This is a new feature at CBS Sports this year. 

Since 2011, we've been ranking the top 100 players in college basketball before the season. However, there has never really been any follow-through on what we got right and what we got wrong. I'm here to change that.

Welcome to The CBSSports.com Top 100, a monthly ranking of the top players in college basketball. 

What I hope to do here is discuss the players that have performed well so far in college hoops, that will continue to perform, and who will perform well in the future. It's likely not going to line up perfectly with what you, the reader, think. That's fine. But it's a well-informed opinion on who the best and most valuable college basketball players in America are, and one that will continually be updated. 

How do I go about this ranking? It's a combination of factors.

  • Pure production versus competition level is involved. If you're scoring 20 points per game and doing it against a pretty tough schedule, you probably deserve to be ranked. If you're piling stats against only average competition, I'll take that into account.
  • Talent matters as well. If you're a freshman that's still figuring things out, that's something that I take into account. If you have a relatively high upside as an older player still for some reason, that's also something I take into account. Potential future value matters. Otherwise, Skal Labissiere might not be on the list.
  • Value matters to me. If you're playing on a good team and acting as one of the most important pieces, that's something that's worth taking into account.  If your team crumples without you in the lineup, that's also pretty important to note.
  • Defense. It's 50 percent of the game. It's why guys like Kris Dunn, Tyrone Wallace, Gary Payton II, Tonye Jekiri, and others might be slightly higher here than you'd see them elsewhere. 

There's no magic formula here or anything. Just a person who watches a lot of college basketball and feels compelled to rank a lot of players. Limiting it to 100 made it a very difficult exercise obviously, and the initial list I came up with had about 160 guys. 

That means I have to extend my sincerest apologies to an excellent group of players that includes Isaac Haas, Tim Quarterman, Przemek Karnowski, Ivan Rabb, Thomas Bryant, Egidijus Mockevicius, Sterling Gibbs, Josh Hawkinson, Tyler Lydon, Luke Fischer, Isaac Copeland, Terry Allen, Wes Washpun, James Webb, Marcus Lee, Jalen Reynolds, Tony Parker, Melvin Johnson, Vince Edwards, Jaron Blossomgame, Gavin Ware, Shavon Shields, Rodney Purvis, Jordan Loveridge, Joel Bolomboy, Octavius Ellis, Martin Breunig, Kevin Punter, Juan'ya Green and especially Robert Gray and Alec Peters, who were the last two players left off. These guys all have pretty significant arguments. They just fell a bit short and could easily make the list next month.

It's also worth noting that 76 of the 102 players listed here appeared on the top 100 (and one) that Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander and I did in the preseason. I'd say that feels about right. We nailed most of them, but there are always guys who really step up.

So without further ado...

102. James Daniel, Howard

The nation's leading scorer at 28.3 points per game deserves special mention. He hasn't necessarily played against the toughest competition, but the Bison do have a top-100 KenPom win and have played UMass and Rutgers as well. Daniel is scoring efficiently at all three levels, and should continue to be among the nation's leading scorers throughout the year. That's not the coolest part of his season though. He's hit not just one, but two buzzer-beating game winners!

Here's the first one to pick up that top-100 KenPom win against William & Mary, where he scored 39 points.

Then here's the second one to knock off North Carolina Central for the first time in 33 MEAC games:

Pretty awesome start to his season.

101. Rasheed Sulaimon, Maryland

100. Isaiah Cousins, Oklahoma

Two players who have done a great job maturing as seniors and filling in the cracks of their backcourt mates. Cousins' ability to take over at times at the point has helped transform the Sooners halfcourt offense, plus his terrific defense and shooting haven't gone away. He's the second-most important player on an Oklahoma team that has national title hopes. Sulaimon is another key cog on a potential national title team, and his ability to shoot, pass, defend and do the little things has freed up Melo Trimble in the backcourt this season. His play should help Maryland become an elite team at some point this year.

99. Stephen Zimmerman, UNLV

98. Isaiah Briscoe, Kentucky

Two freshmen who have largely performed up to expectations. Zimmerman's provided rim protection, rebounding and scoring for the Runnin' Rebels. Briscoe has provided instant offense and "fight" to the Wildcats. Good starts, and I'd expect that they'll each be higher on this list in January.

