The best men’s college basketball player from all 50 states

A dominant center for two seasons at Jacksonville after graduating from Carver High School in Alabama, Gilmore averaged 24.3 points and 22.7 rebounds over his two seasons. He was a consensus First-Team All-American in 1971 and became one of five players to ever average 20-20 in a college career.

A graduate of East Anchorage High School, Langdon set the record for the most career three-pointers made at Duke before J.J. Redick broke it. He shot nearly 43 percent from three for his career with the Blue Devils.

A four-year star at Arizona, Elliott won the Wooden Award in 1989. He averaged 22.3 points during that season and 19.2 points for his career.

Lee played at Memphis from 1981-85, averaging 18.8 points and 10.4 rebounds for his career, winning conference Player of the Year twice. The 6-foot-10 forward attended high school at West Memphis in Arkansas.

Russell leads an impressive list of college players hailing from California. He changed the game of basketball as the center at the University of San Francisco and was a two-time Helms Player of the Year. He averaged 20.7 points and 20.3 rebounds over three seasons at USF after graduating from McClymonds High School in Oakland.

Billups played only two seasons at Colorado but made his mark averaging 18.5 points over those two years. He was a three-time Mr. Colorado Basketball in high school, and his jersey was retired by the Buffaloes.

A two-time First-Team All-American at Niagara, Murphy averaged an incredible 33.1 points per game over three seasons. The 5-foot-9 guard from Norwalk, he had a long NBA career with the Rockets and was an All-Star in 1979.

An accomplished player at Temple, Stansbury averaged 15.7 points over four seasons with the Owls. He was the A-10 Player of the Year in his senior season in 1983-84. Stansbury went to Newark High School in Delaware.

Playing as a 6-foot-8 forward, Porter was the Final Four Most Outstanding Player for Villanova in 1971, before being ruled ineligible for the award for signing a professional contract during his senior year. He was a three-time All-American.

One of the greatest players in college and NBA history, Frazier played his college ball at Southern Illinois. He led SIU to an NIT victory in 1967 and was named the MVP of the tournament.

Rocha played basketball at Oregon State in 1944-47 and was a Second-Team All-American in his final year. He also earned All-Pacific Coast Conference in three consecutive seasons.

Minson led BYU to the NIT title in 1951 and was named NIT Most Valuable Player. The Idaho Falls High School alumnus averaged 26 points during the tournament.

A native of Joliet, Mikan played four seasons at DePaul. He averaged 19.1 points for his career as a dominant 6-foot-10 center, taking home the Helms Player of the Year twice.

Graduating from Crispus Attucks High School in Indiana, Robertson leads an impressive list of Indiana ballers, averaging 33.8 points per game over three seasons at Cincinnati as arguably the greatest college basketball player in history. He also had 15.2 rebounds per game in his career from 1957-60, winning Player of the Year honors in all three seasons.

An alumnus of Ames High School, McDermott followed his father to Creighton and had an incredible college career. He was a three-team First-Team All-American, averaging 21.7 points and 7.5 rebounds for his career. He averaged 26.7 points per game during his senior season in 2013-14.

Valentine went to high school in Wichita and stayed in state to play at Kansas. The point guard was First-Team All-Big Eight four times, averaging 15.4 points for his career.

A 6-foot-7 center at Louisville, Unseld averaged 20.6 points and 18.9 rebounds during his three-year career from 1965-68. He was twice named a First-Team All-American and was the second overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft.

The first overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft, Hayes was the top player in college basketball at Houston in 1968. The Rayville native averaged 36.8 points and 18.9 rebounds per game during the season and averaged 31 points and 17.2 rebounds for his three-year college career.

Turner blossomed in his four years at Vanderbilt, averaging 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in his senior season in 1983-84. He attended high school in Florida but was born in Bangor.

Dantley was twice a First-Team All-American at Notre Dame and averaged 25.8 points per game over his three-year career for the Fighting Irish. He went to high school at DeMatha Catholic in Maryland.

Ewing was born in Jamaica but attended high school in the Boston area before going to Georgetown. He had a memorable college career as the Hoyas’ center, winning National Player of the Year in 1985. He averaged 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds for his college career.

Johnson is one of the greatest basketball players ever and made his mark in two seasons at Michigan State. He was a First-Team All-American and NCAA champion in 1979, averaging 17.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.4 assists for the Spartans.

El-Amin helped lead UConn to a national title in 1999 and then averaged 16 points and 5.2 assists in 2000. The Minneapolis native had a long international pro career that ended in 2016.

The son of NBA player and coach Ed Manning, Danny had a nomadic childhood but was born in Hattiesburg. He is one of the greatest college basketball players in history, winning the Wooden Award in 1988 at Kansas. Manning is now the head coach at Wake Forest.

