Introducing college basketball's 64-player greatest of all time bracket

Mar 19, 2020

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  • ESPN Insider college basketball contributor
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  ESPN.com

  Mechelle Voepel covers the WNBA, women's college basketball, and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.

Who's the greatest player in college basketball history? Through March 31, we are taking a look at the best men's and women's players to ever play the game. We've included breakdowns of each player's collegiate years.

Here is how to follow along and vote in the ESPN college basketball player bracket.

The bracket

West Region

Round of 6️⃣4️⃣
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Alcindor (UCLA, 1966-69): The legend who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set and still holds a Division I record for most points in a varsity debut (56 vs. USC), won three national titles and went 88-2 during his three seasons with John Wooden. For his career, Alcindor averaged a 26-16 double-double. Few college players have ever combined efficiency (he led D-I in FG percentage in two of his three seasons) with production (he was second in scoring nationally in 1966-67) quite like Alcindor. -- Gasaway

Augustus (LSU, 2002-06): A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she stayed home to lead LSU to three consecutive Women's Final Four appearances. A two-time Naismith and Wooden award winner, she finished her career with 2,702 points and was the WNBA's No. 1 draft pick. -- Voepel

Taurasi (UConn, 2000-04): She was a key player on UConn's perfect 2002 team, then was the key player on two more NCAA championship teams. Taurasi was the Women's Final Four Most Outstanding Player and Naismith Award winner twice. She had 2,156 points and 648 assists for the Huskies, who made the Final Four each year of her career. She was also the No. 1 pick in the 2004 WNBA draft. -- Voepel

Jackson (LSU, 1988-90): The player soon to be known as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf set a D-I record that still stands by averaging 30 points as a freshman at LSU. He won SEC Player of the Year honors twice in his two-season career, and Jackson still ranks in the top 25 on the D-I career scoring list in terms of average points per game (29). -- Gasaway

Robertson (Cincinnati, 1957-60): College basketball had never seen a player who could dominate across the board the way Robertson did when he arrived in 1957-58. In his first season, he averaged 35 points and 15 rebounds a game. Then, in his junior season, assists started being tracked at Cincinnati, and it turned out he was dishing the ball for seven of those a game as well. Robertson led D-I in scoring in each of his three seasons. -- Gasaway

Bradley (Princeton, 1962-65): Bradley originally accepted a scholarship at Duke before changing his mind and paying his own way at Princeton. In addition to carrying the Tigers to the 1965 Final Four (where he was named Most Outstanding Player), Bradley remains the only Princeton player to score 40 points in a game. He did it 11 times. -- Gasaway

Davis (Kentucky, 2011-12): When he was named winner of the Wooden Award in 2012, Davis joined Kevin Durant as, at that time, the only freshmen ever to be so honored. Kentucky went 38-2 and won the national title behind Davis' combination of rim defense (his 186 blocks are fourth most ever in a D-I season), durability (he averaged 32 minutes a game as a shot-blocking freshman) and timely scoring. -- Gasaway

West (West Virginia, 1957-60): West was a two-time first-team All-American who led his team to the 1959 national championship game and recorded more than 2,300 points over the course of three seasons. The 30 double-doubles he recorded as a senior is tied for the second most in a season in D-I history. -- Gasaway

Hansbrough (North Carolina, 2005-09): Few players in the past 20 years have played such a prominent role for such a prominent program over so many games. Hansbrough is still the ACC's leading career scorer (2,872 points) and earned first-team All-American honors three times. He won the Wooden Award in 2008 and led the Tar Heels to the national title in 2009. -- Gasaway

Leslie (USC 1990-94): She finished with 2,414 points, 1,214 rebounds and 321 blocked shots, and she was the Naismith Award winner as a senior. Leslie made four NCAA tournament appearances, advancing as far as the Elite Eight twice. She joined Sheryl Swoopes and Rebecca Lobo as first signees for the WNBA, which debuted in 1997. -- Voepel

Walker, (UConn, 2008-11):Walker made his legend when he led the Huskies to 11 consecutive wins en route to capturing the Big East tournament title and the 2011 national championship. The junior scored 30 points or more no fewer than 11 times in 2010-11, which still stands as a UConn record. -- Gasaway

Camby (UMass, 1993-96): After averaging less than 23 minutes in each of his first two years at UMass, Camby emerged as arguably the best player in the nation in his third season. Earning first-team All-America honors and winning the 1996 Wooden Award, Camby averaged 20 points and eight rebounds in leading the Minutemen to the Final Four (later vacated). -- Gasaway

