National and Conference MVPs and Best Players

If I had to vote today for National Player of the Year, it would be a choice between the Most Valuable Player in the Country, Iowa's Keegan Murray, and the best player in the country, Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren. 

MVP and POY are not the same thing. A freshman heading into March Madness on the way to the NBA Draft is often the best player in time for the tournament. However, the most valuable player over the course of the season is rarely a freshmen - but an upper classman who does not take all the bad shots or force turnovers trying to wedge between two defenders like even the greatest freshman do for much of the season.

That is why Murray has improved Iowa by 12.49 points per game at www.valueaddbasketball.com to make him the most valuable player in the season, while Holmgren is the top freshman at 11th (9.89).

The following is the list of the Most Valuable Player and Best Freshman in each conference, with a link to the 25 MVPs and top freshmen in each conference at www.valueaddbasketball.com, the a list of the best in the nation.

6 Top Rated Conferences (alphabetical order)

• Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Freshman: Paolo Banchero (Duke)
• Big 12 Conference (B12) Ochai Agbaji (Kansas), Freshman: Kendall Brown (Baylor)
• Big East Conference (BE) Collin Gillespie (Villanova), Freshman: Justin Lewis (Marquette)
• Big Ten Conference (B10) Keegan Murray (Iowa), Freshman: Malaki Branham (Ohio St.)
• Pac 12 Conference (P12) Terrell Brown (Washington), Freshman: Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona)
• Southeastern Conference (SEC) Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky), Freshman: Jabari Smith (Auburn)

 Other 22 Conferences (alphabetical order)

• America East Conference (AE) Ben Shungu (Vermont), Freshman: Justin Neely (Albany)
• American Athletic Conference (Amer) Kendric Davis (SMU), Freshman: Ricky Council (Wichita St.)
• ASUN Conference (ASun) Darius McGhee (Liberty), Freshman: Will Pruitt (Lipscomb)
• Atlantic 10 Conference (A10) Osun Osunniyi (St. Bonaventure), Freshman: Gibson Jimerson (Saint Louis)
• Big Sky Conference (BSky) Daylen Kountz (Northern Colorado), Freshman: Steele Venters (Eastern Washington)
• Big South Conference (BSth) Ricky Clemons (Campbell), Freshman: Jordan Gainey (USC Upstate)
• Big West Conference (BW) Collin Welp (UC Irvine), Freshman: Jadon Jones (Long Beach St.)
• Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Aaron Estrada (Hofstra), Freshman: Reyne Smith (Charleston)
• Conference USA (CUSA) Tylor Perry (North Texas), Freshman: Kenneth Lofton (Louisiana Tech)
• Horizon League (Horz) Tanner Holden (Wright St.), Freshman: Trey Townsend (Oakland)
• Ivy League (Ivy) Ethan Wright (Princeton), Freshman: Kino Lilly (Brown)
• Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) George Papas (Monmouth), Freshman: Jao Ituka (Marist)
• Mid American Conference (MAC) Sincere Carry (Kent St.), Freshman: Ra'Heim Moss (Toledo)
• Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Joe Bryant (Norfolk St.), Freshman: Nendah Tarke (Coppin St.)
• Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Lucas Williamson (Loyola Chicago), Freshman: Tucker DeVries (Drake)
• Mountain West Conference (MWC) Justin Bean (Utah St.), Freshman: Tyson Degenhart (Boise St.)
• Northeast Conference (NEC) Alex Morales (Wagner), Freshman: Zaire Williams (Wagner)
• Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Tevin Brown (Murray St.), Freshman: Johni Broome (Morehead St.)
• Patriot League (Pat) Sukhmail Mathon (Boston University), Freshman: CJ Fulton (Lafayette)
• Southern Conference (SC) Malachi Smith (Chattanooga), Freshman: Jason Roche (The Citadel)
• Southland Conference (Slnd) Isaac Mushila (Texas A&M Corpus Chris), Freshman: Kendal Coleman (Northwestern St.)
• Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Jayveous McKinnis (Jackson St.), Freshman: Keondre Montgomery (Alcorn St.)
• Summit League (Sum) Baylor Scheierman (South Dakota St.), Freshman: Zeke Mayo (South Dakota St.)
• Sun Belt Conference (SB) Norchad Omier (Arkansas St.), only conference where freshman is MVP
• West Coast Conference (WCC) Alex Barcello (BYU), Freshman: Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga)
• Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Teddy Allen (New Mexico St.), Freshman: Kobe Williamson (Seattle)

And here is the list of the top players and freshman in the country in the same form you will see for each conference listed above.

Best Point Guards in College Basketball This Year

Note: While www.kenpom.com and www.valueaddbasketball.com analytics flagging Chattanooga's Malachi Smith as the 2nd best small forward in the country, we have been informed that in fact he plays point guard - where he would also rank as the 2nd best player at the country barely behind Villanova's Collin Gillespie. We will update for his next post, but we would still consider Smith a 2nd Team All-American at this point - just at a different position. (The analytics are thrown off because he grabs so many defensive rebounds that he appears to be a small forward rather than a point guard statistically).

In Value Add Basketball we consider the team's "point guard" the player who typically has the most  assists, and typically is the shortest player on the floor and with fewer defensive rebounds, blocked shots and less height. A point guard has the toughest job because he is the player who needs to handle it all the way down the court and create his own shots or create shots for others by working the ball inside to a center or power forward, who will thus typically have even better raw numbers than a great point guard. (for a summary of the top players at each position, click here).

Because www.valueaddbasketball.com calculates how many points per game a player improves his team compared to if a typical replacement player took his place, the raw value add is adjusted by position since the replacement player would be at the same position. Therefore, once the formulas are run, and power guard's raw value add is increased by multiplying it by 1.05 to get the result you see below and at www.valueaddbasketball.com.

In general, freshmen guards in particular make so many mistakes (turnovers, bad shots etc.) the first half of the season that they do not rank nearly as high as more experienced guards. Nowhere is this more true than at point guard.

However, they tend to improve more at the end of the season, so we watch for breakout freshmen first when looking at brackets. Therefore we start with the 10 most valuable freshmen pointing guards in college basketball, and perhaps the most incredible finding in these systems is that the top two freshman point guard in all of college basketball both play for Tennessee. Zakai Zeigler plays the point whenever he is in the game based on analytics - and when he sits Kennedy Chandler moves from shooting guard to point guard and is even better. 

Chandler was unbelievable in the recent double digit win against Kentucky, scoring 17 points despite taking only 9 shots, and dishing out 6 assists without a single turnover. Zeigler has four steals in that game, and scored 14 points only taking eight shots. With the importance of guards able to handle the ball in March Madness, this duo could be scary good in the tournament.

