Most exciting college players

[Capt. Tuttle]

Unknown white kid on mid-major who rains 3's on SU in the Dome.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Not intending to repeat others:
Freshman Felipe Lopez
Walter Berry
Chris Mullin
Ray Allen
Micheal Adams/Dana Barros (same guy, really)
Adrien Dantley
Bill Walton
Jason "White Chocolate" Williams
Bobby Hurley
Darrell Griffith and the Drs of Dunk
The whole Phi Slamma Jamma team (go watch the SU game against that team. Wow.)

That's all I got right now.

 

[phillydad]

How did people see DR J in college? He played at UMass and I never once saw them on TV. Are the people saying him people who went to the games? As a pro, no doubt one of the most exciting but I wonder how people say that about him in college. I was a HUGE fan and I never really heard of him until the Virginia Squires.

When I was in HS, a kid who recently moved from Boston gave me a heads-up on this guy at UMass, Julius Erving. I also remember him telling me about a RB at West Texas St. named Mercury Morris, also never on TV.

 

[Cramz]

Arinze Onuaku. Every time he stepped to the free throw line was a freakin' thrill ride!

 

[Toga]

Bob Sura was an incredibly player at FSU. Sura, Edwards, and Cassell really had a good thing going on that team.

Sura was all set to go to Siena before he flipped.

 

[Dollar Dog]

For me, single most exciting college player...I have to repeat the mention of David Thompson, with Pearl Washington as runner-up. In 1984, I remember thinking Michael Jordan had potential to become the next Dr. J. in the NBA. He ended up surpassing even that legendary stature. In college, he was really exciting but not yet "Air Jordan".

This is a little off-topic, but my most exciting college team was the Phi Slamma Jamma-era Houston Cougars. Most exciting in a single game...Florida-Gulf Coast vs. Georgetown, 2013. This was not only an upset, but turned into a Harlem Globetrotter-style exhibition. FGCU played such a free-wheeling dunk fest, practically every play was highlight-worthy and resulted in a crowd roar. I can not remember anything quite like that.

 

[MikeSU02]

Doing non-Cuse guys for me (born in '79 for reference):

Going to try to find guys I didn't see mentioned too many times above.

Hank Gathers
Steph Curry
Grant Hill
K-Mart
LJ
Stacey Augmon
Baron Davis
Stackhouse

 

[Cusefan0307]

Bob Sura was an incredibly player at FSU. Sura, Edwards, and Cassell really had a good thing going on that team.

Charlie Ward was on that team as well.

 

[dessu]

Dave Bing and Calvin Murphy (in person). Bill Walton (lived in California during his three varsity years - all UCLA games were televised)

 

[obliterata]

most exciting?

Pistol Pete
Pearl
Magic Johnson
Marques Haynes
Mugsy Bogues

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Iverson

 

[Red Holzman]

For me, "most exciting" qualifier = only one position: POINT GUARD.
Guys who were wizards with the ball: no-look or behind-the-back passes, great ball-handling, etc.
Nothing better than watching a PG put on a show, and the defense can do nothing to stop them.

Deadly shooting or big dunks are OK, but real excitement is when you never know where the ball is going!
Far better than isolation dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble, step back, shoot.

More votes for Pistol Pete, Iverson, Magic, and of course Pearl and The General. Guys like that.
Last year, Ja Morant was fun to watch!
Wish there was more emphasis on moving the ball now, and less on 3 point shooting and dunks!

 

[Col. Bleep]

It's interesting to get the perspectives here.
If the category is exciting...it's not just great players who make some spectacular plays.
It's being able to electrify almost every time they touched the ball.

Very few players mentioned here had that quality.
Besides Doc, Thompson, Maravich and Murphy...
Pearl qualified.
I'd say Iverson but am precluded from doing so because of where he played.
And Clyde Drexler and Phi Slamma Jamma.
But the only college player of this century who would make the list is Ja Morant.
You gotta be that level of electric.

 

[Toga]

It's interesting to get the perspectives here.
If the category is exciting...it's not just great players who make some spectacular plays.
It's being able to electrify almost every time they touched the ball.

Very few players mentioned here had that quality.
Besides Doc, Thompson, Maravich and Murphy...
Pearl qualified.
I'd say Iverson but am precluded from doing so because of where he played.
And Clyde Drexler and Phi Slamma Jamma.
But the only college player of this century who would make the list is Ja Morant.
You gotta be that level of electric.

Nice

 

[OttoMets]

I had such a blind dislike for Georgetown that I didn't fully appreciate Iverson at the time. But he'd be near the top of that list.

Dave Johnson is the next guy who comes to mind. Baron Davis is third. And Luther Wright from Seton Hall sticks out in my head as someone who had "wonder what he's gonna do next" potential, but I think that was mostly because he was a poor man's Shaq who was always a threat to demolish a backboard.

EDIT: Tim James at Miami also was a human highlight reel.

 

[djcon57]

Doing non-Cuse guys for me (born in '79 for reference):

Going to try to find guys I didn't see mentioned too many times above.

Hank Gathers
Steph Curry
Grant Hill
K-Mart
LJ
Stacey Augmon
Baron Davis
Stackhouse

Steph during the tourney was amazing

 

[djcon57]

Derrick Rose

 

[OrangeDW]

Sherman Douglas
Stevie Thompson
Gerry McNamara
Hakim Warrick
Jonny Flynn
Vince Carter
Jerry Stackhouse
Kenny Anderson
Larry Johnson
Chris Webber
Shaq
Chris Jackson
Allen Iverson
Nick Van Exel
Stephen Curry
Zion

 

[OrangeDW]

Jason Kidd
Tyus Edney
Tyson Wheeler
God Shammgod
Jamal Crawford
Ed Cota
Eric Devendorf

 

[CuseTG2003]

A few names that haven’t come up:

Steve Francis
Kevin Durant
Michael Beasley
Jason (Jay) Williams

 

[sutomcat]

Len Bias
Clyde Drexler
David Thompson
Pearl Washington
Magic Johnson
Pat Ewing
Allen Iverson
Zion Williamson
Bobby Hurley
Vince Carter
Chris Jackson
Mark Aguirre
Lew Alcindor
Anthony Davis
Bernard King
Chris Paul

 

[Eric15]

My favorite non-Cuse player from back in the day was Kerry Kittles. He was so explosive and dunked like he was angry at the basket.

Random: does anyone remember Keon Clark on UNLV? We played them in the Dome early in I believe the 1996-97 season and he put on a surreal dunk spectacle.

 

[OttoMets]

My favorite non-Cuse player from back in the day was Kerry Kittles. He was so explosive and dunked like he was angry at the basket.

Random: does anyone remember Keon Clark on UNLV? We played them in the Dome early in I believe the 1996-97 season and he put on a surreal dunk spectacle.

Yep, I liked Kittles, and I almost included Clark (but I really only remember watching him play that one time at the Dome in December 1996, if he was on their team when we played them in the Las Vegas Shootout in 1995, he didn't make an impression). Guy made a lot of athletic plays.

James White and Stanley Robinson would be a couple more in that vein. Rudy Gay, too.

 

[Briancuse]

God don't strike me down for this but iverson. The kid was electric to watch.

 

[Eric15]

God don't strike me down for this but iverson. The kid was electric to watch.

Even though he went to G'town I feel like Iverson is pretty much universally liked. To be an NBA MVP at 160 lbs is kind of unreal.