Olajuwon (Houston, 1981-84): Houston lost back-to-back national title games in 1983 and 1984 to NC State and Georgetown, respectively, yet Olajuwon was named Most Outstanding Player in the former year. He's the last player to earn that award from a team that did not win the title. Olajuwon averaged 17 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks in 1983-84. -- Gasaway

Wade (Marquette, 2001-03): Wade's iconic performance in the 2003 Elite Eight (29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against top seed Kentucky) marked just the fifth official triple-double recorded in the NCAA tournament up to that time. A consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore, Wade averaged 20 points in his two-season career at Marquette. -- Gasaway

Bird (UConn, 1998-2002): After missing most of her freshman year with a knee injury, she was UConn's point guard for three trips to the Women's Final Four, with two championships. She was the Naismith Award winner as a senior, when the Huskies had a perfect season, and was the WNBA's No. 1 draft pick in 2002. -- Voepel

O'Neal (LSU, 1989-92): A two-time first-team All-American, O'Neal is one of just six players in D-I history to record triple-doubles in back-to-back games. In his three seasons, O'Neal averaged 22 points, 13 rebounds and, most incredibly, five blocks per contest. He's still the only SEC player ever to average five blocks per game in a season, and he did it in his sophomore and junior seasons. -- Gasaway

East Region

Stewart (UConn, 2012-16): She did the ultimate: not just four NCAA titles, but named the Most Outstanding Player of the Women's Final Four all four times. Stewart won the Wooden Award twice, the Naismith Award three times and tallied 2,676 points, second in UConn history. She was the No. 1 WNBA draft pick in 2016. -- Voepel

Carr (Notre Dame, 1968-71): Not many players have exceeded Carr when it comes to spectacular games. He set an NCAA tournament record with his 61 points against Ohio in 1970 and personally recorded three of the six 50-point games in the history of the event. Carr also stopped an undefeated UCLA season in its tracks in January 1971 when he rung up 46 against the Bruins in an 89-82 win for the Fighting Irish in South Bend. -- Gasaway

Russell (San Francisco, 1953-56): In the first game of his college career, the 19-year-old Russell blocked 13 shots against California. Blocks weren't even an official statistic yet, so it took much of the rest of the country a long time to catch on to what was happening on the West Coast. However, it's safe to say the sport was never quite the same after that night. In 1954-55 and 1955-56, the Dons went 57-1 and won back-to-back NCAA titles. Russell averaged a 20-20 double-double over his three-year career. -- Gasaway

McDermott (Creighton, 2010-14): McDermott is one of the few players ever to win conference Player of the Year honors in two leagues, having earned that honor in the Missouri Valley (2012 and 2013) and, when Creighton joined a new conference, in the Big East (2014). His 3,150 career points ranks as the sixth-highest total ever recorded. -- Gasaway

Bird (Indiana State, 1976-79): Indiana State arrived at the 1979 national championship game with a perfect 33-0 record thanks to Bird, who averaged 29 points and 15 rebounds for the Sycamores. Magic Johnson and Michigan State were too much for ISU that evening, but Bird still ranks fourth in scoring (2,850 points) among three-year players in D-I history. -- Gasaway

Staley (Virginia, 1988-92): A two-time Naismith Award winner, Staley led Virginia to three consecutive Women's Final Four appearances. She had 28 points in a 1991 NCAA final overtime loss to Tennessee and is the only player from a losing team to be named Women's Final Four Most Outstanding Player. -- Voepel

Sampson (Virginia, 1979-83): The only men's players to have won the Naismith Award more than once are Bill Walton and Ralph Sampson (three times apiece). It's Sampson who has bragging rights whenever those two get together, however, for he's the only men's player to have won the Wooden Award twice. Only three players in D-I men's history recorded more career double-doubles than Virginia's three-time ACC Player of the Year. -- Gasaway

Maravich (LSU, 1967-70): Maravich is D-I's leading career scorer despite the fact that he played without a 3-point line. If the LSU star had appeared in as many games as subsequent four-year volume scorers such as Tyler Hansbrough or Doug McDermott, he might have recorded over 6,000 points. Considering no D-I men's player in the history of the game besides Maravich has ever scored more than 3,300, that is rather extraordinary. During his career, Maravich averaged 44 points per game. -- Gasaway

Bias (Maryland, 1982-86): Maryland's star was already being named the ACC tournament MVP as a sophomore in 1984. It was a taste of things to come for Bias, who won back-to-back ACC Player of the Year awards in 1985 and 1986 and earned consensus first-team All-American honors as a senior. In June 1986, however, Bias died from cardiac arrhythmia induced by an overdose. -- Gasaway