Rnk	Top 10 Freshman PG	Team	VA5	Conf	HtText	Cl
23	Kennedy Chandler #1	Tennessee	6.08	SEC	6'0	Fr
52	Zakai Zeigler #5	Tennessee	4.92	SEC	5'9"	Fr
58	Malachi Smith #11	Dayton	4.71	A10	6'0	Fr
60	Jalen Cook #3	Tulane	4.54	Amer	6'0	Fr
66	Jao Ituka #10	Marist	4.22	MAAC	6'1"	Fr
94	Kino Lilly #10	Brown	3.57	Ivy	6'0	Fr
113	Kerr Kriisa #25	Arizona	3.19	P12	6'3"	Fr
116	Ajay Mitchell #13	UC Santa Barbara	3.14	BW	6'4"	Fr
134	Jeremiah Williams #25	Temple	2.81	Amer	6'5"	Fr
136	Walter Clayton #13	Iona	2.77	MAAC	6'2"	Fr

If anyone had any doubts about Collin Gillespie being the top point guard in the country, they should watch how he has brought Villanova surging back into the top 10 - and the difference it made last year when he was injured for March Madness. It is a very close battle for 2nd Team All-American Point Guard between Mississippi State's Iverson Molinar and SMU's Kendric Davis. 

It may look strange to have Wyoming's super star Hunter Maldonado listed at point guard despite standing 6-foot-7, but he is in the top half percent of all players in assist rate - dishing and making everyone else score for a team that appears to be heading to March Madness.

 

Rnk	Top Point Guards (1)	Team	VA5	Conf	HtText	Cl
1	Collin Gillespie #2	Villanova	9.33	BE	6'3"	Sr
2	Iverson Molinar #1	Mississippi St.	8.68	SEC	6'3"	Jr
3	Kendric Davis #3	SMU	8.54	Amer	6'0	Sr
4	Hunter Maldonado #24	Wyoming	8.08	MWC	6'7"	Sr
5	Jamaree Bouyea #1	San Francisco	8.06	WCC	6'2"	Sr
6	Payton Willis #0	Minnesota	7.92	B10	6'4"	Sr
7	Tylor Perry #5	North Texas	7.77	CUSA	5'11"	Jr
8	Trent Frazier #1	Illinois	7.77	B10	6'2"	Sr
9	Baylor Scheierman #3	South Dakota St.	7.45	Sum	6'6"	So
10	Will Richardson #0	Oregon	7.44	P12	6'5"	Sr
11	RJ Cole #2	Connecticut	7.35	BE	6'1"	Sr
12	Mark Sears #1	Ohio	6.99	MAC	6'1"	So
13	Tyger Campbell #10	UCLA	6.92	P12	5'11"	Jr
14	Jacob Gilyard #0	Richmond	6.71	A10	5'9"	Sr
15	Isaiah Stevens #4	Colorado St.	6.69	MWC	6'0	Jr
16	Jalen Williams #24	Santa Clara	6.59	WCC	6'6"	Jr
17	Foster Loyer #0	Davidson	6.55	A10	6'0	Jr
18	Jamari Wheeler #55	Ohio St.	6.53	B10	6'1"	Sr
19	Andrew Nembhard #3	Gonzaga	6.49	WCC	6'5"	Sr
20	Michael Flowers #12	Washington St.	6.41	P12	6'1"	Sr
21	Sincere Carry #3	Kent St.	6.3	MAC	6'1"	Jr
22	Jordan Goldwire #0	Oklahoma	6.19	B12	6'3"	Sr
23	Kennedy Chandler #1	Tennessee	6.08	SEC	6'0	Fr
24	Jovan Blacksher #10	Grand Canyon	6.07	WAC	5'11"	Jr
25	Javon Freeman-Liberty #4	DePaul	6.06	BE	6'4"	Sr
26	RJ Davis #4	North Carolina	5.93	ACC	6'0	So
27	Wendell Green #1	Auburn	5.83	SEC	5'11"	So
28	Scotty Pippen #2	Vanderbilt	5.74	SEC	6'3"	Jr
29	Ben Shungu #24	Vermont	5.74	AE	6'2"	Sr
30	Michael Devoe #0	Georgia Tech	5.65	ACC	6'5"	Sr
31	Markquis Nowell #1	Kansas St.	5.61	B12	5'8"	Jr
32	Jordan Walker #10	UAB	5.57	CUSA	5'11"	Jr
33	Kevion Nolan #3	Jacksonville	5.55	ASun	6'2"	Jr
34	Darius McGhee #2	Liberty	5.5	ASun	5'9"	Sr
35	Souley Boum #0	UTEP	5.49	CUSA	6'3"	Jr
36	Jamal Shead #1	Houston	5.41	Amer	6'1"	So
37	James Akinjo #11	Baylor	5.41	B12	6'1"	Sr
38	Marcus Domask #1	Southern Illinois	5.38	MVC	6'6"	Jr
39	Tristen Newton #2	East Carolina	5.27	Amer	6'5"	So
40	Marcus Shaver #10	Boise St.	5.2	MWC	6'2"	Sr
41	Justice Hill #14	Murray St.	5.18	OVC	6'0	So
42	Bryce Aiken #1	Seton Hall	5.12	BE	6'0	Sr
43	Max Abmas #3	Oral Roberts	5.09	Sum	6'0	Jr
44	Jared Bynum #4	Providence	5.06	BE	5'10"	Jr
45	Darrion Trammell #2	Seattle	5.05	WAC	5'10"	So
46	Noah Kirkwood #10	Harvard	5.01	Ivy	6'7"	Sr
47	Braden Norris #4	Loyola Chicago	4.99	MVC	6'0	Jr
48	AJ Green #4	Northern Iowa	4.98	MVC	6'4"	Jr
49	KD Johnson #0	Auburn	4.97	SEC	6'0	So
50	Jahmir Young #1	Charlotte	4.96	CUSA	6'1"	Jr

Top Shooting Guards in College Basketball This Season

 In Value Add Basketball we consider the team's "shooting guard" the player who behind only the team's point guard in assists, but compared to the other three players on the court typically has fewer defensive rebounds, blocked shots and less height. A great center or power forward will typically have even better raw numbers than a great point guard, because the guards typically need to get the ball to a power forward or center close to the basket for a closer shot.  (for a summary of the top players at each position, click here).

Because www.valueaddbasketball.com calculates how many points per game a player improves his team compared to if a typical replacement player took his place, the raw value add is adjusted by position since the replacement player would be at the same position. Therefore, once the formulas are run, and shooting guard's raw value add is increased by multiplying it by 1.10 to get the result you see below and at www.valueaddbasketball.com.

In general, freshmen guards in particular make so many mistakes (turnovers, bad shots etc.) the first half of the season that they do not rank nearly as high as more experienced guards. However, they tend to improve more at the end of the season, so we watch for breakout freshmen first when looking at brackets. Therefore we start with the 10 most valuable freshmen shooting guards in college basketball, starting with the best freshman shooting guard TyTy Washington of Kentucky. His value add of 6.34 indicates there is a better than 50/50 chance Kentucky would have LOST any game that they won by fewer than seven points. 

In his case, he improves the Kentucky's offense by 4.90 points per game, while his defensive rating of -1.44 indicates he takes three to four points more away from the opposing team then a typical replacement shooting guard. Here are the most valuable 10 freshmen power forwards through games of February 15. Arizona's Dalen Terry is one of three Arizona players we would name to our All-American freshmen team - and his defense of -2.35 is by far the best for any shooting guard.

