Scheyer Leads List of 125 Greatest 21st Century Players as He Leads Duke to Elite 8

Scroll down for the best 125 college players of this century:

In this 2011 piece, Sports Illustrated featured the Value Add Basketball rating system which I had developed. The system was designed to determine how many points each college basketball player was worth as opposed to a replacement player - defined as a 7th or 8th man on a mid-level team.

As I stated in a 2024 TV interview, while Anthony Davis was the greatest all-around college player of the century in my view, the most valuable college players are often not the one-and-done freshman like Davis, because all players improve so much between freshman and sophomore seasons, and continue to improve a little bit after that. By our calculations, Jon Scheyer was the most valuable college player from the seasons in which we had the stats necessary to calculate the figures (2002-2023, and the stats are no longer available so 2023 will be the last season).

These stats indicated that if Scheyer missed his whole season, and a standard mid-level college 7th man took his place in a 7-man rotation, then Duke would have scored 9 points fewer a game (AdjO of 9.11) and allowed two points more per game (-2.03) and after a couple of other minor adjustments shift each score by 14 points. Now in fact, Scheyer would not have been replaced by the 7th man from a mid-level team - the 7th man for Duke was a freshman Mason Plumlee who was worth 2 points per game already, and by the next year was worth 5 points a game and by his senior year 9.66 points a game. So probably if Scheyer had not been able to play Duke's replacement would have been strong enough that they would have been closer to 10 points a game worse.

If that played out then Duke without Scheyer would have still been elite, but probably 27-11 instead of 35-5, because they would have then also lost in the semifinal of the ACC tournament and then lose in the Elite 8 to Baylor rather than winning both.

Because the website and the 4,000+ players it ranked every year is starting to have some glitches I wanted to post the most valuable 125 players from 2002 to 2023. One great testimony to how well Duke has always been coached by Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) and now Scheyer himself is that Duke has an incredible nine of the most valuable 125 players from these 22 seasons – more than twice any other school. The only other schools with more than one are:

4 of greatest 125 players from 2002 to 2023 – Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Marquette.

3 of greatest 125 - Georgetown, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Providence, Utah, Villanova, Wisconsin.

2 of greatest 125 – Alabama, Boston College, Cincinnati, Creighton, Michigan St., North Carolina, North Carolina St., Notre Dame, Ohio St., Oklahoma, Oregon, San Diego St., UCLA, Utah St., Wake Forest, Washington.

The Big East does nudge out the ACC 23 to 20 on the top 125 list - fitting for the two conferences whose teams have won 16 of the 22 titles this Century and have half of the Elite 8 teams this season.

Ryan Gomes of Providence is the only player to be worth more than 10 points per game in three different seasons, and the following players were worth more than 10 points in two separate seasons - Delon Wright (Utah), JJ Redick (Duke),  Luka Garza (Iowa), Shelden Williams (Duke) and Troy Bell (Boston College).

This also led to the free Value Add Basketball Game with player cards from more than 200 men's and women's teams from the 1943 Wyoming squad to the 2024 James Madison team - with Bill Walton's UCLA team beating Michael Jordan's UNC team in our first all-time tournament championship.

Scheyer starts with the most important martin for any player - getting tons of steals and almost never turning the ball over in the other end.

The “dunk” range on the card is really an adjustment for level of competition played and the differences in eras, and the calculations showed how many ways Scheyer dominated even though he wouldn’t jump off the chart of leader boards in pure points and rebounds per game, avoiding fouling, and drawing fouls.

Overall Pomeroy calculates he was the third best offensive player that year behind only Jimmy Butler of Marquette and Tim Abromaitis of Notre Dame – AND he stayed on the court for an incredible 91.7% of all minutes. Also while his 3-pointers made range of 1-3 (out of 20 on which something can happen, a shot or being fouled) might not seem that high, for 2010 it was because teams shot far fewer 3-pointers. 

In fact, in 2010 he was one of only six players to hit 110 three-pointers – and no power conference player hit more than 116 (Donald Sims - Appalachian State 123, LaceDarius Dunn – Baylor  116, Jon Diebler - Ohio State 116, Chris Warren – Mississippi 111 and Jacob Pullen - K-State 110. Put it all together, and Scheyer had the best college season of the century as he and Kyle Singler led Duke to the title.

When he was announced as the successor to the legend Coach K, my immediate reaction was that Duke was bound to continue on deep runs now that they had tapped the most valuable player of the century to teach a new generation of Duke players to be the most efficient players they could be.

After the Sweet 16 win over Houston, I was able to quickly tell him he topped our ratings for the first time in person.