Battier (Duke, 1997-2001): Though known more for his defense (he was a three-time NABC Defensive Player of the Year), Battier earned perhaps the ultimate trifecta of honor in 2001. That was the year he was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, the Naismith Player of the Year and the Wooden Award recipient. As a senior, Battier increased his scoring and averaged 20 points to go along with seven rebounds. -- Gasaway

Swoopes (Texas Tech, 1991-93): She led Texas Tech to its only national championship, scoring a title-game record 47 points and averaging 35.4 points in the 1993 NCAA tournament. After playing at junior college two years, she averaged 24.9 points in two seasons at Tech and was a Naismith Award winner. She joined Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo as first signees for the WNBA, which debuted in 1997. -- Voepel

Redick (Duke, 2002-06): The leading scorer in Duke history, Redick won two ACC Player of the Year awards and averaged 27 points on his way to earning Naismith and Wooden honors in 2006. Over the course of his career, he was a 41% 3-point shooter who also converted better than 92% of his free throws on over 700 attempts. -- Gasaway

Hill (Duke, 1990-94): Forever remembered for the pass thrown the length of the court that enabled Christian Laettner's game-winning shot against Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight, Hill played in three Final Fours and won two national titles during his career at Duke. He was a three-time All-ACC performer who scored nearly 2,000 points and was named first-team All-American as a senior. -- Gasaway

Lobo, (UConn, 1991-95): She was the face of the program as UConn emerged in the mid-1990s and won its first NCAA title -- with a perfect record -- her senior season. Lobo was also a Naismith Award winner and the Women's Final Four Most Outstanding Player. She joined Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie as first signees for the WNBA, which debuted in 1997. -- Voepel

Hurley (Duke, 1989-93): Hurley is the D-I men's leader in career assists with 1,076. Despite teammate Christian Laettner's heroics in the 1992 Elite Eight against Kentucky, it was Hurley who earned Most Outstanding Player honors at that year's Final Four as the Blue Devils won their second consecutive national title. By his senior year, Duke's point guard was also the team's leading scorer at 17 a game. -- Gasaway

Iverson (Georgetown, 1994-96): This two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year averaged 23 points during his career, the highest per-game mark in Georgetown program history. Iverson was a consensus first-team All-American in 1996 when he averaged 25 points and five assists to go along with three steals. -- Gasaway

South Region

Laettner (Duke, 1988-92): He did more than just make "The Shot" against Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight. To this day, Laettner is the NCAA tournament's leading career men's scorer (407) and leader in games played (23). He played in four Final Fours, won two national titles and was named the Wooden Award winner in 1992. Laettner's senior year still ranks as one of the greatest blends of pure scoring (21 points per game) and efficiency (shooting 58% on 2s and 56% on 3s) ever recorded. -- Gasaway

Fredette (BYU, 2007-11): No other player in the past 30 years has scored as many points as Fredette did in 2010-11 (1,068). His high-scoring ways won him that year's Wooden Award, and Fredette went on to average 33 points in three NCAA tournament games that postseason. That mark would not be topped in multiple tournament games until Carsen Edwards came along in 2019 (35). -- Gasaway

Ewing (Georgetown, 1981-85): Ewing was a three-time first-team All-American who led his program to three national title game appearances and one championship. In 1981, when Ewing announced his intention to play at Georgetown, Big East commissioner Dave Gavitt promptly placed a phone call to book, for the first time in the fledgling league's history, Madison Square Garden for the conference's postseason tournament. -- John Gasaway

Lucas (Ohio State, 1959-62): In a season when D-I as a whole made just 39.8% of its shots, Lucas created a sensation as a first-year player in 1959-60 when he averaged 26 points a game while shooting 64% from the field. He led the Buckeyes to the 1960 national title and took home NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. -- Gasaway

Johnson (Michigan State, 1977-79): Though assists weren't yet an official stat, Johnson unofficially averaged eight of them per game over his two-year career to go along with 17 points and eight rebounds. His versatility was showcased in a sophomore season in which he distributed the ball, crashed the boards and shot 84% at the line while leading MSU to the 1979 national title over Larry Bird and Indiana State. -- Gasaway

Rice (Michigan, 1985-89): The Most Outstanding Player of the 1989 Final Four, Rice is Michigan's leading career scorer with 2,442 points. He shot 60% on 2s and 52% on his 3s as a senior while leading the Wolverines to their first national championship. The 184 points that Rice scored over UM's six-game march to the 1989 title still stands as the most productive run of any player in NCAA tournament history. -- Gasaway

