10 Best college basketball players of all time: From Magic Johnson To Pete Maravich

Before he became an NBA icon with the Los Angeles Lakers, Earvin “Magic” Johnson was a Michigan basketball legend. The state champion brought his talents to the college ranks with Michigan State and turned the school into an NCAA powerhouse in his two seasons at East Lansing.

He was an All-American both years but his sophomore campaign will go down in school lore as he guided the program to its first National Championship in 1979. Johnson would beat Larry Bird and Indiana State that year and earn Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors in the process.

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While the Ohio State football team gets all of the attention nowadays, from 1958 to 1962 the basketball program was the belle of the ball due to the excellence of Jerry Lucas. During his four years in Columbus, he put up a resume that made him the greatest player in Big Ten history.

Lucas brought a national title home in 1960 but also earned Player of the Year honors once and was a three-time first-team All-American. Lucas was a monster in the paint as he not only averaged almost 25 points per game but close to 20 boards for his college career.

What Tyler Hansbrough was for NC Christian Laettner was for Duke in the previous decade. Laettner was not only the face of Duke during his four years with the Blue Devils but he became the biggest star in the country. The program was a consistent title contender during his four seasons and took home championships twice.

The two-time ACC Player of the Year also won national honors in a magical 1992 season for the team and will go down in NCAA Tournament lore for his legendary game-winning shot over Kentucky in that year’s Eastern Regional.

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Houston big man Elvin Hayes was another monster in the paint during his four years in Houston. While he didn’t win a natty, he did surpass Lucas by averaging similar rebounds for his career but posted over 30 points a game every night for the Cougars.

He was also immortalized for being a part of the first-ever nationally televised college basketball game when he and his Cougars battled the 47-0 UCLA Bruins. On that iconic day, Hayes actually shut down legendary NCAA and NBA legend Lou Alcindor/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and dropped 39 points and 15 boards on the UCLA icon.

North Carolina State star David Thompson was a player way ahead of his time. In an era where dunking was banned due to the exploits of Lou Alcindor, David Thompson was still able to play an ultra-athletic above-the-rim game rarely seen before. His freak athleticism helped take the program to its first national title in 1975.

He will also go down as one of the greatest players in ACC history after winning the Conference Player of the Year award on three occasions. However, he also scored national All-American honors multiple times and is one of the few players to win the Player of the Year award more than once.

It should come as no surprise that the triple-double monster Oscar Robertson became in the NBA started back when he was tearing it up during a sparkling career at Cincinnati. The NBA Hall-of-Famer is one of the few players on this list who did not win a national title, however, his statistical output is second to none.

During his four seasons at Cincinnati, the guard averaged 34 points, 15 boards, and over seven assists. Almost every season he took home Player of the Year awards as he set a new standard for what a basketball player can do in multiple categories.

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Bill Russell is known for the massive influence he had on the NBA in its early years as a member of the Boston Celtics. However, before his dominance at the pro level, he was a winning machine in the college ranks at the University of San Francisco. There, he led the program to two national titles and scored various player of the year honors while he posted a 20-20 double-double in points and rebounds for his entire career.

Bill Walton had a very tough act to follow by taking over for college basketball demigod Lou Alcindor. However, the unbelievable standard set by Alcindor was shockingly maintained by Walton. The three-time first-time All-American also won a trio of Player of the Year awards during a run that saw him lead the UCLA Bruins to two more national titles during the 70s.

The Bruins brand is iconic in college basketball because of Walton and his ability to extend their dominance long after Alcindor moved on to the NBA.

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While Pete Maravich never brought LSU a title during his four seasons there, he is still No. 1 on our list of the best college basketball players of all time. He did not have the physical gifts of men like Alcindor and Russell, but he overcame that with as pure a shooting touch as the game has ever seen.

During his career, he was a three-time first-team All-American, was the greatest player in SEC history, and also was twice the national Player of the Year. What is truly mind-boggling is after four seasons, “Pistol Pete” actually finished his college career with an unheard-of 44.2 points per game average.

Alcindor was such a dominant force for the Bruins that the NCAA changed the rules to help even the playing field for teams that could not compete with UCLA and its ultra-talented center. The man who would eventually be known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won three nattys, two AP Player of the Year awards, and on three occasions was the best player to compete in the Final Four.

For as amazing as Jabbar was in the NBA, a case could be made he was even better during his days at UCLA.