The 20 Greatest Mid-Major College Basketball Players of All Time

Small schools, huge seasons. A few of these names carried an unranked team deep into March; others just quietly outscored everyone in the country.

1. 1
   Larry Bird

   Took Indiana State to an undefeated regular season and the 1979 title game against Michigan State.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Damian Lillard

   Weber State guard who left as the school's scoring leader and became an NBA All-Star.
   591pts
3. 3
   Bill Russell

   Won back-to-back national championships at San Francisco in 1955 and 1956.
   542pts
4. 4
   Stephen Curry

   Davidson guard who carried a 10-seed to the 2008 Elite Eight and led the nation in scoring the next year.
   542pts
5. 5
   Calvin Murphy

   Niagara guard who averaged 33.1 points a game across three varsity seasons.
   487pts
6. 6
   Steve Nash

   Santa Clara point guard who twice upset higher seeds in the NCAA tournament.
   422pts
7. 7
   Jameer Nelson

   Took Saint Joseph's to a 27-0 regular season and the 2004 Elite Eight as national player of the year.
   422pts
8. 8
   David Robinson

   Navy centre who became national player of the year in 1987 before a Hall of Fame NBA career.
   345pts
9. 9
   Lionel Simmons

   La Salle forward who finished third on the all-time NCAA scoring list and won the 1990 Naismith.
   345pts
10. 10
    C.J. McCollum

    Lehigh guard who scored 30 as a 15-seed knocked out Duke in 2012.
    345pts
11. 11
    Julius Erving

    Averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds at UMass before turning professional.
    345pts
12. 12
    Adam Morrison

    Led the country at 28.1 points a game for Gonzaga in 2006 and shared national player of the year.
    345pts
13. 13
    Fred VanVleet

    Ran the Wichita State team that reached the 2013 Final Four and a 35-0 regular season the year after.
    345pts
14. 14
    Ja Morant

    Murray State guard who led the nation in assists and posted a triple-double in the 2019 tournament.
    345pts
15. 15
    Gordon Hayward

    Butler forward whose half-court attempt at the buzzer nearly won the 2010 national title.
    253pts
16. 16
    Hersey Hawkins

    Bradley guard who led Division I in scoring at 36.3 points a game in 1988.
    253pts
17. 17
    Doug McDermott

    Creighton forward who finished fifth all-time in NCAA scoring and won the 2014 Naismith.
    253pts
18. 18
    Marcus Camby

    Won the Naismith and Wooden awards leading UMass to its only Final Four in 1996.
    253pts
19. 19
    Jimmer Fredette

    BYU guard who led the nation in scoring and swept the 2011 national player-of-the-year awards.
    0pts
20. 20
    Andrew Bogut

    Averaged 20.4 points and 12.2 rebounds at Utah and swept the 2005 player-of-the-year awards.
    0pts

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