Holdsclaw (Tennessee, 1995-99): She led the Lady Vols to the first "three-peat" in women's NCAA tournament history. Holdsclaw was also the Women's Final Four Most Outstanding Player and a two-time Naismith Award winner. She's the SEC's leading career scorer at 3,025 points. Plus, she was a No. 1 WNBA draft pick. -- Voepel

Young (Oklahoma, 2017-18): During his only college season, Young recorded the highest single-season scoring average (27.4) of any player in Big 12 history. At the same time, his average of 8.7 assists ranks as the best in D-I history by any freshman. He scored 30 points or more in nine games and also recorded at least 10 assists nine times. -- Gasaway

Anthony (Syracuse, 2002-03): Anthony averaged a double-double and was named Big East Player of the Year as a freshman. After Syracuse recorded a one-point win over Auburn in the 2003 Sweet 16, the Orange proceeded to lay waste to the Big 12, defeating Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas on the way to a national title. In the 95-84 win over the No. 1-seeded Longhorns, the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player recorded a 33-14 double-double. -- Gasaway

Johnson (UNLV, 1989-91): Johnson arrived at UNLV as a junior college transfer and promptly took charge as the leading scorer on a team that won the 1990 national title. His 22-11 double-double in the Rebels' 103-73 win over Duke in the national final was more or less identical to his season averages in both categories (21 and 11). Johnson won the Wooden Award as a senior in 1991. -- Gasaway

Mullin (St. John's, 1981-85): Still the leading career scorer in St. John's history, Mullin won the Wooden Award and led 31-4 SJU to the Big East title and a spot in the 1985 Final Four. On a roster with teammates such as Walter Berry, Bill Wennington and a young Mark Jackson, Mullin averaged 20 points and shot 55% from the field as a senior. -- Gasaway

Catchings (Tennessee, 1997-2001): She's one of two Lady Vols players, along with Chamique Holdsclaw, to finish with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Catchings won an NCAA title as a freshman and was NCAA runner-up as a junior, when she won the Naismith Award. Her college career was cut short by an ACL injury in January of her senior year. -- Voepel

Parker (Tennessee, 2005-08): After redshirting her freshman season with a knee injury, she led Tennessee to back-to-back NCAA titles, the last two of coach Pat Summitt's eight national championships. She was the Women's Final Four Most Outstanding Player and Wooden Award winner twice, and won a Naismith Award. She was also the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game and was a WNBA No. 1 draft pick. -- Voepel

Durant (Texas, 2006-07): On his way to winning the 2007 Wooden Award as a freshman, Durant scored the second-most points ever recorded by any player in the history of the Big 12 as well as the second most by any freshman in D-I history. In his single season as a college performer, he was named Big 12 Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American. -- Gasaway

Manning (Kansas, 1984-88): This Wooden Award winner and three-time Big 8 Player of the Year put the Jayhawks on his back in the 1988 NCAA tournament and averaged 27 points per game on KU's run to a championship. Manning's 31-point and 18-rebound performance with five steals against No. 1 seed Oklahoma in the title game ranks as one of the greatest efforts in national final history. -- Gasaway

Williamson (Duke, 2018-19): Williamson joined Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis as the only freshmen ever to win the Wooden Award. He was also the first freshman in ACC history to earn both conference Player of the Year and tournament MVP honors. In the seven postseason games Duke played in the ACC and NCAA tournaments, Williamson set a program record by averaging 26 points. -- Gasaway

Midwest Region

Walton (UCLA, 1971-74): You know him as Dave Pasch's sidekick, but in his playing days Walton was virtually unstoppable. In the 1973 national title game against Memphis, Walton scored 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting from the floor. His career numbers are almost equally mind-boggling, clocking in at 20 points and 16 rebounds on 65% shooting from the floor. A three-time Naismith Player of the Year, Walton won two national titles and two Final Four Most Outstanding Player awards. -- Gasaway

Alford (Indiana, 1983-87): Keith Smart's jumper may have won the 1987 national championship game for Indiana, but it was Alford's seven made 3s that put the Hoosiers in position to claim the victory. Alford drained 53% of tries from beyond the arc that year, the first season in which the 3-point shot was in use throughout all of D-I. Bob Knight's star was a two-time consensus All-American. -- Gasaway

Jordan (North Carolina, 1981-84): The game-winning shot as a freshman against Georgetown in the 1982 national championship game was just the beginning. Jordan averaged 20 points over his sophomore and junior seasons and swept ACC Player of the Year and the Wooden Award honors in 1984. During Jordan's three seasons in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels were 38-4 in ACC play, including a perfect 14-0 record in his final year. -- Gasaway