97. Markus Kennedy, SMU

96. Isaiah Taylor, Texas

95. Angel Rodriguez, Miami (Fla.)

Look, I've been about as hard on Rodriguez as anyone. His inconsistency last season was a major reason the Hurricanes didn't go dancing, as his penchant for chucking bad jumpers and forcing inefficient passes made him among the more harmful basketball players to his team in the sport. 

But he's been genuinely good this year and deserves a lot of recognition for that. He's played well within himself, gotten his entire team of talented players involved, and looked excellent with pestering defense. To be honest, he's probably performed above the No. 93 spot that I've placed him on this list. But given the uncertainty of his past and future performances, I'm going to be a bit conservative. Still though, great start that I hope for his sake continues.

94. Roosevelt Jones, Butler

93. D.J. Balentine, Evansville

92. Justin Robinson, Monmouth

There was no way that I couldn't exclude one of the best stories of the college basketball season from this list, right? The diminutive Robinson -- who comes in at 5-foot-8 on the Monmouth roster sheet -- has averaged 22.2 points per game this year with a pretty great 62 true-shooting percent. Monmouth has a trio of wins over UCLA, Southern California and Notre Dame, and Robinson has been the key cog in all three victories. He gets to the line a ton, knocks down 3-pointers, and is about as tough a guy as you'll see on the floor. He's a really nice player that should do well in conference play this year.

91. Malcolm Hill, Illinois

90. Chris Boucher, Oregon

89. Tyler Dorsey, Oregon

88. Dillon Brooks, Oregon

These three Ducks have been critical to Oregon's terrific start this season. Dorsey is the catalyst for Dana Altman's team, pushing the ball and constantly pressing the action. Like Robinson above him, he gets to the line a ton and can knock down 3s, but the way he does it is beyond his freshman status. He's excellent at changing speeds already, and can do a good job of putting the defensive into rotation with nice kickouts. Just a really nice get for Altman, and I doubt he spends all four years in Eugene.

Brooks is the powerful athlete on the wing who can play anywhere from the 2 through 4 positions for the Ducks. He can play in pick-and-roll both as a screener and as a ball-handler, can really get to the rim, and plays with an aggressiveness that's tough for opponents to match. He's averaging 14 points per game to lead Oregon right now, and that number will likely go up once his shooting reverts to its typical level.

Boucher is the surprise of the bunch here. And really, he's the surprise of the entire country. The 6-10 stretch-five grew up in a tough part of Montreal, didn't begin playing basketball until he was 19, and wasn't really on anyone's radar coming into the year after playing two junior college seasons in New Mexico and Wyoming. Seriously, read about his story here, it's rather remarkable. Now, he's making over one 3-pointer per game and is blocking shots at a ridiculous rate that has him second nationally. He's incredibly skinny at 190 pounds, but he's made the most of his chances and looks like a steal for the Ducks. He's a story worth rooting for throuhgout the rest of the season.

87. Bronson Koenig, Wisconsin

86. David Walker, Northeastern

85. James Blackmon Jr. Indiana

Sorry, but I just can't put three Indiana guys in the top 75 with how they're playing right now. Blackmon has been undeniably great on offense, but his inability to stay in front of his man or close down gaps defensively has been a pretty big problem with Indiana's porous defense.

84. Josh Adams, Wyoming

Adams is putting up 22.9 points, five assists and five rebounds per game so far this year on a Wyoming team that's currently 340th nationally in pace. That is absolutely bonkers. The 6-2 guard has always been known for his terrific athleticism and dunking prowess, but he's vastly improved as a decision-maker, distributor and especially as a shooter this season, and all of that has really opened up his game. Right now, it's a battle between him and the only Mountain West player above him for the MWC player of the year award.

Oh yeah, and he's still putting dudes on posters.

(Wyoming Athletics)
(Wyoming Athletics)

83. Ryan Anderson, Arizona

82. Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova

81. Jalen Brunson, Villanova

Arcidiacono has opened the season strong, averaging 12 points and four assists on a 62 true-shooting percentage. He's the only player on Nova that's knocked down the 3-pointer with any consistency thus far as well, which seems important given that the Wildcats are taking more 3-pointers than all but two teams in the country. Good start for him.

However, I'm still thinking Brunson ends up being the main guy here at the point. He's looked mostly in control so far, averaging only one turnover in 25 minutes per contest. The shooting efficiency just hasn't been there yet. I think that'll eventually come around and it'll open up the rest of his game. Simply put, there's no better distributor in this freshman class, and the way that he's capable of efficiently controlling the game should become apparently by the time 2016 rolls around. Plus, Arcidiacono's improved shooting should allow him to slide over so that the two can play together.