Rnk	Top Freshmen SG	Team	VA5	Conf	HtText	Cl
15	TyTy Washington #3	Kentucky	6.34	SEC	6'3"	Fr
20	Dalen Terry #4	Arizona	5.65	P12	6'7"	Fr
38	Trevor Keels #1	Duke	4.72	ACC	6'4"	Fr
50	Terquavion Smith #0	N.C. State	4.35	ACC	6'4"	Fr
60	Steele Venters #2	Eastern Washington	4.18	BSky	6'7"	Fr
62	Reyne Smith #2	Charleston	4.06	CAA	6'2"	Fr
65	Nate Heise #0	Northern Iowa	4.02	MVC	6'4"	Fr
67	Malaki Branham #22	Ohio St.	4	B10	6'5"	Fr
71	Brandon Murray #0	LSU	3.95	SEC	6'5"	Fr
73	JD Davison #3	Alabama	3.91	SEC	6'3"	Fr

Top overall SG

One reason we love running these numbers is to find truly elite players who will not be noticed because their team either does not get enough TV coverage or is just not winning enough games to draw attention. The biggest case this year comes from teh 13-10 Washington in the Pac-12. We calculte that Washington would be 4-19 instead of 13-10 if Terrell Brown were not on the team, and for us that makes him the truly deserving 1st team All-American shooting guard who will not get any voters for it.

The race for 2nd and 3rd team All-American shooting buard is much closer.  TyTy Washington should be considered because it is truly unusual for a freshman guard to be anywhere near this high - but K-State, St. John's, BYU, Tennessee and the player who may have improved his team the most this year from last year - Alondes Williams of Wake Forest.

 

Rnk	Top Shooting Guards (2)	Team	VA5	Conf	HtText	Cl
1	Terrell Brown #23	Washington	10.42	P12	6'3"	Sr
2	Nijel Pack #24	Kansas St.	9.39	B12	6'0	So
3	Posh Alexander #0	St. John's	8.8	BE	6'0	So
4	Alex Barcello #13	BYU	8.69	WCC	6'2"	Sr
5	Santiago Vescovi #25	Tennessee	8.65	SEC	6'3"	Jr
6	Alondes Williams #31	Wake Forest	8.15	ACC	6'5"	Sr
7	Garrett Sturtz #3	Drake	7.66	MVC	6'3"	Sr
8	Justin Moore #5	Villanova	7.53	BE	6'4"	Jr
9	Jaden Ivey #23	Purdue	7.05	B10	6'4"	So
10	Brad Davison #34	Wisconsin	6.97	B10	6'4"	Sr
11	Ryan Rollins #5	Toledo	6.72	MAC	6'4"	So
12	JD Notae #1	Arkansas	6.66	SEC	6'2"	Sr
13	Jaden Shackelford #5	Alabama	6.63	SEC	6'3"	Jr
14	Josh Jefferson #11	Middle Tennessee	6.39	CUSA	6'2"	Sr
15	TyTy Washington #3	Kentucky	6.34	SEC	6'3"	Fr
16	Eli Brooks #55	Michigan	6.17	B10	6'1"	Sr
17	Umoja Gibson #2	Oklahoma	6	B12	6'1"	Sr
18	Alfonso Plummer #11	Illinois	5.73	B10	6'1"	Sr
19	Hunter Cattoor #0	Virginia Tech	5.71	ACC	6'3"	Jr
20	Dalen Terry #4	Arizona	5.65	P12	6'7"	Fr
21	Reece Beekman #2	Virginia	5.62	ACC	6'3"	So
22	Buddy Boeheim #35	Syracuse	5.56	ACC	6'6"	Sr
23	Adam Flagler #10	Baylor	5.5	B12	6'3"	Jr
24	Michael Jones #13	Davidson	5.49	A10	6'5"	Jr
25	Grayson Murphy #2	Belmont	5.46	OVC	6'3"	Sr
26	Amorie Archibald #3	Louisiana Tech	5.41	CUSA	6'3"	Sr
27	Gibson Jimerson #24	Saint Louis	5.4	A10	6'5"	Fr
28	Mason Archambault #11	South Dakota	5.25	Sum	6'0	Sr
29	Sean McNeil #22	West Virginia	5.23	B12	6'3"	Sr
30	Rasir Bolton #45	Gonzaga	5.11	WCC	6'3"	Sr
31	Jabari Rice #10	New Mexico St.	5.05	WAC	6'4"	Jr
32	D'Moi Hodge #55	Cleveland St.	5.03	Horz	6'4"	Sr
33	Spencer Jones #14	Stanford	4.96	P12	6'7"	Jr
34	James Reese V #0	South Carolina	4.93	SEC	6'4"	Sr
35	Rudi Williams #3	Coastal Carolina	4.92	SB	6'2"	Sr
36	Desmond Cambridge #4	Nevada	4.88	MWC	6'4"	Sr
37	Cameron Tyson #5	Seattle	4.87	WAC	6'2"	So
38	Trevor Keels #1	Duke	4.72	ACC	6'4"	Fr
39	Davion Warren #2	Texas Tech	4.7	B12	6'6"	Sr
40	CJ Fleming #25	Bellarmine	4.7	ASun	6'0	Sr
41	Joe Bryant #4	Norfolk St.	4.62	MEAC	6'1"	Sr
42	Logan Johnson #0	Saint Mary's	4.54	WCC	6'2"	Sr
43	Demaree King #1	Jacksonville St.	4.52	ASun	6'0	Jr
44	Caleb Grill #2	Iowa St.	4.42	B12	6'3"	Jr
45	Courtney Ramey #3	Texas	4.41	B12	6'3"	Sr
46	Alex Hunter #10	Furman	4.41	SC	5'11"	Sr
47	Isaiah Wong #2	Miami FL	4.4	ACC	6'3"	So
48	Michael Forrest #11	Florida Atlantic	4.37	CUSA	6'1"	Jr
49	Tyler Harris #14	Memphis	4.36	Amer	5'9"	Sr
50	Terquavion Smith #0	N.C. State	4.35	ACC	6'4"	Fr

Top Small Forwards in College Basketball This Year

Note: While www.kenpom.com and www.valueaddbasketball.com analytics flagging Chattanooga's Malachi Smith as the 2nd best small forward in the country, we have been informed that in fact he plays point guard - where he would also rank as the 2nd best player at the country barely behind Villanova's Collin Gillespie. We will update for his next post, but we would still consider Smith a 2nd Team All-American at this point - just at a different position. (The analytics are thrown off because he grabs so many defensive rebounds that he appears to be a small forward rather than a point guard statistically).

 In Value Add Basketball we consider the team's "small forward" the player who has some combination of more defensive rebounds, blocked shots and height than two guards on the team, and typically more assists and steals then the two players on the team we consider the center and power forward. In many cases in modern basketball this is really a third guard, but either way it is the "3" position on the court.  (for a summary of the top players at each position, click here).

Because www.valueaddbasketball.com calculates how many points per game a player improves his team compared to if a typical replacement player took his place, the raw value add is adjusted by position since the replacement player would be at the same position. Therefore, once the formulas are run, and other positions are adjusted, but the average Small Forward actually is right about the average overall player, so their calculations are not adjusted before being entered at  at www.valueaddbasketball.com.