Rank	Year	MVP 2002-2023	Ht	Cl	Team	AdjO	AdjD	Value	Conf
1	2010	Jon Scheyer	6'5	Sr	Duke	9.11	-2.03	14.35	ACC
2	2019	Zion Williamson	6'7	Fr	Duke	10.53	-3.55	14.08	ACC
3	2012	Anthony Davis	6'10	Fr	Kentucky	7.29	-5.06	13.81	SEC
4	2004	Devin Harris	6'3	Jr	Wisconsin	7.83	-1.82	13.48	B10
5	2003	Mike Sweetney	6'8	Jr	Georgetown	11.8	-4.21	13.45	BE
6	2008	Michael Beasley	6'9	Fr	Kansas St.	8.43	-3.99	13.25	B12
7	2023	Zach Edey	7'4	Jr	Purdue	125.9	94.5	13.17	B10
8	2014	Shabazz Napier	6'1	Sr	Connecticut	5.37	-2.16	13.05	Amer
9	2015	Delon Wright	6'5	Sr	Utah	6.84	-4.2	13.04	P12
10	2014	Delon Wright	6'5	Jr	Utah	4.99	-2.4	12.83	P12
11	2003	David West	6'9	Sr	Xavier	10.39	-4.78	12.74	A10
12	2011	Jordan Taylor	6'1	Jr	Wisconsin	9.56	0	12.71	B10
13	2015	Karl-Anthony Towns	6'11	Fr	Kentucky	5.92	-5.38	12.5	SEC
14	2005	Andrew Bogut	6'1	So	Utah	7.13	-3.32	12.44	MWC
15	2012	Jae Crowder	6'6	Sr	Marquette	6.24	-4.89	12.43	BE
16	2017	Sindarius Thornwell	6'5	Sr	South Carolina	10.13	-4.04	12.37	SEC
17	2022	Keegan Murray	6'8	So	Iowa	9.77	-2.54	12.31	B10
18	2019	Dedric Lawson	6'9	Jr	Kansas	8.93	-3.28	12.21	B12
19	2013	Trey Burke	6'0	So	Michigan	8.61	-0.82	12.19	B10
20	2011	Kemba Walker	6'1	Jr	Connecticut	8.41	-2.19	12.19	BE
21	2015	Frank Kaminsky	7'0	Sr	Wisconsin	8.41	-2.92	12.18	B10
22	2006	Shelden Williams	6'9	Fr	Duke	6.67	-5.27	12.17	ACC
23	2022	Oscar Tshiebwe	6'9	Jr	Kentucky	7.66	-4.47	12.13	SEC
24	2008	Kevin Love	6'10	Fr	UCLA	7.99	-3.33	12.08	P10
25	2019	Matt Rafferty	6'8	Sr	Furman	8.61	-3.46	12.07	SC
26	2002	Steve Logan	6'1	Sr	Cincinnati	12.62	-2.13	12.06	CUSA
27	2007	Kevin Durant	6'9	Fr	Texas	7.41	-4.01	12.04	B12
28	2009	Ty Lawson	5'11	Jr	North Carolina	7.55	-1.4	11.74	ACC
29	2019	Cassius Winston	6'1	Jr	Michigan St.	10.38	-1.35	11.74	B10
30	2003	Troy Bell	6'1	Sr	Boston College	12.54	-1.4	11.71	BE
31	2009	Blake Griffin	6'10	So	Oklahoma	7	-3.78	11.59	B12
32	2003	Dwyane Wade	6'4	So	Marquette	10.42	-3.37	11.59	CUSA
33	2017	Frank Mason	5'11	Sr	Kansas	11.87	-1.25	11.51	B12
34	2002	Reece Gaines	6'6	Jr	Louisville	12.63	-1.41	11.48	CUSA
35	2020	Malachi Flynn	6'1	Jr	San Diego St.	9.18	-2.24	11.42	MWC
36	2003	Josh Howard	6'6	Sr	Wake Forest	10.06	-3.49	11.38	ACC
37	2023	Adama Sanogo	6'9	Jr	Connecticut	122.6	90.9	11.37	BE
38	2008	Tyler Hansbrough	6'9	Jr	North Carolina	8.72	-1.94	11.37	ACC
39	2003	Ryan Gomes	6'7	So	Providence	9.86	-3.61	11.31	BE
40	2005	Spencer Nelson	6'1	Sr	Utah St.	6.91	-1.59	11.3	WAC
41	2019	Brandon Clarke	6'8	Jr	Gonzaga	7.97	-3.33	11.3	WCC
