Fantasy Hoops: Top 25 Players by Position
by Rick Young
Well, as promised, here is the list of Top 25 “Fantasy” players by position on the court. This is a listing from all Division I-A, not just the major conferences. You’ll be surprised by the lack of “big” name players from your favorite power conferences, but this is the life that is known as fantasy!
Guards:
1. Ricky Minard, Morehead State – big time scorer from OVC, who shoots a high percentage. Also, another good feature for Minard, if you’re in a “keeper” league, he’s only a junior. Pick up the “fantasy” all star!
2. Henry Domercant, Eastern Illinois – another big time scorer from the OVC, the only difference between Minard and Domercant is their college class. Domercant is a senior, so if you can only have him for one year, oh what a year!
3. Kevin Martin, Western Carolina – overshadowed by Jason Conley in the Southern conference, both were freshman all-stars for their leagues. Martin, a sophomore, would be an excellent pick-up for any team!
4. Chris Davis, North Texas – Davis, a senior, has been a very consistent scorer throughout his college career. In a week ‘fantasy’ position this year, he’s a standout.
5. Dwyane Wade, Marquette – biggest “name” in the Top 5. Had breakout first season for the Eagles, definite NBA prospect with a big-time upside! Another sophomore, pick him and keep him for 3 years, or whenever the NBA comes a calling!
6. Reece Gaines, Louisville – Senior guard, should help to lead Pitino back to NCAA tourney, and your fantasy team to victory!
7. Troy Bell, Boston College – one of the most consistent scorers, should have bounce-back season with Ryan Sidney back at full strength.
8. Chris Monroe, George Washington – Senior guard, excellent fantasy player over the last 3 years, should have another solid year!
9. Issac Jefferson, Hampton – Mr. Do-It-All, with exception of scoring. Hard worker, who does all the little things. Solid pick-up!
10. Kirk Hinrich, Kansas – Mister Consistency for Kansas, key to their NCAA title hopes, along with Collison, should help your fantasy chances as well!
11. Clay Tucker, Wisconsin – Milwaukee
12. Jason Gardner, Arizona
13. Quinton Ross, SMU
14. Marques Green, St. Bonaventure
15. Andrew Wisnewski, Centenary
16. Chris Thomas, Notre Dame
17. Romain Sato, Xavier
18. Mike Lenzly, Wofford
19. Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh
20. Andre Emmett, Texas Tech
21. Luke Jackson, Oregon
22. Earl Hunt, Brown
23. Ronald Blackshear, Marshall
24. Ezra Williams, Georgia
25. Marcus Hatten, St. John’s
Forwards:
1. Jason Conley, VMI – BIG time scorer! No. 1 ranked overall “Fantasy” player, has all the tools for the fantasy game, PLUS he’s only a sophomore, which means you can keep his services for the next 3 years! If you fail to take him with your #1 pick, you’ll live to regret it…again and again and again!!!
2. Mike Sweetney, Georgetown – Hoya Destroya is back! Sweetney is a house, hard to move from the post. Good scorer and rebounder. Equal with Smith, but without the knee question mark.
3. Theron Smith, Ball State – Only question is his knee, which was injured during his NBA tryouts with the Raptors. Should be OK from all accounts, but with a knee injury you never know. If you have a low first round pick, take the gamble, but I don’t think you can afford to take him too high with the knee question mark.
4. David West, Xavier – Listed by his school site as a forward, so that decreases his value somewhat, but he should be a big-time force this year. Teaming with Sato to have a great, one-two fantasy punch.
5. Hector Romero, New Orleans – Former JuCo player, had great junior season for the Privateers. Excellent rebounder.
6. Jermaine Hall, Wagner – Great shooter (60% from the field last year). Fantasy forward proto-type, which is good scorer, very good rebounder.
7. James Singleton, Murray State – The Racers always have an excellent fantasy player, and this year they have another. Big-time rebounder.
8. Jeremy Bishop, Quinnipiac – NCAA rebounding leader, makes him an excellent pick-up. Average scorer.
9. Zakee Wadood, East Tennessee State – Another good rebounder, average scorer.
10. Nick Collison, Kansas – teaming with Hinrich, 2nd best tandem behind West-Sato(Xavier). Listed as Forward by Kansas, this decreases value. As a Center, would be highly ranked.
11. Paul Haynes, Grambling
12. Darrell Tucker, San Francisco
13. Matt Bonner, Florida
14. Josh Howard, Wake Forest
15. Kyle Korver, Creighton
16. Torrey Butler, Coastal Carolina (injured in 2001-02)
17. Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont
18. Damien Kinloch, Tennessee Tech
19. Stephane Pelle, Colorado
20. Brandon Hunter, Ohio
21. Antonio Gates, Kent State
22. Donald Cole, Sam Houston State
23. Luke Walton, Arizona
24. Lawrence Roberts, Baylor
25. Dalron Johnson, UNLV
Centers:
1. Adam Sonn, Belmont – definite “no name” to the normal fan, but to a fantasy coach, he’s All-World!
2. Robert Battle, Drexel – excellent shooter, good rebounder. Not far behind Sonn.
3. Chris Marcus, Western Kentucky – by season’s end, should be #1 ranked center, both fantasy and real. Injured most of last year, set him back, but he’ll be coming back with a vengeance, striving to be #1 NBA draft pick.
4. Justin Rowe, Maine – Average scorer, good rebounder, excellent shot blocker!
5. Emeka Okafor, Connecticut – Major potential, UConn sophomore should have a breakout season with Caron Butler off in NBA. Excellent shot blocker. Top ranked underclassman at center, only a sophomore.
6. Michael Southall, La-Lafayette – Sophomore, excellent shot blocker. Needs to improve rebounding and free throw shooting. You would know his name, but had legal difficulties before college, originally signed with Kentucky.
7. Mario Austin, Mississippi State – Excellent player, who just needs to keep his focus on his game and quit worrying about the NBA.
8. Justin Howard, Mercer – Good scorer, would be higher value with improved rebounding.
9. Arthur Johnson, Missouri – Should improve ‘fantasy’ worth with Kareem Rush gone to NBA, along with Ricky Paulding, they provide the Tigers with an excellent tandem. Needs to improve overall rebounding and free throw shooting.
10. Raitis Grafs, Valparaiso – Consistent player for Valpo for last 3 years, good center selection. Good shot blocker. Rebounding is major weakness for this center.
11. Tony Kitchings, South Carolina
12. David Harrison, Colorado
13. Chris Kaman, Central Michigan
14. James Thomas, Texas
15. Adam Parada, UC-Irvine
16. Keith Waleskowski, Dayton
17. Chris Jackson, New Mexico State
18. Danny Gruber, Northern Iowa
19. Uche Nsonwu-Amandi, Wyoming
20. Nate Williams, Georgia State
21. Jonte’ Edwards, Campbell
22. Baboucarr Bojang, Illinois State
23. Wesley Wilson, Georgetown
24. Greg Danielson, Drake
25. Matt Nelson, Colorado State
Top 5 Freshmen:
1. Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
2. Chris Bosh, Georgia Tech
3. Torin Francis, Notre Dame
4. Raymond Felton, North Carolina
5. Jason Fraser, Villanova
Well, I hope this helps you in your upcoming drafts. Later down the road, we’ll review my preseason selections and critique their half-season outcomes, as well as look at the new surprise players. Only a few weeks away from the greatest time of the year, college basketball season! Hearing Dick Vitale ramble about Duke, watching to see if this is the year for Roy Williams, or will Lute be cutting down the twine in New Orleans with his powerhouse group.
As always, remember to have fun! See you soon!
