The Best Under-the-Radar College Basketball Players in the Country
Every year at the onset of the college basketball season, there are numerous 'National Player of the Year Award' watch-lists that are released throughout the country highlighting the perceived best players across the nation for the upcoming season. Of course, in this one-and-done era of college basketball, more and more super-talented, highly-touted Freshman find themselves on these lists. Everyone knows about the trio from Duke that will in all likelihood represent 3 of the top 4 picks in this coming spring's NBA draft. Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish are three of the most talented Freshman to land on the same team since the FAB FIVE at Michigan in the early 90s. We are all well aware of the talented trio from Duke, the incredible Freshman talent assembled once again at Kentucky by John Calipari, and veterans like Luke Maye of North Carolina who terrorized Duke for 30 and 15 last night.
While the power programs and traditional blue-bloods certainly have the "marque" players in college basketball that make most of the headlines, there are several other players throughout the country that are extremely talented in their own right that tend to fly below the radar for a variety of reasons. With 32 different D-1 college basketball Conferences, there are inevitably several noteworthy players who get completely over-looked, or are complete afterthoughts thanks to the lower-level conferences they play-in. These mid-majors may be overlooked in general, but that doesn't mean they don't have highly-talented players in their own right.
Below I've identified a handful of the best players in the country - you've just probably never heard of them. All of them would be completely deserving of any post-season awards they may receive, and all have a legitimate case for National Player of the Year, even if the programs they play for don't happen to have Duke, Kentucky, North Caroline, Michigan State, Villanova, Kansas, etc. spelled out across their jerseys. Without further ado, here are the best "under-the-radar" college basketball players in the country:
Chris Clemons
SR 5-9 180 lbs G
Campbell Fighting Camels (15-11)
[ 29.8ppg, 5.3rpg, 3.0apg ]
Clemons may only be 5'9", but don't let his small stature fool you - his game usually towers over everyone else on the court. Not only does the guard play for one of the country's coolest team nicknames - how could you not like "The Fighting Camels" - he also leads the nation in scoring at just under 30 points per game (29.8). He torched Hampton for 48 points in a home victory last Wednesday and has scored at least 20 in all but two games thus far on the season. Still not sold on Clemons prolific scoring ability? He's poured in 30 or more in 10 of 26 games this season, and has even broke the 40-point barrier on three occasions. He is one of the most athletic guards in the country, and even though is only 5'9", has no problem getting to the rim. If the Fighting Camels happen to make a run during their conference tournament and land on TV, check this kid out, he is a legit scoring machine.
Ja Morant
SO 6-3 175 lbs G
Murray State Racers (21-4)
[ 24.3ppg, 5.5rpg, 10.2apg ]
The Sophomore guard is one of the best passers in the entire country. Morant has shown a consistent ability to find his teammates all season long, and easily leads the country in assists at 10.2 per game. He has racked up 15 double-doubles this season (points & assists) in 25 games, and dished out 18 assists alone in a victory at UT-Martin in January. Morant also registered an impressive triple-double back in November with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in a victory over Missouri State. He hasn't shown any signs of slowing down either as he went for 25 points, 14 assists, and 8 rebounds last time out in a 102-70 rout of Eastern Kentucky. Even though he is just a sophomore, Morant is the Missouri Valley Conference's all-time assists leader. Keep an eye on him - and the Racers - come NCAA tournament time.
Mike Daum
SR 6-9 235 lbs F
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (21-7)
[ 25.4ppg, 11.6rpg, 1.8apg ]
If Daum's name sounds at least somewhat familiar, he came into last year's NCAA tournament as a player to watch after capturing the Summit League's POY award as both a sophomore and a junior. He seemingly has this year's award wrapped up as well, which would make it 3 straight conference POY awards. The Senior is currently 5th in the country in both scoring and rebounding, and piled up a very impressive 34 points and 21 rebounds in a win against rival North Dakota in mid-January. He's registered two 20/20 games on the year and has only gotten better as the season's progressed - he's averaging 30 points and 13.3 rebounds over his last 3 games. Daum is hoping to lead the Jackrabbits back to the NCAA tournament where they were a popular pick as a 12-seed heading- in last year, but ultimately lost by 8 to Ohio State in their opening game.
Justin Wright-Foreman
SR 6-2 190 lbs G
Hofstra Pride (22-5)
[ 26.3ppg, 4.3rpg, 3.0apg ]
Wright-Foreman is third in the nation in scoring and has shown a penchant to carry the Pride at times this season when needed. Hofstra would be in the tournament if it started today, and ultimately they will go as far as their senior guard can lead them. Wright-Foreman has scored at least 30 points in 9 games so far on the season, including in each of the last 3 games. In fact, he's averaging a scorching 36 points per game during those past three. He roasted William & Mary for 48 points in a victory back on February 9th. He is one of the best pure scorers in the country - I'm rooting for the Pride to make the big dance just so I can see this kid play against the big boys in the NCAA tournament. No matter whether they get in or not, the senior guard has already turned in a big-time season.
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