80. Anthony Barber, NC State

79. John Brown, High Point

Brown is the best dunker and college hoops. He continued his dunking ways against Western Carolina earlier this year:

John Brown dunks. (High Point Athletics)
(High Point Athletics)

He also sports averages of 19 points and seven rebounds with a 35.2 PER. Yeah, John Brown might be a pretty common name, but this is a totally uncommon athlete.

78. Dwayne Bacon, State" data-canon="Florida Gators" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_TEAM" id="shortcode0">

77. Jordan Price, La Salle

76. Jameel Warney, Stony Brook

75. Gary Clark, Cincinnati

Man, has Clark been good this year as a truly complete player who affects all facets of the game. We ended up not ranking any Bearcats coming into the year not only because their team-oriented nature and slow pace of play ends up driving down the usage for their players, but also because we simply didn't know who would step up as the best guy. Clark has done that and more thus far, sporting a 27 PER with a 69 true-shooting percentage, solid rebounding rates, and good block and steal rates.  Basically, Clark is a perfect two-way player at the 4 for what Cincinnati wants, and he's been the most effective player for Mick Cronin this year. 

74. Jake Layman, Maryland

73. Robert Carter, Maryland

72. Danuel House, Texas A&M

71. Stefan Moody, Mississippi

70. Sheldon McClellan, Miami (Fla.)

69. Jameel McKay, Iowa State

68. Zach Auguste, Notre Dame

67. Daniel Ochefu, Villanova

66. Tonye Jekiri, Miami (Fla.)

A small run of seniors here from 74 through 66, but let's chat about the last three big men. Auguste ends up falling just a bit behind Ochefu and Jekiri because of what the other two can bring on the defensive end. Ochefu is second in the Big East in PER at 29.7 due to terrific rebounding and block percentages. He's the anchor for what's been a great Villanova defense thus far, ranking seventh in defensive efficiency nationally. It's been a strong, strong year for him.

But the guy who has shown as much improvement as any big man in the country is Jekiri, who has been just much better on the offensive end in 2015. Last year, there were times where Jekiri struggled to hang on to the basketball when thrown tough passes. This year, Miami can not only trust him to catch the difficult dump-offs, but they can even throw him the ball down in the paint and get a nice post move from him. The defense, both in the way he alters shots at the rim and can move in the pick-and-roll, has always been there. The rebounding has also always been terrific. But with the added offense, he's been much more complete.

65. Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa

64. Kahlil Felder, Oakland

Felder is known most for his passing prowess, as he'll have an outside shot next season if he stays healthy to become the NCAA's all-time assist leader. He's currently averaging 9.3 assists per game. With 538 already accumulated, if he can stay at the nine-assist per game level over the course of his next two years, he'd put himself within striking distance of Bobby Hurley's all-time record of 1,076 assists.

He's also added even further scoring punch from last season, as he's putting up 23 points per game right now on strong shooting efficiency. Oh yeah, he's also listed at 5-9 and did this in an exhibition game earlier this season.

(WXYZ-TV Detroit)
(WXYZ-TV Detroit)

63. Dedric Lawson, Memphis

I don't know that his performance necessarily qualifies as "surprising" given that he was a high-profile prospect in the 2016 class that re-classified to the 2015 class. However, he wasn't necessarily expected to be this good this fast. Lawson's currently one of three freshmen averaging 15 points and nine rebounds per game, and he's doing it while also adding in 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks. This kid is an athlete, and he's part of the reason that Memphis already looks much better than they did at any point last season.

62. Malik Beasley, Florida State

61. Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Florida State

Beasley's been another breakout star freshman thus far, and looked a bit better than the more highly touted Bacon. He's currently averaging 18.6 points on just ridiculously efficient shooting that will assuredly come back down to earth as the Seminoles start playing tougher opponents during ACC play. It's impossible to say he's been anything other than great. 

However, it's Rathan-Mayes who will have to stir the drink for the Noles this year and get everyone involved. He's doing a solid job of that thus far, averaging six assists per game and leading the ACC in assist rate. The key for him will be upping the shooting percentage from long distance. Rathan-Mayes has always been a pretty streaky shooter. If he can go from streaky to solid, he can be a top-50 player in college hoops and make the All-ACC first team. 