In general, freshmen make so many mistakes (turnovers, bad shots etc.) the first half of the season that they do not rank nearly as high as more experienced players. However, they tend to improve more at the end of the season, so we watch for breakout freshmen first when looking at brackets. Therefore we start with the 10 most valuable freshmen small forwards in college basketball, starting with one of three Arizona players we would put on the Freshman All-American team - Bennedict Mathurin - who improves his team by 7.32 points per game. This means Arizona would have LOST any game that they won by fewer than seven points if he had not played..

In his case, he improves the Arizona's offense by 5.55 points per game, while his defensive rating of -1.77 indicates he takes one to two points more away from the opposing team then a typical replacement small forward. Here are the most valuable 10 freshmen small forwards through games of February 15.

Rnk	Top Freshmen Small Forwards	Team	VA5	Conf	HtText	Cl
9	Bennedict Mathurin #0	Arizona	7.32	P12	6'6"	Fr
17	Kendall Brown #2	Baylor	6.07	B12	6'8"	Fr
38	Ricky Council #4	Wichita St.	4.97	Amer	6'6"	Fr
53	Alijah Martin #15	Florida Atlantic	4.41	CUSA	6'2"	Fr
56	Jadon Jones #12	Long Beach St.	4.4	BW	6'5"	Fr
90	Zeke Mayo #2	South Dakota St.	3.44	Sum	6'3"	Fr
93	Houston Mallette #0	Pepperdine	3.41	WCC	6'5"	Fr
100	Caleb Houstan #22	Michigan	3.28	B10	6'8"	Fr
101	Bryce McGowens #5	Nebraska	3.27	B10	6'7"	Fr
105	Ra'Heim Moss #0	Toledo	3.21	MAC	6'4"	Fr

If you were picking an All-American team based by position, the Small Forward or "3" spot would be the toughest choice. Mathurin certainly is close enough to the top players to be considered due to freshmen surging at the end of the year. However, Wisconsin's Johnny Davis, San Diego State's Matt Bradley, Chattanooga's Malachi Smith, Loyola's Lucas Williamson and Iowa State's Izaiah Brockingham could all be serious considered as the most valuable small forward in college basketball.

 

Rnk	Top Overall Small Forwards (3)	Team	VA5	Conf	HtText	Cl
1	Matt Bradley #3	San Diego St.	9.3	MWC	6'4"	Sr
2	Malachi Smith #13	Chattanooga	8.84	SC	6'4"	So
3	Ochai Agbaji #30	Kansas	8.6	B12	6'5"	Sr
4	Lucas Williamson #1	Loyola Chicago	8.28	MVC	6'4"	Sr
5	Johnny Davis #1	Wisconsin	7.9	B10	6'5"	So
6	Izaiah Brockington #1	Iowa St.	7.79	B12	6'4"	Sr
7	Keon Ellis #14	Alabama	7.48	SEC	6'6"	Sr
8	Wendell Moore #0	Duke	7.34	ACC	6'5"	Jr
9	Bennedict Mathurin #0	Arizona	7.32	P12	6'6"	Fr
10	Darryl Morsell #32	Marquette	7.04	BE	6'5"	Sr
11	George Papas #5	Monmouth	7.04	MAAC	6'5"	Sr
12	Tevin Brown #10	Murray St.	6.92	OVC	6'5"	Jr
13	Isiaih Mosley #1	Missouri St.	6.58	MVC	6'5"	Jr
14	Julian Strawther #0	Gonzaga	6.49	WCC	6'7"	So
15	Kameron McGusty #23	Miami FL	6.4	ACC	6'5"	Sr
16	Davonte Gaines #3	George Mason	6.08	A10	6'7"	Jr
17	Kendall Brown #2	Baylor	6.07	B12	6'8"	Fr
18	Colby Jones #3	Xavier	6.04	BE	6'6"	So
19	Mark Smith #13	Kansas St.	6.04	B12	6'4"	Sr
20	Jules Bernard #1	UCLA	5.94	P12	6'7"	Sr
21	Kyler Edwards #11	Houston	5.91	Amer	6'4"	Sr
22	Taz Sherman #12	West Virginia	5.88	B12	6'4"	Sr
23	Teddy Allen #0	New Mexico St.	5.85	WAC	6'6"	Jr
24	Johnny Juzang #3	UCLA	5.78	P12	6'7"	Jr
25	Cam Spencer #12	Loyola MD	5.78	Pat	6'4"	Jr
26	Aaron Estrada #4	Hofstra	5.74	CAA	6'3"	Jr
27	Daylen Kountz #1	Northern Colorado	5.7	BSky	6'4"	Sr
28	Hakim Hart #13	Maryland	5.66	B10	6'8"	Jr
29	Tyler Burton #3	Richmond	5.59	A10	6'7"	Jr
30	De'Monte Buckingham #10	UNC Greensboro	5.49	SC	6'4"	Sr
31	Brandon Slater #3	Villanova	5.45	BE	6'7"	Sr
32	Sasha Stefanovic #55	Purdue	5.37	B10	6'5"	Sr
33	Adrian Delph #20	Appalachian St.	5.3	SB	6'3"	Sr
34	Kellan Grady #31	Kentucky	5.13	SEC	6'5"	Sr
35	Drew Peterson #13	USC	5.07	P12	6'9"	Jr
36	Tanner Holden #2	Wright St.	5.04	Horz	6'6"	Jr
37	Drake Jeffries #0	Wyoming	5.01	MWC	6'5"	Sr
38	Ricky Council #4	Wichita St.	4.97	Amer	6'6"	Fr
39	Charles Pride #5	Bryant	4.92	NEC	6'4"	Jr
40	Hyunjung Lee #1	Davidson	4.88	A10	6'7"	Jr
41	Andrew Jones #1	Texas	4.88	B12	6'4"	Sr
42	Chuck O'Bannon #5	TCU	4.87	B12	6'6"	Sr
43	Taze Moore #4	Houston	4.84	Amer	6'5"	Sr
44	Gabe Brown #44	Michigan St.	4.77	B10	6'8"	Sr
45	Jared Rhoden #14	Seton Hall	4.76	BE	6'6"	Sr
46	Ethan Wright #14	Princeton	4.61	Ivy	6'4"	Sr
47	Erik Stevenson #10	South Carolina	4.6	SEC	6'4"	Sr
48	David Jones #32	DePaul	4.59	BE	6'6"	So
49	Alex O'Connell #5	Creighton	4.53	BE	6'6"	Sr
50	Kane Williams #12	Georgia St.	4.52	SB	6'4"	Sr

Best Power Forwards in College Basketball This Season

 In Value Add Basketball we consider the team's "power forward" the player who behind the team's "center" has some combination of the most defensive rebounds, blocked shots and height, but typically the fewest assists and steals. A great center or power forward will typically have even better raw numbers than a great point guard, because the guards typically need to get the ball to a power forward or center close to the basket for a closer shot.  (for a summary of the top players at each position, click here).

Because www.valueaddbasketball.com calculates how many points per game a player improves his team compared to if a typical replacement player took his place, the raw value add is adjusted by position since the replacement player would be at the same position. Therefore, once the formulas are run, and power forward's raw value add is lowered by multiplying it by 0.95 to get the result you see below and at www.valueaddbasketball.com.

