Ranking the 10 Most Dominant Rebounders in College Basketball History
Rebounding has always been and will forever be hard work.
When a player goes to the boards, he usually is being bumped and hit and pushed in the process.
Rebounding requires getting position and blocking out. More than just jumping up in the air to grab the ball, rebounding involves putting a body on an opponent and making sure that he isn’t going to get the ball.
Without saying that “Rebounding is a lost art,” I will state that fewer and fewer current players want to do what is necessary to be a beast on the boards.
Here are the 10 most dominant rebounders in college basketball history. As you go through the list, it won’t take long to notice something curious about the time period during which these players played.
To create this list, average rebounds per game was the statistic used. Total rebounds were not utilized because that gives a distinct advantage to players who played more games. By looking at the per game average, we can “level the court” and see who really was most effective at hitting the glass.
Let’s go!
Rebounding statistics from sports-reference.com
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Duke Basketball: Ranking the 5 Most Dominant Scorers in Blue Devils History
Throughout the course of history, the Duke Blue Devils have hosted many of the greatest scorers in college basketball. So many, in fact, that narrowing it down to single out the five most prolific is a daunting task.
Fortunately, through an extensive year-by-year recollection of those offensively-gifted performers, the construction of such a list became much clearer.
Of the players selected, each has compiled a highly-decorated series of scoring achievements during their days donning the royal blue and white, that have separated themselves into the upper echelon of elite scorers.
Here are the five Blue Devils that are considered to be the most dominant scorers in the illustrious history of the Duke basketball program.
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Tim Duncan Becomes 1st Player in NBA History to Record 500 Playoff Blocks
All the San Antonio Spurs do is win, and all Tim Duncan does is make NBA playoff history.
The Big Fundamental registered four blocks in San Antonio’s 93-89 Game 2 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, the last of which was his 500th career postseason swat, making him the first player in league history reach such a milestone.
Duncan’s 500 postseason blocks rank first all time (obviously) and are 24 more than second place Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (476) and 304 more than any active player. Pau Gasol’s 196 are the second most among active players.
That means Duncan will stand alone for awhile—a long while.
For his career, Duncan is averaging 2.5 blocks per playoff game, the second highest mark of any player who has appeared in at least 100 postseason contests (his 202 appearances rank seventh all time).
Adding to the significance of his latest feat is how it compares to some of the greats.
Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal—two of the best shot blockers to ever grace the hardwood—recorded fewer total blocks in fewer playoff games. Simply amazing.
Though Duncan won’t go down as the greatest shot-blocker the league has ever seen, it’s difficult to dismiss him as the Association’s best postseason shot-blocker ever. Not merely because he’s reached 500 but because of how he’s done it.
This is a guy who is averaging 2.2 blocks per game for his career during the regular season (still impressive) and just seemingly turns it on for the playoffs, elevating his play to a whole different level.
As is often the case with Duncan, he doesn’t receive enough credit. I mean, no one else is going to hit 500 for a long, long time.
Because we’re all into such things, Dwight Howard and Serge Ibaka have the best chance to become the next “Duncan.” Howard is 27 and has 166 career playoff blocks, while Ibaka is 24 and has 156.
To put that in perspective, by the time Duncan was 27 he had 224 postseason blocks, which may not bode well for Dwight. At 24, he had 73, so keep your eyes on Ibaka.
Don’t lose sight of Duncan, though, either. He’s eclipsed the 500-block plateau, but he’s not done yet.
*All stats in this article were compiled from Basketball-Reference unless otherwise noted.
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Michigan Basketball: Ranking the 5 Most Hyped Recruits in Wolverines History
Several highly touted prospects have come and gone through the Michigan basketball program. Some have met the high expectations, while others have failed to live up to their billing. The hype surrounding five players in particular has been unparalleled over the past several years.
The Fab Five will certainly have a few recruits on this list given the fact five highly ranked freshmen had not come together in the same class prior to 1991.
Earning McDonald’s All-American honors and other prestigious awards will certainly be a determining factor in how high these prospects are ranked as well. How well their respective careers turned out at Michigan will have nothing to do with this list. This is about pre-college hype, after all.