60. Troy Williams, Indiana

59. Dorian Finney-Smith, Florida

58. Devin Williams, West Virginia

57. A.J. Hammons, Purdue

56. Shawn Long, Louisiana-Lafayette

Two straight rebounding forces here. Williams has gone from being a guy who largely did most of his work on the offensive glass to being a guy you can throw the ball into on offense. He's averaging 18.7 points and 10.9 rebounds on much, much better efficiency than he's shown in the past. Williams is currently shooting 63 percent after coming in at 43 percent for his first two seasons. Efficiency is the key for him, and if he continues to show it he'll be an All-Big 12 selection.

On the other side, Long's just moving right along sporting ho-hum averages of 19 points, 11 rebounds and 1.8 blocks with a 30.2 PER. Consider the fact that he's done it against the third-toughest schedule in the country, according to KenPom? The 6-10 big man has a very good shot to make it four years in a row that a player from the Sun Belt has been drafted. Just a very good, versatile player who deserves a lot of credit.

55. Ben Bentil, Providence

Coming into the season, the question at Providence was who would be the guy to step up next to Kris Dunn. Well, Bentil has answered that call and more. He's scored 20-plus points in six consecutive games, and is averaging 18 points and eight rebounds. It's also worth noting he's done his scoring in a variety of ways too, be it particularly with either with post-ups using his right-handed hook shot or his ability to step away and shoot. There's a lot to be excited about with Bentil if you're the Friars.

54. Cheick Diallo, Kansas

53. Pascal Siakam, New Mexico State

What a monster Siakam has been this season. The 6-9 forward is averaging 24.6 points and 13 rebounds per game, plus is scoring efficiently and blocking shots to boot. There's only been one player in the last 20 years to average 24 and 13 for a full season (Adonal Foyle), so it'll be interesting to see if Siakam can keep this up.

It's not just about that though with Siakam. The dude is just fun to watch play. Every time he's on the floor, you can expect him to do something exciting, like throw down a monster fast-break dunk or an alley-oop. This year he's added a bit of a game away from the hoop. Heck, just listen to Tim Floyd effusively praise him after playing him this season, then watch this terrific highlight video

52. Trevon Bluiett, Xavier

51. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown

50. Anthony Gill, Virginia

49. Damian Jones, Vanderbilt

48. Kennedy Meeks, North Carolina

47. Wayne Selden, Kansas

As you'll see soon, I still have two Kansas players above Selden in these rankings. That's because those two players have been consistent for far longer than Selden has. However, it seems fair to say that it was wrong of us to leave him off of our preseason list entirely. Selden's been really good thus far, as the move full-time to the 3 seems to have allowed him to not only use his athleticism a bit better but also get more opportunities to catch and shoot the basketball, where he's been tremendously efficient this year. 

The shooting will likely come back down to earth soon -- he's not going to make his catch-and-shoot opportunities at a 1.8 point-per-shot clip, after all -- but as long as he keeps playing off-ball he should continue to be a markedly different player. Good job by coach Bill Self to figure out how to get the most out of him, even if it took a bit of time.

46. Patrick McCaw, UNLV

McCaw is another player who clearly should have been on our list in the preseason, and wasn't. He's been the catalyst for a rejuvenated UNLV team that has its sights set on a Mountain West crown. There's very little this guard can't do at 6-7. He's a great ball-handler, passer, shooter, and he makes great decisions. His strength holds him back a bit right now as he's quite skinny, but overall McCaw has been really great to start the year and might just end up saving Dave Rice's job.

45. Wade Baldwin, Vanderbilt

I tried to tell you guys about Baldwin. Twice. There's not a scout in the NBA who doesn't know his name, as Vanderbilt's point guard is an electric 6-2 lead with a 6-10 wingspan who can get into the lane and finish at will, as well as knock down shots from the outside. He's also a tremendous defender because of that quickness and wingspan, and he's become the best player on a really strong team in the Commodores.

44. DeAndre Bembry , St. Joseph's

43. Kellen Dunham, Butler

42. Frank Mason, Kansas

41. Jack Gibbs, Davidson

I was pretty high on Gibbs coming into the year, as the 6-0 guard was the best player on Davidson's offensive monster last season before his injured knee.  He's done nothing to change those thoughts, as he's averaged 24.6 points and 3.8 assists per game so far for the Wildcats on over 50 percent shooting, including a 41-point masterpiece over Charlotte to kick off December. Just a highly skilled shooter and ball-handler who has a good shot to take home Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2016.

