Today’s Top Three College Basketball Players

The college basketball season is starting its conference schedule. That means bitter rivalries and players showcasing their talents against their conference foes.

Here are three players that are likely the best three in the nation at this point of the season.

Jahlil Okafor will likely play only one season for the Duke Blue Devils but he is doing everything in his power to make it one to remember.

Duke is 12-0 heading into its conference schedule against a schedule that has been tough including a big win on the road at Wisconsin.

Okafor has been a big part of that success and has become one of the best low post threats in college basketball.

At 6-foot-11, Okafor has become Duke’s main threat down low. He is averaging 18.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in just 28.8 minutes of play.

One and done is the route Okafor will likely take but he and his Duke teammates might be the only team that could have a shot at upsetting Kentucky during March Madness.

Frank Kaminsky at Wisconsin is likely the best all-around player in college basketball.

The 7-foot senior is averaging 16.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2 blocks per game for the Badgers.

Wisconsin on the season is 13-1 and will continue its Big 10 schedule on Sunday at Northwestern.

In his last game on New Year’s Eve, Kaminsky scored 18 points and grabbed 14 boards in a win over Penn State.

Willie Cauley-Stein could be a superstar on any other college basketball team. However, at Kentucky where there are 9 McDonald’s high school All-Americans, it is not easy to stand out.

Cauley-Stein nonetheless has shown that he is likely the best defensive player in the nation on likely the best defense team that has ever taken the college basketball court.

The 7-foot player can play man to man against any player to 30 feet from the hoop, while challenging nearly every shot taken in the paint.

He is one of the few players that can force steals as well as block numerous shots.

His offensive rebounding ability makes up for the only true flaw the Kentucky team has and that is perimeter shooting.

Of course, the Wildcats might be as good with or without Cauley-Stein, with their tremendous depth. However, everyone already knows how good the team is with him and when you play on such a top rated team, national player of the year is a possibility even though you might play in a platoon system.

Anyone of these three players could be easily picked as the nation’s top player at this point in the season. However, with the conference schedules starting, the top one of the three is likely to separate himself from the other two.