Tournament numbers.

As far as teammates go, you’re right that North Carolina was more stacked than Duke. But they also advanced significantly farther. And in Hansbrough’s freshman year, the Tar Heels were really not that talented, yet landed a No. 3 seed.

As far as Roy, he wasn’t the best player on his team until his senior year. Nate Robinson was clearly better the year prior. And Washington never advanced past the Sweet 16 with Roy. So the answer is, no. He does not warrant mention.

[sameolGParticipant]

its between JJ Redick or (Jay)Jayson Williams at Duke… (Bias opinion)

[powerguard97Participant]

between Hansbrough and Melo…Hansbrough had the best career. Melo had the best season of the decade, better then durrant because Melo did win a National Championship Durrant didnt

[Henry25Participant]

Hansbrough gets it for player of the decade. I love watching him play. For freshman of the decade it gets a bit tricky. Beasley put up the best individual statistic season of any freshman ever imo and just dominated teams. Durant was close as well, but Beasley’s numbers are better. However, u really can’t argue with giving the freshman of the decade award to Carmelo. He put up great stats and led his team to a championship. No homo, but we have been blessed by some truly great freshman this past decade

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

one comment about hansbrough’s scoring, i believe he played all 4 seasons under roy williams, who i’d assume has produced some of the highest possessions/gm for a season–> tyler could score a lot.

as for JJ being one-dimensional. Shouldn’t spot up shooting and shooting off the bounce count for 2 dimensions?! lol. he was the most amazing i’ve seen at getting the three up whenever…..

[JoeWolf1]

I think Tyler Hansbrough would have to be the favorite there.

Its kinda funny that no one from the back to back national title Florida teams has been at least mentioned, those teams were extremely well balanced, and didn’t boast anyone who put up monster stats, but 2 straight titles is quite an accomplishment.

2 guys entering the 2010 draft with amazing college careers

Damian James is now the all-time rebound leader in the Big 12, he has boasted quite a career at his time in Texas.
Luke Harangody could graduate as the Big East’s all time leader in scoring and rebounding ( this was mentioned early in the season, I don’t know if he has acheived this yet) but his college career has been pretty impressive although not ever playing on an elite team.

[quinceyhodges]

tyler easily..melo or durant arent even close because they only played one year. you wouldnt say a guy who was a rookie and got rookie is better then a vet who was all nba first team all four years and won a nba title and player of the year….not even close

[kaceyParticipant]

2 words: John Wall is the best

(Charles Barkley-style, for those of you who caught that look back segment aired on TNT, it was hilarious)

But in all honesty, Hansbrough is probably a great choice. Great college basketball player for four years, you just don’t see too many of those players anymore.

[TPost315Participant]

Hansbrough wins easy, then JJ!!!

Best individual season, that still could go to tyler for his senior season…..
Durant and Beasely could get it to but they never won a Title…..(both great scorers and rebounders!!)
Melo should be in that discussion 22 and 10 and ncca title, MOP player in tourney!!!

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

You can make an argument for JJ, but it has to be Hansbrough. Last decade, it was Duncan.

[R-Dot-13Participant]

JJ Redick .

[DanEboyParticipant]

Hansbrough for sure…since people are throwing names out there, how about Okafor? The guy won a championship, is the all time blocks leader for UConn, and was def player of the year. Just sayin that he could make the all-decade team.

[quinceyhodges]

tyler over j.j easily because of the title and the 4time all american. jj second with the 3 or 3 times all american team and no title

[JNixonParticipant]

He would make the decade team, but he wasn’t as productive offensively as he needed to be to be Player of the Decade. Especially when compared to Hansbrough or Redick

[knicksfan7Participant]

I notice the Jay Williams talk is dying down, but this guy flat out dominated the PG position at Duke. He was athleticism and a champion rolled into one.

[quinceyhodges]

i forgot about j will.. he has to be mentioned. if he would have stayed one more year i would pick him over tyler…even though i dont like these 2 guys i think cleves and battier have to be mentioned

[knicksfan7Participant]

Word, both were great college players. You know Q, it hasn’t been mentioned among freshman while I would not say he is one of the best, but was very good in his 1 year of college ball. Omar Cook was a great PG at St. John’s he lead the country in assists his one year at St. John’s.

[quinceyhodges]

yeah he was pretty goodt. but if he has to be mentioned then val brown from g.washington has to be mentioned because he lead the nation in scoring as a freshman

[knicksfan7Participant]

Yeah, and then it will turn into a bunch of guys getting mentioned for something that is exclusive.

[quinceyhodges]

agreed?..although if cook would have stayed for 4 years he might have been mentioned as one of the best pg ever in the big east. he was a hell of a defender as well. im still baffled as to why someone would give him such bad advice to leave school early

[knicksfan7Participant]

It sucks. I felt bad for him though he made the decision. Definitely would have made St. Johns nasty for a couple more years if he stayed for another year or 2.

[knicksfan7Participant]

That program has gone so far from where it used to be. I remember when they had Ron Artest.

[JNixonParticipant]

I thought Erick Barkley for St. John’s was going to be something like Derrick Rose is now…He left too early as well. I truly believe he was going to be a great NBA player

[knicksfan7Participant]

oh the days when St. Johns basketball was fun to watch

[Adi Joseph]

Jason Williams was the second best player on his title team. He’s a really great player, undoubtably. Probably the best point guard of the decade. But he also was a three year player, which hurts him.

Now, xbadger, Redick really didn’t improve at shooting off the dribble until his junior year. And he offered nothing else. No defense, no rebounding, no passing, poor leadership, until his senior year.

In addition, I have no idea why you seem to believe Roy Williams coaches at VMI. He’s no where near setting records for pace. Does he play fast? Yes. But, to compare, last year, North Carolina ran the eighth-fastest adjusted pace in the country, according to Ken Pomery. In 2006, Redick’s senior year, Duke ran the 27th fastest.

Granted, traditionally, Duke has been run a bit slower. But it’s absurd to suggest that the pace numbers suggest that Redick was a better player, even if they could be used to validate him as a better scorer.

The more statistics you attempt to throw out, the more you make it obvious Redick has little case. 

[DanEboyParticipant]

^ That’s how you debate.

[ctw724Participant]

He won two National Championships and MOP during a Final 4.

[Dhamp2Participant]

Aw yeah. Let me get in on this thread. Carmelo Anthony is the best college player of the decade. He walked onto SU’s campus, won an NCAA championship and bounced! Ha ha ha….Only rings count baby.

Dhamp2…the greatest basketball mind in the world. Next to Hubie Brown anyway.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Doesnt Tyler have 2 rings??

[quinceyhodges]

no just one

[Adi Joseph]

If only rings count, then isn’t Chris Richard better than Carmelo Anthony, Dhamp?

Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer all would be third tier on this list. The first year Florida won, Noah was probably the best player on the team. The second year, Horford and Brewer were both better. 

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

I thought they won in 2005 and his senior year… Oh well, Florida was going to be my next argument..

[quinceyhodges]

exactly….sorry i didnt read the dhamp post because i went sraight to the second page. you can say the last player on the bench of the florida team is in the debate if only rings count. melo isnt even in the debtae.. he would be in the debate of the best freshmen ever or the best one year players ever

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