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Ranking the 10 Best Starting Lineups in College Basketball History
As you look throughout the history of college basketball, there are dozens and dozens of great teams that have made their mark on the sport.
But, even among the great teams, there are a select few that stand apart from the rest.
Here are the 10 best starting lineups of all time.
This list is not solely based upon numbers of NBA draft picks or a variety of rewards and recognitions. This list looks at team accomplishments instead of potential or talent.
Some teams had the horses but didn’t ultimately finish the race. They are not included.
These teams played well and won lots of games…and championships!
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North Carolina Basketball: Ranking the 5 Most Hyped Recruits in ‘Heels History
When it comes to North Carolina basketball, hyped—and many times over-hyped—recruits are the norm. It’s just a part of the territory for distinguished programs such as UNC.
But with that, ranking the five most hyped recruits in Tar Heels’ history becomes quite the daunting task. Including the latest recruits, Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks, Chapel Hill has housed 67 McDonald’s All-Americans since its inception in 1977.
With all the star recruits that have landed at UNC, many players are virtually interchangeable. However, these five recruits stand above the rest.
Given the fact recruiting hype has never been at the level it is today with the internet and 24-hour media coverage, modern-era recruits have a little more weight in these rankings. Recruiting hype used to travel through word of mouth and the occasional newspaper.
In 2013, you couldn’t avoid Andrew Wiggins talk if you wanted to.
The recruiting trail has simply become a whole new demon. But even so, that didn’t keep a couple pre-90s Tar Heels out of this top five.
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Ohio State Basketball: Ranking the 5 Most Hyped Recruits in Buckeyes History
Looking over the history of college basketball recruiting, or even Ohio State recruiting in particular, is akin to comparing apples and oranges.
The differences in recruiting today where the impact of Andrew Wiggins’ breakfast choice gets broken down by 30 different sources as contrasted to the days of John Havlicek are astronomical. There is naturally more hype surrounding recent Buckeye commitments based on the nature of media alone. But that doesn’t mean the stars of yesteryear didn’t receive their fair share of relative buzz.
Read on to see the five most hyped recruits in Ohio State history. Recruiting rankings are courtesy of Scout.com unless otherwise noted.
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Indiana Basketball: Ranking the 5 Most Hyped Recruits in Hoosiers History
Every Indiana fan knows the ball-handler in this picture.
His name is Calbert Cheaney, and he’s only the school’s—and Big Ten’s—all-time scoring leader.
When he was recruited, his class was considered one of the best of all time, but Cheaney was far from the jewel of the group. He was overshadowed by a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans and another hyped prospect who arrived with some baggage.
So, as we know, recruiting is a very inexact science. The excitement of landing a well-known prospect can often give way to profound disappointment, even anger when a player doesn’t live up to his potential.
The players in this list mostly played well in college, even if they didn’t do so in an Indiana uniform. Still, they all found it hard to live up to the expectations that heralded their arrivals.
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Michigan State Basketball: Ranking the 5 Most Hyped Recruits in Spartans History
Ranking recruits is a relatively newer practice in college sports, not having taken off to its height within the past 30 years or so—and it’s rapidly growing each and every year with the advent of new sources.
That being said, gauging the “most hyped” prospects in Michigan State Spartans basketball history is somewhat of a challenge. Sure, past greats from the 1950s and 1960s were surrounded by a media buzz, but the media of the past few decades continues to cast more and more attention on the recruits than ever before.
One doesn’t have to go all that far back in time to remember the recruitment of memorable Spartans players. A good portion of the high-end prospects lived up to expectations. Some, though, simply did not.
Nonetheless, this slideshow will highlight the five who had the most anticipated and celebrated arrivals to the Spartans basketball program.
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Ranking the 20 Most Dominant College Basketball Players in History
While there are many college basketball players who would be considered “great” or “outstanding,” dominant players are more rare.
In fact, this past college hoops season was a good example of how there were many excellent players, but not a truly dominant player in the mix.
Dominance is more than just a review of simple statistics. While a player’s numbers are definitely a part of the equation, other factors such as team success and national award recognition also help determine how dominant a player really is.
The following is a list of the 20 most dominant college basketball players of all time.
Let’s go!
Note: Player career statistics are provided by Sports-reference.com
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