42	2003	Carmelo Anthony	6'8	Fr	Syracuse	9.77	-3.62	11.26	BE
43	2023	Marcus Sasser	6'2	Sr	Houston	123.4	90.4	11.25	Amer
44	2021	Evan Mobley	7'0	Fr	USC	7.72	-3.44	11.16	P12
45	2004	Luke Jackson	6'7	Sr	Oregon	7.08	-1.16	11.16	P10
46	2003	Brett Blizzard	6'3	Sr	North Carolina Wilmington	11.05	-2.22	11.14	CAA
47	2017	Josh Hart	6'5	Sr	Villanova	9.59	-2.98	11.1	BE
48	2021	Luka Garza	6'11	Sr	Iowa	9.86	-1.23	11.09	B10
49	2009	DeJuan Blair	6'7	So	Pittsburgh	7	-3.32	11.08	BE
50	2003	Adam Hess	6'7	Jr	William & Mary	14.05	0.86	11.08	CAA
51	2019	CJ Massinburg	6'3	Sr	Buffalo	9.81	-1.25	11.06	MAC
52	2016	Thomas Walkup	6'4	Sr	Stephen F. Austin	11.24	-3.18	11.05	Slnd
53	2014	Jordan Adams	6'5	So	UCLA	4.99	-1.23	11.04	P12
54	2014	Sean Kilpatrick	6'4	Sr	Cincinnati	5.75	-0.63	11.03	Amer
55	2019	Grant Williams	6'7	Jr	Tennessee	8.8	-2.23	11.03	SEC
56	2021	Kendric Davis	5'11	Jr	SMU	9.19	-1.82	11.01	Amer
57	2004	Chris Paul	6'1	Fr	Wake Forest	6.61	-0.96	10.97	ACC
58	2014	TJ Warren	6'8	So	North Carolina St.	5.59	-1.18	10.96	ACC
59	2014	Billy Baron	6'2	Sr	Canisius	7.01	0.85	10.95	MAAC
60	2019	Ja Morant	6'3	So	Murray St.	9.39	-1.51	10.9	OVC
61	2013	Otto Porter	6'8	So	Georgetown	5.91	-3.85	10.89	BE
62	2005	Mike Harris	6'1	Sr	Rice	6.53	-2.6	10.87	WAC
63	2015	Gary Payton	6'3	Jr	Oregon St.	2.63	-6.57	10.87	P12
64	2014	Doug McDermott	6'8	Sr	Creighton	8.3	1.63	10.81	BE
65	2023	Ryan Kalkbrenner	7'1	Jr	Creighton	133.4	93.2	10.8	BE
66	2020	Payton Pritchard	6'2	Sr	Oregon	9.9	-0.88	10.78	P12
67	2011	Norris Cole	6'2	Sr	Cleveland St.	6.13	-2.18	10.78	Horz
68	2004	Ryan Gomes	6'7	Jr	Providence	6.57	-2.32	10.75	BE
69	2019	Ty Jerome	6'5	Jr	Virginia	8.01	-2.74	10.75	ACC
70	2006	JJ Redick	6'5	Sr	Duke	9.33	-0.7	10.74	ACC
71	2023	Steven Ashworth	6'1	Jr	Utah St.	127.7	98.9	10.72	MWC
72	2020	Devon Dotson	6'2	So	Kansas	8	-2.71	10.7	B12
73	2014	Trevor Releford	6'0	Sr	Alabama	5.06	-0.91	10.66	SEC
74	2003	Jameer Nelson	6'0	Jr	St. Joseph's	9.07	-3.63	10.66	A10
75	2004	Julius Hodge	6'7	Jr	North Carolina St.	6.05	-1.73	10.61	ACC
76	2006	Nick Fazekas	6'11	Jr	Nevada	7.25	-3.12	10.56	WAC
77	2014	Xavier Thames	6'3	Sr	San Diego St.	5.37	-0.53	10.56	MWC
78	2019	Myles Powell	6'2	Jr	Seton Hall	9.07	-1.49	10.56	BE
79	2013	Victor Oladipo	6'5	Jr	Indiana	5.71	-3.23	10.53	B10
80	2014	Marcus Smart	6'4	So	Oklahoma St.	3.38	-2.48	10.48	B12
81	2018	Jevon Carter	6'2	Sr	West Virginia	8.97	-3.12	10.47	B12
82	2017	Monte Morris	6'3	Sr	Iowa St.	10.56	-1.53	10.47	B12
83	2018	Mikal Bridges	6'7	Jr	Villanova	9.01	-2.66	10.46	BE
