Why do so many have Ray over Donyell? Not saying I disagree, I'm just curious to hear the reasoning.
This is a tough thing to do because of how much the game has changed. If Shabazz played in Donyell's era, I think he's a very good player, but maybe not dominant. If Donyelll played in modern times, he's here two years max. Simply put Donyell is the better player but Shabazz is more decorated. Not really sure how you even argue something as open-ended as "best," but me, if we're focusing strictly on collegiate production, without the insertion of additional context, Shabazz has to be #1. He submitted two all-American caliber seasons, played an integral role in a championship his freshman year, and put together, in my opinion, the best NCAA tournament performance in UConn history, even better than Kemba. He was basically an impeccable prototype of what you want a college career to look like, both in terms of progression and 'clutch' factor (yes I do think clutch is a thing, even if it's overstated).
Rounding out the top five after that would be Kemba, Emeka, Rip, and Donyell, in that order. It feels stupid not having Ray in the top five but I think the other guys were more apt to impose their will on a game, on both ends (Ray might have been better overall than Rip, but Rip won a championship and delivered an epic performance against one of the best college teams of all-time).