40. Skal Labissiere, Kentucky

There's just not a whole lot to say about how he's looked thus far. The strength concerns are pretty evident, as he can't establish let alone hold a position in the post right now. That kills him in the way that he rebounds, and it kills his mid-post game on offense. It got so bad for Labissiere on Thursday that Tyler Ulis had to give him a shove in the middle of a timeout to get him a bit more into the action. It's still early and it seems likely that Labissiere will figure things out somewhat. But this is a bit different than the slow-starting Karl Towns last year. There are pretty significant concerns as to whether or not his body will make it work fully. It's much more up in the air, at the very least.

39. Justin Jackson, North Carolina

38. Brice Johnson, North Carolina

37. Jaylen Brown, California

Brown has been just fine thus far as a freshman. He's averaging 15 points on middling efficiency. More than anything, he's shown explosive flashes. The 27 points against Richmond particularly stands out as something that he's capable of more often. The Spiders learned relatively quickly that you should not get into his way when he has a head of steam.

(Fox Sports 1)
(FoxSports1)

But it's a process as he continues to adjust to more sophisticated defenses like the one he faced against Wyoming last weekend, where he only scored nine points on 2-of-8 shooting. The key for him will be learning to differentiate the looks he gives defenses off the dribble and to develop counter moves for when they take away his dominant hand. He's a bit too much of a straight line guy right now, and needs to just develop a bit more wiggle in his dribble to be most effective.

36. Daniel Hamilton, Connecticut

35. Rico Gathers, Baylor

Both Gathers and Hamilton had massive nights on Tuesday. Hamilton went for 23 points against Maryland, and Gathers had 31 points and 21 rebounds against Northwestern State. Good nights, but they're here because of terrific play throughout the season more than anything.

34. Nic Moore, SMU

It's just a shame that we won't get to see SMU in the NCAA Tournament. This is a legitimate Final Four contender, led by Moore at the point.

33. Josh Scott, Colorado

After a bit of a rough go against Iowa State to open the year, Scott has rebounded to up his numbers this year to 18 points, 10 rebounds and over two blocks. Colorado looks like a potential tournament team, and they're going to need Scott to keep playing like this to reach that goal.

32. Kyle Collinsworth, BYU

31. A.J. English, Iona

English just keeps putting up monster numbers, including a 46-point night last week with 13 3s. Fun player to watch that might end up finding a way into the NBA.

30. Perry Ellis, Kansas

29. Josh Hart, Villanova

Hart gas been one of the breakout stars of the college hoops season, basically fully taking over the mantle from Darrun Hilliard as the Wildcats' lead wing scorer and defender. Hart's been just tremendous on both ends, and that's without his shot really falling consistently yet. Once that rebounds to expected levels, Hart could become the Big East's player of the year, non-alien division (i.e. non-Kris Dunn division). 

28. Michael Gbinije, Syracuse

Look, we screwed up big time not putting Gbinije on our preseason list. Moreso than we screwed up with anyone else. Gbinije has been among the best players in the country this year, averaging 20 points, four assists, three steals and three blocks. He's become a near-elite 3-point shooter, great defender in the zone, and terrific creator and decision maker at the nominal point guard position for Syracuse. Everything that Cuse could possibly ask for, he's been. He's the reason this team is in position to make the NCAA Tournament again, and he'll be the reason for any success they have in ACC play. Just a tremendous all-around talent.

27. Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin

26. Henry Ellenson, Marquette

25. Demetrius Jackson, Notre Dame

24. Damion Lee, Louisville

There's been no drop-off from Lee upon moving from Drexel to Louisville. Yeah, the schedule hasn't been superb, but even against Michigan State the 6-6 wing was a dominant force on both ends of the floor. He's averaging 19 points and four rebounds on absurd shooting numbers, and his defense has been a great catalyst at times in Rick Pitino's system. There's no doubt that he could end up on the All-ACC team this year if Louisville continues its surge. 

23. Taurean Prince, Baylor

22. Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga

21. Yogi Ferrell, Indiana

20. Ron Baker, Wichita State

19. Jamal Murray, Kentucky

18. Brandon Ingram, Duke

A pair of really highly-touted freshmen here who have been good, but not great. Murray shows flashes every game that he's adjusting to college ball. His change of speed and change of direction is just top-notch for a freshman. But he's still out of control too often on the college level, as his 3.1 turnovers per game and 0.9 assist-to-turnover ratio show. The 15 points per game are a nice look though for a guy who is still adjusting.