Lieberman (Old Dominion, 1976-80): Representing the pre-NCAA era (which for women began in the 1981-82 season), she won two AIAW national championships with the Lady Monarchs. She totaled 2,430 points, 1,167 rebounds and 961 assists and won the Wade Trophy twice. As an 18-year-old, she also won a silver medal with the 1976 Olympic team, the first year for women's basketball in the Summer Games. -- Voepel

Miller (USC, 1982-86): Considered a game-changer as a 6-foot-2 forward with prodigious guard skills, Miller led USC to back-to-back NCAA titles as a freshman and sophomore and to an NCAA runner-up finish as a senior. She was a three-time Naismith Award winner and is USC's leader in points (3,018), rebounds (1,534) and steals (462). -- Voepel

Webber (Michigan, 1991-93): On a Fab Five Michigan team that reached back-to-back national championship games, Webber averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds a game over his two years in Ann Arbor. Detractors invariably point out that C-Webb never won a Big Ten title, but he was a freshman and then a sophomore playing alongside equally youthful teammates in an era when NBA draft lotteries were still dominated by juniors and seniors. -- Gasaway

Thompson (NC State, 1972-75): In his first game for NC State, Thompson recorded a 33-15 double-double. The sophomore led his team to a perfect 27-0 season only to have the Wolfpack sit at home in the postseason due to NCAA sanctions. One year later, Thompson did the unthinkable and beat Bill Walton and John Wooden, as NC State prevailed 80-77 over UCLA in double overtime at the Final Four. The Wolfpack then defeated Al McGuire and Marquette 76-64 to win the 1974 national title. -- Gasaway

Griner (Baylor, 2009-13): She led Baylor to a 40-0 season and an NCAA title in 2012, and also made a national semifinal appearance in 2010. Griner is a two-time Naismith and Wooden award winner, is fourth on the NCAA career scoring list (3,283 points) and is the NCAA leader in blocked shots (748). She was also the top pick in the 2013 WNBA draft. -- Voepel

Moore (UConn, 2007-11): Moore led UConn to back-to-back perfect seasons and also made two other Women's Final Four appearances. She won the Wooden Award and Naismith Award twice each, was a Final Four Most Outstanding Player and is UConn's career scoring leader (3,036). She was the No. 1 pick in the 2011 WNBA draft. -- Voepel

Curry (Davidson, 2006-09): Curry's D-I record for made 3-pointers in a season still stands (162). As a sophomore, he led a Southern Conference team to the Elite Eight (beating Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin along the way), and brought the eventual national champion to within three points of elimination. In three seasons with the Wildcats, Curry averaged 25 points. -- Gasaway

Williams (Duke, 1999-2002): In each of Williams' three seasons at Duke, the Blue Devils ended the regular season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. When Mike Krzyzewski's team won the title in 2001, Williams led the way, averaging a tournament-high 26 points. He earned Wooden and Naismith honors as a junior in 2002. -- Gasaway

Robinson (Navy, 1983-87): No player before or since has posted 31 double-doubles or recorded 207 blocks in a single season the way Robinson did as a junior in 1985-86. He was a two-time All-American who went on to win the Wooden Award as a senior in 1987. -- Gasaway

Hayes (Houston, 1965-68): Hayes was a two-time first-team All-American who scored over 1,200 points in a single season (1967-68), ranking second only to Pete Maravich in D-I history. His 24 rebounds in a losing cause against UCLA in the 1967 national semifinal are the second most ever recorded by a player at the Final Four. At 31 points per game, Hayes ranks in the top 15 on the career scoring list. -- Gasaway

Duncan (Wake Forest, 1993-97): A two-time first-team All-American who is still the winningest player in Wake Forest history, Duncan holds the ACC career record for double-doubles with 87. For his career, he averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 58% from the field. -- Gasaway

Chamberlain (Kansas, 1956-58): Joining a Jayhawks rotation with five seniors that had been just 14-9 the previous season, Chamberlain averaged 30 points and led KU to the third overtime of the national title game before his team fell to North Carolina. He set a D-I record for most rebounds in the first game of his career (31 vs. Northwestern), and his two-season average of 18.3 still ranks in the top 20 all time. -- Gasaway

Ionescu (Oregon, 2016-20): She finished with 2,562 points, 1,040 rebounds and 1,091 assists to become the first player in women's or men's basketball to compile 2K/1K/1K. The Ducks star also had 26 career triple-doubles, the most in men's or women's Division I history, and led Oregon to its first Women's Final Four in 2019. She also won two Pac-12 tournament titles. The NCAA tournament was canceled her senior year due to the coronavirus pandemic. -- Voepel