March is here, meaning the best time of the college basketball season is upon us.
Conference tournament play is underway, and the Selection Sunday is this weekend. One week from today, the First Four will commence in Dayton, Ohio, signifying the start of the NCAA Tournament. With that being said, CBS Sports took a break from the present to look back at the recent history of college hoops on Tuesday.
CBS national writer Matt Norlander revealed his list of the 25 biggest men’s college basketball stars since 2000. There’s some serious talent in these rankings, which Norlander made clear are not sorting through the 25 “best” or most accomplished players of this century.
“I’m talking pure star power. Can’t-take-your-eyes-off-them cosmetic appeal,” he explained. “There is no one definition for what constitutes a star; we know it when we see it. These are the players who broke through the most — and ultimately transcended college basketball.”
There were only two main rules Norlander followed: no current players are eligible (sorry Cooper Flagg) and anyone whose college career began before the year 2000 was also disregarded, eliminating names like Duke’s Shane Battier and Jay Williams, Michigan State’s Mateen Cleaves, Maryland’s Juan Dixon and others.
When the dust settled, Norlander named Duke’s Zion Williamson college basketball’s biggest star of the last 25 years, beating out UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough, Duke’s JJ Redick, Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison and Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony, who rounded out the top five.
“No player’s star this century has shined brighter in college than Williamson’s, who was such a revelation that he didn’t even need to make a Final Four to help his cause at No. 1,” Norlander said. “Doing it for 32-6, top-seeded Duke team in the social media era absolutely played a major factor in Zion’s unique rise to the top of American sports culture. It’s why I have him No. 1, in addition to his megawatt style of play with the Blue Devils.”
Williamson did not make the Final Four in his lone year at Duke, losing to Michigan State in the Elite Eight of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Still, he led the Blue Devils to the ACC Tournament title, returning from injury to post dominant performances against Syracuse and UNC in that event.
There’s also no denying the “wow” or “it” factor Williamson had when playing. As Norlander notes, he got former President Barack Obama to a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Is that enough to have him No. 1 on this list? We’ll let you be the judge.
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