With Ingram, it's more about just figuring out how to use his tools than playing out of control. The 6-9 small forward struggled with Kentucky, Georgetown and VCU as those teams could match his blend of athleticism and length in a way that he's likely never seen before. But against Indiana and Buffalo, he looked much more confident in his ability to drive and attack, and that led to increased confidence in his jumper. It's been a nice turnaround recently. 

Overall, these are two of the highest-upside players in all of college basketball this season. The results haven't quite been there in the early going, but both seem to be turning things around as the season progresses. It wouldn't surprise me if these guys ended up in the top-five by the end of the year. 

17. Gary Payton II, Oregon State

He has been flying a bit under the radar, but he really shouldn't be. Payton has just been a two-way destroyer in every way this season. He's averaging 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists a night along with being one of the two best perimeter defenders in the country. 

He also threw down this nasty dunk on Nevada's A.J. West over the weekend, a center who averaged nearly three blocks per game last season in the Mountain West: 

(Pac-12 Network)
(Pac-12 Network)

The athleticism has always been there, but the key to his season will be the progress with the jump shot. He's shooting 40 percent on 15 3 attempts, but his shots in the mid-range have been a bit more inconsistent. That's where he could show the most growth in his game, and that's where he can prove to scouts that he's worthy of being drafted. But for this season alone, Payton is not only good enough to lead the Beavers to an NCAA Tournament berth, but he's also good enough to be an All-American if things break right for him.

16. Monte Morris, Iowa State

15. Georges Niang, Iowa State

It has been impossible for me to separate these two thus far. Morris has been the metronome that keeps the Cyclones ticking under new coach Steve Prohm, showing a bit more in the way of scoring the basketball while also showing off his typical dominant play-making efficiency. Morris is currently averaging 7.3 assists with a 5.1 assist-to-turnover ratio, good for second in the country among those qualified for the assist title. He's just been terrific thus far.

Niang though has been just slightly better. He's upped his scoring to nearly 19 points per game with just devastating efficiency numbers along with the trademark passing that has always made him an incredibly fun to watch. I really wish that he could defend and rebound a bit more, but at this point it's hard for me to complain. He's one of the best players in college hoops, and he has a good chance to be an All-American at the end of the year.

14. Fred VanVleet, Wichita State

I get it. VanVleet has been injured. But hasn't his injury proved his incredible value? Wichita is currently 3-4 on the year with zero quality wins, and it all comes back to VanVleet's injuries. In the three Wichita losses at the Advocare Invitational, the Shockers assisted on only 53 percent of their made field goals. With VanVleet back in the lineup on Saturday, they assisted on 73 percent of their made shots. When he plays, the team simply gets much better ball-movement due to his vision, play-making skill, and ability to get into the lane and send the defense into rotation. 

Wichita has its most important week of the season coming up, and it'll be fascinating to see whether or not they can get the quality wins they so desperately need. They need to run the table against UNLV, Utah and Seton Hall to have a chance to get back into the at-large picture. VanVleet's presence should at least put that on the table.

13. Grayson Allen, Duke

Allen's averaging 22 points per game on a 65 true-shooting percentage, and he's been the catalyst for Duke's early season wins. His struggles were also a major reason they lost to Kentucky, but overall we've seen far more good than bad from the athletic 6-4 guard. He's always going to be able to draw fouls due to aggressive slashing, but where he's improved most this season is as a jump shooter. He's knocking down 46 percent of his 3s along with 90 percent of his free throws. 

If he ever can develop some counter moves off-the dribble -- he's just a straight line driver right now who largely can only attack with his right hand -- he could end up becoming the best player in college hoops at some point during his career if he sticks around. But for now, he's an awesome player that could be an All-American this season anyway.

12. Caris LeVert, Michigan

He's doing everything for the Wolverines, averaging 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists on a great percentage. As SMU showed on Tuesday night, you can sometimes force him to struggle if you play physical with him, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more teams employ that strategy. However, the 6-7 wing is still a nearly-elite shooter from long-distance (working on his third straight season over 40 percent), a good slasher, a playmaker for others, and a solid rebounder from the wing. 

He has potential to be more than that if he can ever become a better defender with his length. But for now, LeVert should keep Michigan in more games than it deserves to be in due to his offensive ability.