A Hall of Fame player and former U.S. congressman, Bradley attended Princeton and was a two-time Sporting News Player of the Year. He grew up in Crystal City.

Arguably Gonzaga’s best player since John Stockton, Morrison went to high school in Spokane but was born in Glendive. He averaged 28.1 points in 2005-06 before going onto the NBA, where he was a massive bust after going third overall in the 2006 NBA Draft.

A dominant forward at South Dakota State, Daum was the 10th player in D-I history to score 3,000 points in 2018-19. He shot better than 40 percent from three for his career and averaged more than 23 points per game in three straight seasons. He attended high school at Kimball High School in Nebraska.

Hollins attended Arizona State, where he averaged 17 points over two seasons and was First-Team All-WAC in both seasons. He attended high school in Las Vegas.

The first NBA player ever from New Hampshire, Bonner was First-Team All-SEC in 2003 at Florida. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged more than 15 points in his junior and senior seasons.

One of the greatest shooters in the history of basketball, Barry averaged 37.4 points per game in his final year at Miami. He went to high school in Roselle Park.

Thomas attended high school in Albuquerque before his storied career at New Mexico. He was First-Team All-WAC three times and averaged 15.7 points in his college career from 1995-99.

Now known as Kareem Adbul-Jabbar, Alcindor was a three-time Player of the Year at UCLA. He averaged 26.4 points and 15.5 rebounds per season for the Bruins before his Hall of Fame NBA career. 

Thompson won AP Player of the Year twice while attending NC State. Over three seasons, he averaged 26.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, helping him beat out an impressive list of North Carolina natives.

Jackson is most known as arguably the best head coach in NBA history, but the North Dakota alumnus and native son was a standout in college from 1964-67.

Lucas won AP Player of the Year twice at Ohio State. He averaged 24.3 points and 17.2 rebounds for his three-year career with the Buckeyes.

Tisdale was Big Eight Player of the Year three straight seasons. He averaged 25.6 points and 10.1 rebounds for his career at Oklahoma.

Now the general manager of the Boston Celtics, Ainge has had incredible success at all levels of basketball. The Eugene native attended BYU, where he was the Wooden Award winner in 1981.

Pistol Pete attended high school in South Carolina and North Carolina, but he was born in Aliquippa. An all-time guard at LSU, Maravich averaged more than 43 points per game in three straight seasons, from 1967-70, averaging 44.2 for his college career.

Barnes grew up in Providence and stayed home for college, becoming a First-Team All-American for Providence in 1974. He averaged 20.7 points and 17.9 rebounds during his three-year college career.

English had a brilliant college career at South Carolina, averaging 17.8 points and 9.6 rebounds over four seasons. The Columbia native was inducted into in the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. Duke star Zion Williamson is also a native of South Carolina but is unlikely to rival English’s career as a one-and-done.

Piatkowski was a highly productive player at Nebraska after attending Stevens High School in South Dakota. He averaged 21.5 points per game in his senior season.

Howell attended high school in Middleton before going to Mississippi State. He was a First-Team All-American in 1959 and averaged 27.1 points and 17 rebounds over three college seasons.

Shaq attended high school in San Antonio before committing to LSU. He was the National Player of the Year in 1992 and averaged more than 24 points and 14 rebounds in his final two years for the Tigers.

Ferrin attended Utah after going to high school in Ogden, leading the Utes to the NCAA championship in 1944. Three years later, he led his team to an NIT title.

An accomplished player at Vermont, Coppenrath was the AEC Player of the Year in three consecutive seasons. He averaged 21.4 points and 7.4 rebounds for his four-year college career.

Sampson was the college National Player of the Year three times at Virginia, averaging 16.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.5 blocks for his career. He’s a native of Harrisonburg.

One of the greatest point guards in college and NBA history, Stockton won the WCAC Player of the Year in his senior season at Gonzaga after averaging 20.9 points and 7.2 assists per game.

Born in Chelyan, West stayed in state for college and became not just one of the greatest college basketball players ever but also a Hall of Famer in both college and the pros. With the Mountaineers, West won back-to-back Southern Conference Player of the Year honors, averaging 26.6 and 29.3 points, respectively, in his final two seasons. He also was named to the 1959 NCAA All-Tournament Team, taking home Most Outstanding Player after leading West Virginia to the title game, where the Mountaineers lost to Cal.

Despite playing his college ball at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Porter became nationally known during his career. The Milwaukee native was named an NAIA First-Team All-American twice and was a first-round pick in the NBA Draft in 1985.

Sailors played point guard at Wyoming in the 1940s and led the team to the NCAA championship in 1943. He was a First-Team All-American during that season and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.