Great College Basketball Players Will Soon Be Hard To Come By

The game of college basketball has changed. It's no secret that the game has now become merely a stepping stone to the NBA for the top recruits coming out of high school. While most of the players that go through the "one and done" process are capable of being NBA players, it proves that a "great" college basketball player is hard to come by nowadays.

Hansbrough was one of the best to play at UNC

Now before there's an uproar, let me explain that my definition of a great college player is a guy who played three or four seasons and left a mark on his team, conference, and the game itself. You can say whatever you want about the players who have played for John Calipari at Kentucky. Obviously guys like John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins have gone on to the NBA and had decent careers so far. But the fact of the matter is that they will never be considered great college basketball players in my mind. I don't say that to directly point at those two individually, I say that to any player that has only attended one or two years of college.

Take Kyrie Irving for example. He is quickly climbing the point guard ranks and establishing himself as one of the best in the NBA. He has the talent to be a memorable NBA player. As for his college career? He might as well have not had one. He played eleven games at Duke before bolting for the NBA draft. As we have seen, he clearly has the talent to have been a historic player at Duke and break a few records. However, young players don't hang around anymore. The mindset has become a "get me out of here" thought process that leaves coaches and fans wondering if the one and done players really attended their school or if they were just passing through.

Personally, I believe the last great college basketball player was Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough is a guy that you will always look back at and remember him and his ACC-dominating career. He played all four years at North Carolina and played in 142 games for the Tar Heels. He racked up 2,872 points and reeled in 1,219 rebounds. Hansbrough was also a consensus All-American all four years of his career and capped it all off with a Championship run that culminated in Detroit in 2009. Hansbrough is a college legend and his number will hang in the rafters forever. How many one and done players will ever see their number in the rafters?

Wiggins and Parker are predicted to be one-and-dones

There will always be those players that take us as college basketball fans on a great postseason ride. Last year we watched as Trey Burke led the Michigan Wolverines all the way to the championship and earned a Player of the Year award. Yet Burke, who left after his sophomore year, left too early for his career to be fully defined. Players can have great seasons, but to be a great player you have to demonstrate consistency. With everyone wanting to leave after their first year, there is no chance to see if they are truly great in the college game or not.


So with this in mind, the hype this season has been focused on Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and pretty much every new freshman at Kentucky. When referring to the excitement built around Wiggins, Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart said it best when he simply said that Wiggins would have to prove that he was the best in the game. The media has formed the distasteful habit of pinning players as "the greatest in the nation" before they even touch the floor for a regular season game. The definition of great has changed through the years. Could Wiggins have a great season? Absolutely, and you're a fool if you're not excited to watch him. However, he will not be a great college player if and when he leaves after this season. Again, greatness takes consistency. The one-and-done process has just about ruined our chances to see another great player any time in the near future. While there are still GOOD players who stay three or four years (Peyton Siva, Tim Hardaway Jr., Aaron Craft), the Tyler Hansbrough's of the college basketball world will be few and far between thanks to the one-and-done culture that has recently been adopted.