In general, freshmen make so many mistakes (turnovers, bad shots etc.) the first half of the season that they do not rank nearly as high as more experienced players. However, they tend to improve more at the end of the season, so we watch for breakout freshmen first when looking at brackets. Therefore we start with the 10 most valuable freshmen centers in college basketball, starting with the most talented future NBA prospect, Auburn's Jabari Smith, who improves Auburn by 7.14 points per game - meaning there is a better than 50/50 chance Auburn would have LOST any game that they won by fewer than seven points. This calculations were run before Auburn's win against Vanderbilt Wednesday, during which Smith had his first 30-point game, so he is gaining value. 

In his case, he improves the Auburn offense by 4.44 points per game, while his defensive rating of -2.70 indicates he takes three to four points more away from the opposing team then a typical replacement power forward. Here are the most valuable 10 freshmen power forwards through games of February 15.

Rnk	Top Freshmen Power Forwards	Team	VA5	Conf	HtText	Cl
7	Jabari Smith #10	Auburn	7.14	SEC	6'10"	Fr
11	Paolo Banchero #5	Duke	6.69	ACC	6'10"	Fr
18	Justin Lewis #10	Marquette	6.28	BE	6'7"	Fr
23	Tyson Degenhart #2	Boise St.	6.13	MWC	6'7"	Fr
27	Azuolas Tubelis #10	Arizona	5.9	P12	6'11"	Fr
39	Dillon Jones #2	Weber St.	5.35	BSky	6'6"	Fr
44	Sadaidriene Hall #3	Stephen F. Austin	5.12	WAC	6'5"	Fr
46	Aboubacar Traore #25	Long Beach St.	4.96	BW	6'5"	Fr
51	Jalen Wilson #10	Kansas	4.77	B12	6'8"	So
52	Keshad Johnson #0	San Diego St.	4.68	MWC	6'7"	Jr

Top Overall Power Forwards (4)

A voter would certainly be justified in placing Smith, likely the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, as the 1st Team All-American Power Forward. However, if the entire season including early games were rated evenly, the 1st and 2nd Team All-American should really go to two Big Ten stars. Ohio State's EJ Liddell may have been the most valuable player over the course of the last two seasons, while Keegan Murray of Iowa has been able to explode now that his teammate and National Player of the Year Luka Garza has graduated.

Rnk	Top Freshmen Power Forwards	Team	VA5	Conf	HtText	Cl
1	Keegan Murray #15	Iowa	10.86	B10	6'8"	So
2	EJ Liddell #32	Ohio St.	9.93	B10	6'7"	Jr
3	Justin Bean #34	Utah St.	9.69	MWC	6'7"	Sr
4	Tari Eason #13	LSU	9.25	SEC	6'8"	So
5	David Roddy #21	Colorado St.	8.84	MWC	6'6"	Jr
6	Christian Braun #2	Kansas	7.54	B12	6'6"	Jr
7	Jabari Smith #10	Auburn	7.14	SEC	6'10"	Fr
8	Vince Williams #10	VCU	6.9	A10	6'6"	Sr
9	Jaime Jaquez #24	UCLA	6.81	P12	6'7"	Jr
10	Jake LaRavia #0	Wake Forest	6.77	ACC	6'8"	Jr
11	Paolo Banchero #5	Duke	6.69	ACC	6'10"	Fr
12	Race Thompson #25	Indiana	6.49	B10	6'8"	Jr
13	Dane Goodwin #23	Notre Dame	6.49	ACC	6'6"	Jr
14	Paul Atkinson #20	Notre Dame	6.45	ACC	6'9"	Sr
15	Timmy Allen #0	Texas	6.44	B12	6'6"	Sr
16	Drew Timme #2	Gonzaga	6.41	WCC	6'10"	Jr
17	Fabian White #35	Houston	6.36	Amer	6'8"	Sr
18	Justin Lewis #10	Marquette	6.28	BE	6'7"	Fr
19	Alex Morales #2	Wagner	6.28	NEC	6'6"	Sr
20	Dereon Seabron #1	N.C. State	6.25	ACC	6'7"	So
21	Ryan Hawkins #44	Creighton	6.24	BE	6'7"	Sr
22	Justyn Mutts #25	Virginia Tech	6.17	ACC	6'7"	Sr
23	Tyson Degenhart #2	Boise St.	6.13	MWC	6'7"	Fr
24	Bryce Hamilton #13	UNLV	6.13	MWC	6'4"	Sr
25	Aher Uguak #30	Loyola Chicago	6.07	MVC	6'7"	Sr
26	Abu Kigab #24	Boise St.	5.96	MWC	6'7"	Sr
27	Azuolas Tubelis #10	Arizona	5.9	P12	6'11"	Fr
28	Anthony Holland #25	Fresno St.	5.9	MWC	6'5"	Jr
29	Collin Welp #40	UC Irvine	5.88	BW	6'9"	Sr
30	Ron Harper #24	Rutgers	5.81	B10	6'6"	Sr
31	Jeriah Horne #41	Tulsa	5.81	Amer	6'7"	Sr
32	Keshawn Justice #14	Santa Clara	5.76	WCC	6'7"	Sr
33	Jalen Hill #1	Oklahoma	5.62	B12	6'6"	Jr
34	Anton Watson #22	Gonzaga	5.6	WCC	6'8"	Jr
35	Jayden Gardner #1	Virginia	5.6	ACC	6'6"	Sr
36	Noah Horchler #14	Providence	5.59	BE	6'8"	Sr
37	Marcus Weathers #50	SMU	5.49	Amer	6'5"	Sr
38	Ben Vander Plas #5	Ohio	5.46	MAC	6'8"	Sr
39	Dillon Jones #2	Weber St.	5.35	BSky	6'6"	Fr
40	Taylor Funk #33	Saint Joseph's	5.28	A10	6'8"	Sr
41	Brady Manek #45	North Carolina	5.27	ACC	6'9"	Sr
42	Jalen Bridges #11	West Virginia	5.26	B12	6'7"	So
43	Isaac Mushila #10	Texas A&M Corpus Chris	5.14	Slnd	6'5"	Jr
44	Sadaidriene Hall #3	Stephen F. Austin	5.12	WAC	6'5"	Fr
45	Jermaine Samuels #23	Villanova	5.08	BE	6'7"	Sr
46	Aboubacar Traore #25	Long Beach St.	4.96	BW	6'5"	Fr
47	Julian Champagnie #2	St. John's	4.93	BE	6'8"	Jr
48	Jabari Walker #12	Colorado	4.89	P12	6'9"	So
49	Kris Murray #24	Iowa	4.8	B10	6'8"	So
50	Jalen Adaway #33	St. Bonaventure	4.79	A10	6'5"	Sr

Top College Basketball Centers this Season

In Value Add Basketball we consider the teams "center" the player who has some combination of the most defensive rebounds, blocked shots and height, but typically the fewest assists and steals. A great center will typically have even better raw numbers than a great point guard, because the guards typically need to get the ball to the center close to the basket for a closer shot - even though not nearly as many centers play with their "back to the basket" like they did for most of the history of basketball.  (for a summary of the top players at each position, click here).