84	2022	Collin Gillespie	6' 3	Sr	Villanova	8.45	-1.74	10.42	BE
85	2006	Brandon Roy	6'6	Sr	Washington	7.81	-1.39	10.4	P10
86	2011	Jared Sullinger	6'9	Fr	Ohio St.	6.81	-2.65	10.4	B10
87	2016	Buddy Hield	6'4	Sr	Oklahoma	11.81	-1.74	10.39	B12
88	2020	Luka Garza	6'11	Jr	Iowa	8.53	-1.84	10.38	B10
89	2004	David Hawkins	6'1	Sr	Temple	5.97	-1.11	10.37	A10
90	2023	Tylor Perry	5'11	Sr	North Texas	124.3	94.1	10.37	CUSA
91	2008	Mario Chalmers	6'1	Jr	Kansas	5.34	-2.85	10.35	B12
92	2015	Jerian Grant	6'5	Sr	Notre Dame	7.12	-1.45	10.33	ACC
93	2017	Bonzie Colson	6'5	Jr	Notre Dame	9.2	-3.23	10.33	ACC
94	2015	Aaron White	6'9	Sr	Iowa	6.55	-2.78	10.33	B10
95	2005	Danny Granger	6'1	Sr	New Mexico	4.83	-3.84	10.32	MWC
96	2004	Travis Diener	6'1	Jr	Marquette	7.43	0.9	10.32	BE
97	2003	Chris Williams	6'3	Sr	Ball St.	12.9	0.61	10.32	MAC
98	2005	Shelden Williams	6'9	Fr	Duke	4.13	-4.52	10.3	ACC
99	2022	Terrell Brown	6'3	Sr	Washington	8.55	-1.74	10.29	P12
100	2015	Corey Walden	6'2	Sr	Eastern Kentucky	5.12	-3.4	10.28	OVC
101	2020	Markus Howard	5'11	Sr	Marquette	10.13	-0.12	10.25	BE
102	2005	JJ Redick	6'5	Jr	Duke	7.04	-0.57	10.25	ACC
103	2018	Yante Maten	6'8	Sr	Georgia	10.52	-2.11	10.24	SEC
104	2006	Quincy Douby	6'1	Jr	Rutgers	7.67	-1.36	10.23	BE
105	2006	Adam Morrison	6'1	Jr	Gonzaga	9.03	0	10.23	WCC
106	2023	Brandon Miller	6'9	Fr	Alabama	117	88.2	10.23	SEC
107	2019	RJ Barrett	6'7	Fr	Duke	8.05	-2.19	10.23	ACC
108	2007	Roy Hibbert	7'2	Jr	Georgetown	6.77	-2.93	10.22	BE
109	2019	Shamorie Ponds	6'1	Jr	St. John's	8.91	-1.31	10.22	BE
110	2012	Draymond Green	6'7	Sr	Michigan St.	4.11	-4	10.19	B10
111	2002	Carlos Boozer	6'9	Jr	Duke	10.27	-3.01	10.17	ACC
112	2017	Nigel Williams-Goss	6'3	Jr	Gonzaga	7.93	-3.45	10.16	WCC
113	2002	Troy Bell	6'1	Jr	Boston College	10.62	-1.79	10.15	BE
114	2006	Paul Millsap	6'1	Jr	Louisiana Tech	5.26	-4.68	10.13	WAC
115	2014	KJ McDaniels	6'6	Jr	Clemson	3.47	-2.75	10.13	ACC
116	2013	Erick Green	6'3	Sr	Virginia Tech	8.51	0.93	10.12	ACC
117	2008	Stephen Curry	6'2	So	Davidson	7.59	-1.89	10.12	SC
118	2004	Anthony Dobbins	6'1	Sr	Richmond	3.16	-4.72	10.12	A10
119	2018	Keita Bates-Diop	6'7	Jr	Ohio St.	8.25	-3.46	10.06	B10
120	2020	Christian Vital	6'2	Sr	Connecticut	7.01	-3.05	10.06	Amer
121	2005	Ryan Gomes	6'7	Sr	Providence	6.61	-1.32	10.05	BE
122	2020	Jordan Ford	6'1	Sr	Saint Mary's	9.95	-0.08	10.03	WCC
123	2019	Jordan Murphy	6'7	Sr	Minnesota	7.02	-3	10.02	B10
124	2017	Luke Kennard	6'6	So	Duke	10.64	-0.89	10.01	ACC
125	2020	Jalen Smith	6'10	So	Maryland	6.85	-3.16	10.01	B10