Which players are in contention for the top 5 NCAA Basketball players in the country? One consistent stand-out who has put together the best career in his college’s history and is a top candidate for national player of the year is Luka Garza.
Garza ranks first in the country in points per game with 24.5ppg, 8.4 rebounds with shooting splits of 59-43-70. As the season began, even more impressively, the Iowa Hawkeye was dominating teams with both his scoring and rebounding.
He was almost averaging 30 points and 10 rebounds. Although his numbers have dipped some he is still a favorite to win the John Wooden award. The only thing that might impede his chances are the Iowa Hawkeyes’ recent struggles.
20 of the last 30 Wooden Award winners were on teams that received a number one seed in the March Madness tournament. Bracket Matrix projects that the Hawkeyes will be the No. 3 seed and they are currently fourth in the Big Ten Conference.
Luka Garza was listed in the top 20 to win the award and is certainly in the Top 5 of NCAA players in the Country.
Jared Butler is also a player that deserves a top 5 ranking. He was, like Garza, listed in the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List.
He has been named in the Cousy Award Top 10, the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, No. 2 on the Athletic’s Top 20 Guards in College Basketball, and too many top lists to mention.
Butler leads the Big 12 Conference in steals (2.3 per game), 3-point percentage (.452) and 3 pointers made (2.6). He ranks second in the league in assists (5.4) and has helped lead Baylor to a 17-0 record and No. 2 National ranking.
He also ranks No. 2 nationally in KenPoms’s Player of the Year Standings. Butler was named National Player of the week by the NCAA on January 25th after posting 30 points and eight assists in a win over No. 9 Kansas, followed by 22 points and 6 assists in their win at Oklahoma State.
This 6’3″ guard has been instrumental to Butler’s amazing record this year as they are one of the most talented teams in the country. He is deservedly in this top 5 ranking.
Another very deserving player for the Top 5 NCAA D1 Basketball Players of 2021 is Illinois Junior Guard, Ayo Dosunmu who is taking the Big Ten by storm.
He stands 6’5″. Like the other players he is listed in the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List, the Bob Cousy Award Top 10 Candidates List and the Naismith Trophy Watch List among many other top Player of the week lists.
He is ranked No. 4 in the KenPom.com Player of the Year rankings and is the only player in the NCAA over the last 11 seasons to average at least 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Additionally, Dosunmu has led Illinois to its highest National ranking since 2004-2005. He shoots an impressive 49% from the field and 43% from the three.
Corey Kispert who plays small forward for the Number one team in the country, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, is definitely deserving of a top 5 ranking. Corey Kisper is the most important player for the Bulldogs and is their leading scorer.
He averages 19.5 points per game, 4.7 rebounds and 2 assists on 55.8% shooting. As one of the country’s best shooters, he leads the West Coast Conference and shoots 48% from the 3 which is the 6th best nationally.
Corey is also in the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List. With a two point percentage of over 67% and making 90% of free throws, he is a consistent high level player and is one of the top 5. Last, but not least, is Cade Cunningham, from Oklahoma State, a freshman 6’8″ point forward who can defend all five positions.
Many say that he may very well be the no.1 pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He too is listed in the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List. He was a consensus 5 star recruit and one of the best point guards in his 2020 class.
Cunningham has averaged 18ppg, 44.6% from the 3 and 6.1 rebounds. He is considered the most valuable kind of player because he can do it all.
He can shoot, score, pass, rebound and defend and so he is without match with his skill set. He is considered a next level player and so deserves to make the Top 5.