Because www.valueaddbasketball.com calculates how many points per game a player improves his team compared to if a typical replacement player took his place, the raw value add is adjusted by position since the replacement player would be at the same position. Therefore, once the formulas are run, and centers raw value add is lowered by multiplying it by 0.9 to get the result you see below and at www.valueaddbasketball.com.

Top 10 most valuable centers are listed below. in general freshmen make so many mistakes (turnovers, bad shots etc.) the first half of the season that they do not rank nearly as high as more experienced players. However, they tend to improve more at the end of the season, so we watch for breakout freshmen first when looking at brackets. Therefore we start with the 10 most valuable freshmen centers in college basketball, starting with the Zags Chet Holmgrem who improves Gonzaga by 8.52 points per game - meaning there is a better than 50/50 chance the Zags would have LOST any game that they won by fewer than eight points.

In his case, he improves the Zags' offense by 5.04 points per game, while his defensive rating of -3.48 indicates he takes three to four points more away from the opposing team then a typical replacement center. Here are the most valuable 10 freshmen centers through games of February 15.

 

Rnk	Top Freshmen Centers	Team	VA5	Conf	HtText	Cl
5	Chet Holmgren #34	Gonzaga	8.52	WCC	7'0	Fr
8	Norchad Omier #15	Arkansas St.	7.79	SB	6'7"	Fr
12	Kenneth Lofton #2	Louisiana Tech	7.03	CUSA	6'7"	Fr
18	Johni Broome #4	Morehead St.	6.68	OVC	6'10"	Fr
34	DaRon Holmes #15	Dayton	5.84	A10	6'10"	Fr
57	Fousseyni Traore #45	BYU	4.91	WCC	6'6"	Fr
80	Jalen Duren #2	Memphis	4.27	Amer	6'11"	Fr
95	Charles Bediako #10	Alabama	3.92	SEC	7'0	Fr
111	Eddie Lampkin #4	TCU	3.67	B12	6'11"	Fr
112	Oso Ighodaro #13	Marquette	3.65	BE	6'9"	Fr

Top 50 Centers Overall

In true value, our calculations indicate the 1st Team All-American so far should come from Kentucky, and Holgrem is in a tight races for the 2nd Team All-American center with stars from Indiana, Auburn and UNC.

 

Rnk	Top Centers (5)	Team	VA5	Conf	HtText	Cl
1	Oscar Tshiebwe #34	Kentucky	11.14	SEC	6'9"	Jr
2	Trayce Jackson-Davis #23	Indiana	8.94	B10	6'9"	So
3	Walker Kessler #13	Auburn	8.66	SEC	7'1"	So
4	Armando Bacot #5	North Carolina	8.6	ACC	6'10"	Jr
5	Chet Holmgren #34	Gonzaga	8.52	WCC	7'0	Fr
6	Orlando Robinson #10	Fresno St.	8.4	MWC	7'0	Jr
7	Hunter Dickinson #1	Michigan	7.89	B10	7'1"	So
8	Norchad Omier #15	Arkansas St.	7.79	SB	6'7"	Fr
9	Jack Nunge #24	Xavier	7.61	BE	7'0	Jr
10	KJ Williams #0	Murray St.	7.27	OVC	6'10"	Jr
11	Kofi Cockburn #21	Illinois	7.22	B10	7'0	Jr
12	Kenneth Lofton #2	Louisiana Tech	7.03	CUSA	6'7"	Fr
13	Mark Williams #15	Duke	6.96	ACC	7'0	So
14	Christian Koloko #35	Arizona	6.93	P12	7'1"	So
15	Jake Stephens #34	VMI	6.88	SC	6'11"	Sr
16	Isaiah Whaley #5	Connecticut	6.72	BE	6'9"	Sr
17	Keve Aluma #22	Virginia Tech	6.71	ACC	6'9"	Sr
18	Johni Broome #4	Morehead St.	6.68	OVC	6'10"	Fr
19	Osun Osunniyi #21	St. Bonaventure	6.65	A10	6'10"	Sr
20	JT Shumate #32	Toledo	6.56	MAC	6'7"	Jr
21	Gaige Prim #44	Missouri St.	6.48	MVC	6'9"	Sr
22	Javon Franklin #13	South Alabama	6.47	SB	6'7"	Sr
23	Yauhen Massalski #25	San Francisco	6.46	WCC	6'9"	Sr
24	Ryan Kalkbrenner #11	Creighton	6.45	BE	7'1"	So
25	Zach Edey #15	Purdue	6.45	B10	7'4"	So
26	Matthias Tass #11	Saint Mary's	6.44	WCC	6'10"	Sr
27	Jamal Cain #1	Oakland	6.42	Horz	6'7"	Sr
28	Isaiah Mobley #3	USC	6.39	P12	6'10"	Jr
29	Trevion Williams #50	Purdue	6.28	B10	6'10"	Sr
30	Drew Pember #4	UNC Asheville	6.13	BSth	6'10"	Jr
31	Darius Days #4	LSU	6.07	SEC	6'7"	Sr
32	Jaylin Williams #10	Arkansas	6.05	SEC	6'10"	So
33	Jalen Slawson #20	Furman	5.86	SC	6'7"	Sr
34	DaRon Holmes #15	Dayton	5.84	A10	6'10"	Fr
35	Bryson Williams #11	Texas Tech	5.8	B12	6'8"	Sr
36	Jesse Edwards #14	Syracuse	5.79	ACC	6'11"	Jr
37	Eric Dixon #43	Villanova	5.76	BE	6'8"	So
38	Andre Kelly #22	California	5.72	P12	6'9"	Sr
39	Graham Ike #33	Wyoming	5.7	MWC	6'9"	So
40	Luka Brajkovic #35	Davidson	5.61	A10	6'10"	Sr
41	Felipe Haase #22	Mercer	5.52	SC	6'9"	Sr
42	John Harrar #21	Penn St.	5.48	B10	6'9"	Sr
43	Nick Muszynski #33	Belmont	5.44	OVC	6'11"	Sr
44	Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua #23	Baylor	5.36	B12	6'8"	Jr
45	Enrique Freeman #25	Akron	5.35	MAC	6'7"	So
46	Pete Nance #22	Northwestern	5.32	B10	6'10"	Sr
47	Nate Watson #0	Providence	5.28	BE	6'10"	Sr
48	Josh Carlton #25	Houston	5.25	Amer	6'11"	Sr
49	Tanner Groves #35	Oklahoma	5.22	B12	6'10"	Sr
50	Myles Johnson #15	UCLA	5.16	P12	6'10"	Sr

Top 25 Value Add Basketball Players & Top 15 in Each Conference

The rankings for 4,000+ college Most Valuable Players in college basketball are updated at www.valueaddbasketball.com based on stats as of January 17, 2022. Value Add Basketball ranks players in a method similar to how www.kenpom.com ranks teams. The offensive rating (AdjO) minus the defensive rating (AdjD, negative is good because the player is taking points away from the other team) to calculated the overall "Value" of each player above a replacement player.

