Complete

Aug 10, 2015

0 Comments With so much debate in sports nowadays centering whether an athlete is elite, wouldn't it make more sense to wish they were complete? The game of college basketball still goes by a version of the longstanding five players, five positions model that the sport has been built around. But over time many players have learned how to be effective at more than just the skills they're supposed to do well at and are becoming more and more able of playing multiple positions. They can impact the game in many different ways, to the point that they're much harder to slow down. The more they can do, the more complete of a player they are. It doesn't mean they have to be superb at everything, or even most things, but instead there aren't any facets that could be considered weaknesses. If a big man has learned how to hit the outside jumper it's a huge boost to his team and his personal stock, but if he can't hit free throws that negates the value he added from taking on other roles. But if he's solid in each area, there's a completeness to that player that makes them essential pieces of a team. We've picked the 20 most complete players in college basketball heading into the 2015-16 season, ranking them based on their ability to perform well as a scorer, shooter, rebounder, distributor and defender. We're only including returning players, since freshmen and junior college transfers have yet to prove themselves at the Division I level.