11. Tyrone Wallace, California

I've been hard on Wallace in the past for the inefficiency of his decision-making and shooting. However, he's turned that around relatively quickly this season. He's tossing up 19 points, six rebounds and five assists per game, and doing it by showing off a better jump shot and improved ability to finish at the rim. Wallace is currently in the 76th percentile in finishing around the basket according to Synergy, and his jump shot is in the 62nd percentile.

Now, it's still early and Wallace started out really hot last season before fading during Pac-12 play. So I don't know that this will stick. But given everything else that he does -- rebound, passing, play-making, defending, starting transition opportunities, etc. -- it's pretty impossible to not have him this high. If he falls off again, he'll tumble down the rankings. But for now, Wallace is well-deserving of a top-15 spot.

10. Marcus Paige, North Carolina

I think his importance to the Tar Heels has shown itself throughout the season. Early on, North Carolina really struggled to gain its footing on the offensive end. Since he's returned and provided a steady hand to go along with shooting ability, the Heels have just been a complete and total machine with an offensive efficiency of nearly 117 points per 100 possessions. 

With him in the lineup, North Carolina might be the best team in college basketball. Hopefully he stays in the lineup so we see what this team is fully capable of.

9. Tyler Ulis, Kentucky

Another player whose importance to his team was shown when he went down with an elbow injury. The Wildcats struggled a bit with Indiana State, then as he played at less than 100 percent lost to UCLA in Pauley Pavilion. Ulis is the guy who can make this team tick. He's a terrific distributor and ball-handler who knows exactly where and how everybody wants the ball. Then on top of it, he's a lights out shooter from both midrange and from distance in order to keep defenses honest on his drives. The defensive end can be a bit of a struggle sometimes though, and that's why he comes in at ninth instead of in the top five. He's an energetic defender who can pressure the ball on the perimeter, but bigger, stronger guards can fluster him a bit and he can get swallowed up by good screens. He's not quite strong enough yet to hold his own if a defender wants to just overpower him. But that's not enough to keep him out of the top-10. Ulis is going to be one of the key reasons this Kentucky team competes for a national title. He's just so smart and tough that he's going to will that team there when he gets healthy.

8. Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia

Brogdon has improved just a little bit every season at Virginia to the point where he's now the most important player on a top-10 team. You know what you're getting on the defensive end with Brogdon, and that's one of the best wing defenders in the country who is equally adept at cutting off penetration on the ball as he is helping off the ball to wall off the paint if his teammate gets beaten. 

However, it's the little things on offense this season that have made him so good. He's become even better at those little changes of direction and speed that have made him such a valuable slasher over the last three seasons. The jump shot has gotten just a bit more air under it this year and could stay consistent at the 38 to 40 percent level throughout the season from beyond the arc. The foul shooting is still top notch. He's not the most explosive guy, but he has wrung every single little morsel of talent out of his frame to the point that he's now one of the best players in college hoops. He's the reason Virginia hasn't seen a major drop-off without Justin Anderson this season.

7. Kyle Wiltjer, Gonzaga

Wiltjer is still the best pure scorer in college hoops. It takes just a split second for him to get his jumper off, and when he does you can feel confident that it's going. He's also improved a bit as a post player, as he's seemed to have added a bit more strength to hold his position on the block. 

He has averaged nearly 21 points and seven rebounds against a pretty strong non-conference slate, and led Gonzaga to a 6-2 mark. The team has struggled recently without Przemek Karnowski in play, but overall it has been a ho-hum, solid start for the big man. 

6. Jakob Poeltl, Utah

The nation's leader in PER at just a ridiculous 40.4 number. Poeltl has added so many different little things to his game over the course of the summer that he's become a force in the post for Utah. The most important among those skills is that he's a much better passer this year than he got the chance to show last year.

The Utes are spacing the floor with shooters and running some offense through him in the post and letting him make decisions on how to best help his team score. His ability to score in those situations has been impressive, but he's also double his assist rate to nearly 15 percent while also cutting his turnover rate nearly in half to 10 percent. 

Let's also remember that he's a really solid rim protector who can also defend in space and really rebound the basketball. Yeah, he's going to be a lottery pick.

5. Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

Hield's just slightly above Trimble for me right now. He's been a tremendously efficient scorer this season averaging 21 points with a 60 true-shooting percentage. It's just the pure consistency of radiant effort and energy and that he brings every single night that makes me love watching him play. As I've written earlier this season, he's also added some wiggle to his game off the dribble, which has helped the Oklahoma offense go from solid to really good so far.