This blog links to three options to review the rankings:

1. The 25 most valuable players in the country are listed on the table below.

2. You can also go to www.valueaddbasketball.com to sort all 4000+ players by team, conference, class, etc.

3. The picture above is from this CBS 247 story on the updated rankings.

4. Finally, the links below the table take you to your choice of the 32 college basketball conferences for the notes specific to that conference and their top 15 players in the ratings.

Rnk	Top 25 All-Americans	Team	Value	Ht	Cl	AdjO	AdjD	Gm/St	Conf
1	Keegan Murray #15	Iowa	11.08	6'8"	So	8.97	-2.12	16, 16	B10
2	Justin Bean #34	Utah St.	10.58	6'7"	Sr	8.38	-2.20	16, 16	MWC
3	Oscar Tshiebwe #34	Kentucky	10.51	6'9"	Jr	6.86	-3.65	17, 17	SEC
4	Trayce Jackson-Davis #23	Indiana	10.12	6'9"	So	7.21	-2.91	16, 16	B10
5	Alex Barcello #13	BYU	10.12	6'2"	Sr	8.87	-1.25	17, 17	WCC
6	Collin Gillespie #2	Villanova	9.94	6'3"	Sr	8.30	-1.64	17, 17	BE
7	Kendric Davis #3	SMU	9.71	6'0	Sr	9.12	-0.59	17, 17	Amer
8	Armando Bacot #5	North Carolina	9.43	6'10"	Jr	6.85	-2.58	16, 16	ACC
9	Terrell Brown #23	Washington	9.30	6'3"	Sr	7.45	-1.84	15, 15	P12
10	Ochai Agbaji #30	Kansas	9.27	6'5"	Sr	8.33	-0.93	16, 16	B12
11	Tylor Perry #5	North Texas	9.22	5'11"	Jr	7.92	-1.30	13, 0	CUSA
12	Malachi Smith #13	Chattanooga	9.21	6'4"	So	8.62	-0.60	16, 16	SC
13	Posh Alexander #0	St. John's	9.21	6'0	So	5.36	-3.85	14, 13	BE
14	Orlando Robinson #10	Fresno St.	9.12	7'0	Jr	6.79	-2.34	15, 15	MWC
15	EJ Liddell #32	Ohio St.	8.93	6'7"	Jr	6.86	-2.07	15, 15	B10
16	Justin Moore #5	Villanova	8.56	6'4"	Jr	6.14	-2.42	17, 17	BE
17	Santiago Vescovi #25	Tennessee	8.52	6'3"	Jr	6.00	-2.51	16, 16	SEC
18	Jamaree Bouyea #1	San Francisco	8.43	6'2"	Sr	6.46	-1.97	17, 17	WCC
19	Christian Braun #2	Kansas	8.32	6'6"	Jr	6.20	-2.12	16, 16	B12
20	Iverson Molinar #1	Mississippi St.	8.29	6'3"	Jr	8.00	-0.30	16, 16	SEC
21	Tevin Brown #10	Murray St.	8.25	6'5"	Jr	6.33	-1.91	13, 13	OVC
22	Trent Frazier #1	Illinois	8.23	6'2"	Sr	4.61	-3.62	14, 13	B10
23	Alondes Williams #31	Wake Forest	8.21	6'5"	Sr	6.89	-1.32	18, 18	ACC
24	Tari Eason #13	LSU	8.08	6'8"	So	5.16	-2.92	16, 0	SEC
25	Hunter Dickinson #1	Michigan	7.95	7'1"	So	6.17	-1.78	13, 13	B10

Below are the links to each conference review and top 15 players, with the Player of the Year listed.

Abbr, Conference, Player of Year so far, Team

AE, America East Conference, Ryan Davis #35, Vermont

Amer, American Athletic Conference, Kendric Davis #3, SMU

ASun, ASUN Conference, Darius McGhee #2, Liberty

A10, Atlantic 10 Conference, Michael Jones #13, Davidson

ACC, Atlantic Coast Conference, Armando Bacot #5, North Carolina

B12, Big 12 Conference, Ochai Agbaji #30, Kansas

BE, Big East Conference, Collin Gillespie #2, Villanova

BSky, Big Sky Conference, Dillon Jones #2, Weber St.

BSth, Big South Conference, Ricky Clemons #1, Campbell

B10, Big Ten Conference, Keegan Murray #15, Iowa

BW, Big West Conference, Collin Welp #40, UC Irvine

CAA, Colonial Athletic Association, Cam Holden #55, Towson

CUSA, Conference USA, Tylor Perry #5, North Texas

Horz, Horizon League, Jamal Cain #1, Oakland

Ivy, Ivy League, Kino Lilly #10, Brown

MAAC, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, George Papas #5, Monmouth

MAC, Mid American Conference, JT Shumate #32, Toledo

MEAC, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Kris Bankston #30, Norfolk St.

MVC, Missouri Valley Conference, Garrett Sturtz #3, Drake

MWC, Mountain West Conference, Justin Bean #34, Utah St.

NEC, Northeast Conference, Alex Morales #2, Wagner

OVC, Ohio Valley Conference, Tevin Brown #10, Murray St.

P12, Pac 12 Conference, Terrell Brown #23, Washington

Pat, Patriot League, Cam Spencer #12, Loyola MD

SEC, Southeastern Conference, Oscar Tshiebwe #34, Kentucky

SC, Southern Conference, Malachi Smith #13, Chattanooga

Slnd, Southland Conference, Isaac Mushila #10, Texas A&M CC

SWAC, Southwestern Athletic Conference, Jayveous McKinnis #11, Jackson St.

Sum, Summit League, Baylor Scheierman #3, South Dakota St.

SB, Sun Belt Conference, Javon Franklin #13, South Alabama

WCC, West Coast Conference, Alex Barcello #13, BYU

WAC, Western Athletic Conference, Jovan Blacksher #10, Grand Canyon

Note: I added the words "Most Valuable Player" above after initially posting this because our rankings measure how valuable a player is to a team while other votes may measure the "Player of the Year." In most cases I'd say the two are similar, but when writing the Big 12 summary below it occurred to me Baylor was a perfect example of when MVP and POY can be different. James Akinjo and Kendall Brown should be considered for Player of the Year in the rugged Big 12, but I don't believe either of the are in the running for Most Valuable Player because Baylor is so deep that if either of them could not play, Baylor still has seven players on the court that can dominate. I don't believe Kansas could contend nationally if Ochai Agbaji or Christian Braun were out - if those two were out and the two Baylor players above were out for the same game, I believe Baylor would beat Kansas handily..Baylor's incredible depth actually means each player is slightly less valuable because the replacement player stepping in for them is so good.

Value Add Rankings Updates - Top 25 Defenders Featured

Baylor shooting guard Jared Butler calculates as the top defensive player in the country, as first revealed in this CBS Sports/247 piece, three weeks before teams are selected for March Madness. You can sort all 4,183 college players by team or conference at www.valueaddbasketball.com.

