NCAA All-Decade Team

Now that the new year is just about here and the decade is winding to a close, let’s take a look back at some of the best players in college basketball during that time. In the past ten years we’ve seen both four year standouts and one and done studs. Who will make the list? Who will be left off? Here are our picks for the NCAA All-Decade Team. Agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments section.

STARTING FIVE

PG- Jason Williams (Duke)- Williams was about as good a point guard as there was in college basketball this decade. Who can forget the Williams-led Duke comeback at Maryland when the Blue Devils trailed by 10 with a little less than one minute remaining? Williams, the 2001 Naismith Award winner, gets the nod to start over Texas star TJ Ford because unlike Ford’s Longhorns, J-Will’s Devils won an NCAA Championship.

SG- Juan Dixon (Maryland)- The one and only player in NCAA history with 2,000 points, 300 steals, and 200 3-pointers, Dixon was the undisputed leader on a very talented Terrapin squad that finally overcame Duke in 2002 to win an NCAA title. Despite starting his career in the last decade, Dixon starts for the team because of his clutch play on both offense and defense.

SF- Adam Morrison (Gonzaga)- The former Bulldog and nasty moustache afficionado was one of, if not the, best college players in the country during his time at Gonzaga from 2003-2006. Remember his heated showdown with Duke star JJ Redick for the NCAA scoring title and the National Player of the Year award? While his NBA career has been virtually non-existant, his college career will forever live in history.

PF- Tyler Hansbrough (UNC)- An All-American for all four years at North Carolina. Great numbers. A national championship. Psycho T definitely deserves to start for the All-Decade team. Hansbrough’s talent was outmatched only by his desire to succeed. And succeed he did, as evidenced by UNC’s 2009 NCAA Championship.

C- Joakim Noah (Florida)- The superstar center was undoubtedly part of some great teams in Gainseville, but he gets the nod in the middle because of his leadership and his play in big games. Noah, a two-time champion at Florida, essentially took over the 2006 championship game. A big man with unmatched enthusiasm for the game, Noah was an all around force for the Gators from 2004-07.

BENCH

JJ Redick (Duke), Shane Battier (Duke), Emeka Okafor (Connecticut), Sean May (UNC), Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse), Kevin Durant (Texas), TJ Ford (Texas)

HEAD COACH

Roy Williams (UNC/Kansas)- Williams won a pair of National Championships with the Tar Heels this decade, and led Kansas to the National Championship game, a loss to Syracuse, in 2003. Despite having won the same number of titles as Florida coach Billy Donovan, Williams led his squads to four Final Four appearances to Donovan’s three, and has his team in position to compete year after year, despite significant annual losses to the NBA.

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