March Madness’s 15 Best Players Ever
Frank Burilson, one of the most respected basketball writers in the country was recently asked to vote on the top NCAA Tournament players of all time.
Even though he could vote for anyone he wanted, Frank chose to vote only for players that he had personally seen play.
As a result, tournament superstars such as Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, and Bill Russell were left off of his list.
Here is Frank Burlison’s “Top 15.” (If you want to read his rationale for choosing these players go to coachgeorgeraveling.com) The list is in alphabetical order.
- Kareem Abdul Jabbar (UCLA)
- Larry Bird (Indiana State)
- Anthony Davis (Kentucky)
- Patrick Ewing (Georgetown)
- Darrell Griffith (Louisville)
- Magic Johnson (Michigan State)
- Michael Jordan (North Carolina)
- Christian Laettner (Duke)
- Danny Manning (Kansas)
- Joakim Noah (Florida)
- Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston)
- Isiah Thomas (Indiana)
- David Thompson (NC State)
- Bill Walton (UCLA)
- Sydney Wicks (UCLA)
What do you think – did Frank get it right? We would love to hear your opinion!
March 4th, 2013 at 4:04 pm
I understand that he didn’t see some of the others play— but let’s give credit where it’s due. Lucas, Oscar, Russell, West…what about Bobby Joe Hill who had a great ’65 march madness, or Willie Worsely of the same Texas Western team. They always gloss over the older guys but today’s player don’t compare.
March 5th, 2013 at 10:24 am
Agreed Richard. These are some phenomenal players that you point out that he never gave credit to that deserve it.