The shooting will always be there, as will the defensive energy and the ability to get out into transition will always play well. This team is going to be in the national conversation all season, and it'll be on Hield's back.

4. Melo Trimble, Maryland

Trimble was really good last year in leading the Terps to a better-than-expected season. But boy, has he gotten even better as a sophomore. 

The 6-2 guard's scoring is down to 15.6 points per game, but he's putting the ball in the basket even more efficiently than he did last season when he posted a 63 true-shooting percentage. But the biggest place he's made a leap is as a playmaker. His assist rate has jumped from 21 percent to over 30 percent this season, as doing a terrific job of distributing to the highly talented Terrapin team. It's not just a mindset thing though. He genuinely seems to be making better, more difficult passes this season. Just check this dump off to Diamond Stone out in Maryland's win over Connecticut. 

There are multiple things going on there. First, the way he cups the ball against his body to protect it from a strip is impressive, and it's something he's really good at. But more than that, it's the patience to wait for the terrific shot-blocker in Amida Brimah to commit, then making the perfect little dump-off all with one hand to Stone. He's knows Brimah's going to come, because that's what Brimah does. It's a beautiful bit of understanding a scouting report and knowing how to attack it. 

There's also this against North Carolina, where Trimble put Nate Britt on his behind with a vicious crossover then found Damonte Dodd with a ridiculous wrap-around pass. 

(ESPN)
(ESPN)

Trimble is really, really good, and could get into the national player of the year discussion. 

3. Ben Simmons, LSU

Simmons has been everything the Tigers could have asked for and more. He's averaging 20 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, 2.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. Genuinely, Simmons is just a statistical marvel that also looks the part on the floor in the college game. Every game it's something new. The throwdowns in transition like this one:

The no look alley oop passes. 

Or just how about the entire 43-point, 14-rebound showing that he put up against North Florida.

It's worth noting that his stats are slightly inflated due to LSU's pace being in the top five percent of all teams nationally. And he still has a lot of room for growth as a shooter and on the defensive end. With those factors being what they are, it'll be interesting to see how he reacts to tougher SEC defenses.

But Simmons is a monster. He'll be a top-five pick in the NBA Draft. And he might just drag LSU to the NCAA Tournament.

2. Denzel Valentine, Michigan State

1. Kris Dunn, Providence

Look, it's going to be a bit controversial to have Dunn over Valentine. I get that. Not only does Valentine play for the No. 1 team in the country, but his team beat Dunn's Providence team in the Wooden Legacy championship. But this isn't a team ranking. It's a player one. And for my money, Dunn is the guy in the country I'd most want with Valentine coming in a close second right now.

Let's take a look on offense. The two have been quite similar, but Valentine probably has a slight edge on that end right now. Valentine is tops in the country in assist rate at 48.6 percent. Second? Dunn at 45.8 percent. Valentine's 15.9 percent rebounding rate is better than Dunn's 11.5, but Dunn's responsibilities on the glass are a bit different as a point guard. Scoring-wise, they're pretty close at 19.7 points for Valentine versus 18.2 points for Dunn. It's worth noting that Valentine is much more efficient than Dunn, but also that Dunn gets his points in a different way, having to create basically all of his offense for himself versus Valentine who gets a lot of his in catch-and-shoot situations. So basically across the board both in counting stats and in rate-based numbers, Valentine is out-pacing Dunn by a small amount.

It's on the other end of the floor that separates these two, in my opinion. Dunn is one of the two best perimeter defenders in the country. He forces turnovers with quick hands and terrific feet. He doesn't allow penetration. In Providence's five games against top-100 competition, his primary defensive matchup in the opposing starting lineup is shooting 37 percent and averaging three turnovers. He's also a great help defender who gets his hands on the ball and forces turnovers that way. Basically, he's the elite of the elite on that end. Valentine is a solid team defender who works well in Michigan State's system, but he's not the game-breaker on that end that Dunn is. That's where the two separate themselves. 

Things could be different next month if Dunn's offense becomes less efficient or if Valentine makes another leap. But for now, Dunn just slightly out-paces Valentine to me as an overall player.

Kris Dunn is the clear-cut top player in the country to start the season. (USATSI)
Kris Dunn is the clear-cut top player in the country to start the season. (USATSI)