{"id":179399,"date":"2025-08-27T09:47:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/179399\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T09:47:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:47:31","slug":"anthony-davis-at-no-5-field-of-68s-insulting-cbb-player-list-gets-a-reality-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/179399\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Davis at no. 5? Field of 68&#8217;s insulting cbb player list gets a reality check"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Leaving out legends like John Wall while putting Zach Edey in the top three is indefensible. The original list is a mess\u2014we&#8217;re here to set the record straight with a Top 10 that makes sense.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5x\">The offseason always brings out lists. Some are fun, some are thought-provoking, and some\u2014like the<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheFieldOf68\/status\/1959673942844559773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1959673942844559773%7Ctwgr%5E68f99edd74e73b1d0b7d50774f28ce6cb36736b2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationofblue.com%2Fthe-field-of-68-names-top-25-college-basketball-players-since-2000%2F\" target=\"_blank\"> Field of 68\u2019s \u201cTop 25 Players of College Basketball Since 2000\u201d<\/a>\u2014leave you scratching your head.<\/p>\n<p>Their list, starting from 25 to No. 1:<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"63\">25. Shane Battier<br \/>24. Buddy Hield<br \/>23. Russ Smith<br \/>22. Jameer Nelson<br \/>21. Frank Kaminsky<br \/>20. Dwyane Wade<br \/>19. Blake Griffin<br \/>18. Jimmer Fredette<br \/>17. Doug McDermott<br \/>16. Joakim Noah<br \/>15. Shabazz Napier<br \/>14. Emeka Okafor<br \/>13. Zion Williamson<br \/>12. Adam Morrison<br \/>11. JJ Redick<br \/>10. Cooper Flagg<br \/>9. Kevin Durant<br \/>8. Jay Williams<br \/>7. Kemba Walker<br \/>6. Stephen Curry<br \/>5. Anthony Davis<br \/>4. Carmelo Anthony<br \/>3. Zach Edey<br \/>2. Jalen Brunson<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/01k3jph6xghnays4rt1h.jpg\" alt=\"Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson\" title=\"Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson\" width=\"2157\" height=\"2157\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6c\"\/><\/p>\n<p>NCAA Championship Game: Michigan State Spartans v North Carolina Tar Heels | Streeter Lecka\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">1, Tyler Hansbrough<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">Read that again. No John Wall. No Trae Young. No Michael Beasley. And somehow, Zach Edey is top three while Anthony Davis\u2014a national champion and defensive juggernaut with 186 blocks in a single season\u2014sits at No. 5.<\/p>\n<p>Our top 10 tells a different story:<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">10. Zach Edey \u2013 two-time Wooden Award winner, yes, but not top three.<br \/>9. Cam Reddish \u2013 versatile scorer with NBA-level impact.<br \/>8. Cooper Flagg \u2013 elite prospect, but far too early to crown.<br \/>7. Tyler Hansbrough \u2013 numbers don\u2019t lie, UNC\u2019s all-time great.<br \/>6. John Wall \u2013 electric playmaker, SEC Player of the Year, program-changer.<br \/>5. Carmelo Anthony \u2013 national title run cemented him as an all-time freshman force.<br \/>4. Jay Williams \u2013 NPOY, Duke legend, 21 points per game as a junior.<br \/>3. Kemba Walker \u2013 23.5 points per game during UConn\u2019s unforgettable title run.<br \/>2. Kevin Durant \u2013 averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, utterly unstoppable.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/01k3jpj64gnyhxqjs8m6.jpg\" alt=\"Anthony Davis, Reggie Bullock\" title=\"Anthony Davis, Reggie Bullock\" width=\"4896\" height=\"2754\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6y\"\/><\/p>\n<p>North Carolina v Kentucky | Joe Robbins\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"72\">1. Anthony Davis \u2013 national title, Final Four MOP, Naismith winner, 186 blocks (single-season UK record).<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"75\">Durant and Davis are in a tier of their own. Brunson? Great, but not top three. Edey? Dominant, but not over Anthony Davis.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"78\">So, whose list passes the eye test? Field of 68\u2019s chaotic shuffle or one that actually reflects the dominance, stats, and legacies that shaped college basketball since 2000?<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7b\">Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time, he spends time with his family, and watching Premier League soccer. #UpTheAlbion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leaving out legends like John Wall while putting Zach Edey in the top three is indefensible. The original&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":179400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[1339,1317,1337,1338,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-179399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-basketball","11":"tag-ncaabasketball","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115100099899649830","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}