Butler steals the ball on 4.7 percent of opponents' possessions, the fourth best total of any major conference player. His ability to disrupt opposing teams is a key part of Baylor having the 6th best defense and 2nd best team in the country. The only team in the country that calculates as better is Gonzaga, which www.kenpom.com calculates is currently the best team of the Century. This is no guarantee they will win March Madness however, as the second best team of the century at www.kenpom.com is the 2015 Kentucky team, which was 38-0 until upset by Wisconsin in the Final Four.

Defensive ratings are not as precise as the Offensive Ratings at www.valueaddbasketball.com. The precise measurement of a few defensive stats can be measured precisely since teams average about 1.0 points per trip down the court, so a defensive player with a steal gets credit for taking away an average of 1.0 points, a player with a blocked shot 0.83, and a defensive rebound 0.33 points. However, each player on the team gets credit every time the opponent fails to score and it is not the result of one of those three things, and shares the blame anytime the opposing team scores. This is also adjusted by the level of opposing offense each team plays.

The following is a breakdown of factors that went into the ranking of the top 25 defensive players at www.valueaddbasketball.com, with Butler erasing an estimated 3.65 points a game from opponents more than a typical replacement player, etc.

 

Rnk	Playerb	Team	Ht Pos	Def Rat	DR%	Blk%	Stl%	AdjD
1	Jared Butler #12	Baylor	6'3" SG	-3.65	11.00	1.80	4.7	6th
2	Neemias Queta #23	Utah St.	7'0 C	-3.46	26.30	13.20	2.4	18th
3	Evan Mobley #4	USC	7'0 PF	-3.30	18.50	9.70	1.7	15th
4	Jalen Suggs #1	Gonzaga	6'4" PG	-3.14	18.90	1.30	3.9	4th
5	Myles Johnson #15	Rutgers	6'11" C	-3.12	24.70	10.90	2.9	14th
6	Jordan Goodwin #0	Saint Louis	6'3" SF	-3.04	27.70	0.30	3.5	47th
7	Chris Duarte #5	Oregon	6'6" SG	-2.95	15.00	3.60	3.6	38th
8	Franz Wagner #21	Michigan	6'9" PF	-2.93	20.60	3.50	2.5	11th
9	Nah'Shon Hyland #5	VCU	6'3" SG	-2.86	14.80	0.70	3.4	10th
10	Luis Rodriguez #15	Mississippi	6'6" SF	-2.79	21.50	3.00	4	23rd
11	Josiah-Jordan James #5	Tennessee	6'6" SF	-2.75	17.30	4.50	3.1	5th
12	Jose Alvarado #10	Georgia Tech	6'0 SG	-2.66	10.30	0.20	4.5	64th
13	Joel Ayayi #11	Gonzaga	6'5" SF	-2.65	19.50	0.60	2.2	4th
14	Jay Huff #30	Virginia	7'1" C	-2.64	25.10	11.10	1.1	22nd
15	Grayson Murphy #2	Belmont	6'2" SG	-2.64	22.40	1.10	4.1	132nd
16	Herbert Jones #1	Alabama	6'8" PF	-2.58	14.40	4.00	3.4	2nd
17	Lucas Williamson #1	Loyola Chicago	6'4" SF	-2.57	15.50	0.40	3.1	1st
18	Isaiah Whaley #5	Connecticut	6'9" C	-2.53	17.10	12.00	1.9	40th
19	KC Ndefo #11	Saint Peter's	6'7" PF	-2.52	17.10	16.00	2.6	43rd
20	Davion Mitchell #45	Baylor	6'2" PG	-2.50	8.00	1.10	3.8	6th
21	DeJon Jarreau #3	Houston	6'5" PG	-2.50	15.90	1.70	2.9	7th
22	Isaiah Miller #1	UNC Greensboro	6'0 PG	-2.49	19.50	1.10	4.5	65th
23	Isaiah Jackson #23	Kentucky	6'10" PF	-2.43	23.70	13.20	1.8	21st
24	Cameron Krutwig #25	Loyola Chicago	6'9" C	-2.43	19.00	3.60	2.4	1st
25	Marcus Garrett #0	Kansas	6'5" PG	-2.40	13.50	1.10	2.8	12th
	Best in Country			-3.65	38.80	16.00	5.4	1st

Wooden Award Finalists, KenPom, Value Add Ranks Top Hoops Players

The following 33 players are considered one of the top 20 players in the country by at least one of three evaluations.

Each player is awarded 50 points if one of the 20 Wooden Award Finalists, then 50 points for being ranked 1st by www.kenpom.com or www.valueaddbasketball.com, 49 points for being ranked 2nd by either, etc. A player received no points if not listed as a Wooden Award finalists, or failed to make Pomeroy's top 10, or finished lower than 50th at www.valueaddbasketball.com.

For example, Luka Garza scores a perfect 150 points for being on the Wooden list and calculating as the No. 1 player at both www.kenpom.com and www.valueaddbasketball.com, 50 points each for 150. Baylor's Jared Butler is second with 50 points for making the Wooden list, 48 points for ranking 3rd at www.valueaddbasketball.com and 49 points for ranking second at www.kenpom for 147 points, followed by USC's Evan Mobley with 140 points etc. 

 

Rnk	Player	Team	Wooden?	Value Add	Ken Pom	Total all 3
1	Luka Garza	Iowa	Yes	1	1	150
2	Jared Butler	Baylor	Yes	3	2	147
3	Evan Mobley	USC	Yes	4	8	140
4	Trayce Jackson-Davis	Indiana	Yes	8	5	139
5	Ayo Dosunmu	Illinois	Yes	14	3	135
6	Drew Timme	Gonzaga	Yes	23	4	125
7	Kofi Cockburn	Illinois	Yes	29	10	113
8	Collin Gillespie	Villanova	Yes	7		94
9	Corey Kispert	Gonzaga	Yes	12		89
10	Justin Champagnie	Pittsburgh	Yes	13		88
11	Marcus Carr	Minnesota	Yes	19		82
12	Jay Huff	Virginia	No	18	9	75
13	Charles Bassey	Western Kentucky	Yes	28		73
14	Carlik Jones	Louisville	Yes	37		64
15	Ron Harper Jr.	Rutgers	Yes	38		63
16	Cameron Krutwig	Loyola Chicago	No	42	6	54
17	Hunter Dickinson	Michigan	Yes	62		50
18	Jeremiah Robinson-Earl	Villanova	Yes	85		50
19	Cade Cunningham	Oklahoma State	Yes	94		50
20	Jalen Suggs	Gonzaga	Yes	114		50
21	James Bouknight	Connecticut	Yes	336		50
22	Quentin Grimes	Houston	Yes	473		50
23	Chris Duarte	Oregon	No	2		49
24	Oscar da Silva	Stanford	No	5		46
25	Jose Alvarado	Georgia Tech	No	6		45
26	Trevion Williams	Purdue	No	71	7	44
27	Miles McBride	West Virginia	No	9		42
28	Kendric Davis	SMU	No	10		41
29	Matthew Hurt	Duke	No	11		40
30	Tyson Etienne	Wichita St.	No	15		36
31	DeVante' Jones	Coastal Carolina	No	16		35
32	Quincy Guerrier	Syracuse	No	17		34
33	Alex Barcello	BYU	No	20		31