Even in this most challenging and uncertain of seasons, we've now seen enough basketball to update our rankings for the top 25 players in the game.
One clarification for any newcomers. This is not a mock draft. (We at ESPN.com have very talented people who do that.)
This is instead a ranking of the impact that players have had this season. There are no-brainer 2021 lottery picks who are not found here. Their omission is in no way a vote of no-confidence on their pro potential.
Here are the top 25 players of 2020-21 to this point:
1. Luka Garza, Iowa Hawkeyes
Score one for the conventional wisdom from the preseason: Garza was a consensus choice as national player of the year three months ago, and he has proceeded to make that consensus look very smart. Put it this way: If Garza were to continue his current pace on offense through the NCAA tournament, the question could be posed as to whether he had put together the best individual season we've seen in the past decade. Incredibly, he ranks among the top 50 players in the nation for effective field goal percentage despite the fact that he personally accounts for 33% of Iowa's shot attempts during his minutes on the floor.
Garza keeps opponents honest with about three attempts per game from beyond the arc (and he's draining nearly half of those shots), but scoring in the paint is still his bread and butter. He gets about as many shots at the rim as Udoka Azubuike did last season, yet unlike the former Kansas star, Iowa's scorer records a relatively small number of dunks. Instead, he buries opposing defenses with a steady stream of layups and putbacks. Garza has been the best player in the country to this point in the season.
2. Jared Butler, Baylor Bears
Butler would be an excellent candidate for a dedicated "best two-way player in the nation" award. To the extent that Baylor's balanced offense has a featured scorer, the junior fills that role with remarkable efficiency. Butler's hitting his shots from both sides of the arc, and his assist percentage is higher than that of fellow Cousy Award nominees such as Cade Cunningham, Ayo Dosunmu or Jalen Suggs. Meanwhile, he's a relentless disruptor on defense who ranks in the top 50 nationally for steal percentage. The individual statistical comps don't necessarily reach back this far, but this kind of "whatever it takes" excellence on both sides of the ball from a 6-foot-4-ish lead guard calls to mind what Dwyane Wade was able to do for Marquette in 2002-03.
3. Corey Kispert, Gonzaga Bulldogs
Player evaluation algorithms might need rewiring after confronting Gonzaga's in-depth excellence this season. Consider the category-defying example of Kispert. He's recording nearly the same share of his 2-point attempts at the rim that Zion Williamson did in 2019. Yet the senior's also hitting 48% of his 3s, and doing so at a volume (in terms of makes per game) equal to what we're seeing from, say, Marcus Zegarowski. The result is a stratospheric offensive rating that, doubtless, receives a boost from the presence of so many teammates on this top 25 list. Still, we were able to correctly appreciate Villanova's stellar individual performances in 2018 while acknowledging some spillover effects. It appears we will have to do the same with the Bulldogs in 2021.
4. Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana Hoosiers
All hail the new Tyler Hansbrough. Like the former North Carolina great, Jackson-Davis is overwhelming opponents with made free throws: IU's sophomore ranks No. 1 nationally among major-conference players in FT makes per game. (We see you, too, Emanuel Miller. Keep up the good work!) When he's not at the line, Jackson-Davis serves as the trusty featured scorer in the paint on a team that has blown hot and cold from the perimeter. The 31-point game he recorded against Stanford last month (on just 16 shots from the field) very much had the feel of a warning shot for future opponents. At 6-foot-9, Jackson-Davis is also blocking more shots in recent games (with zero resulting foul trouble), and he's on a streak of double-doubles.
5. Hunter Dickinson, Michigan Wolverines
With Dickinson, we encounter the first player who was nowhere to be seen in the preseason version of these rankings. Now, suddenly, the 7-1 freshman is clocking in at No. 5. Not a bad debut, one might venture to say. Dickinson's a volume scorer in the paint who's converting roughly three out of every four 2-point attempts. Not surprisingly, that was enough to earn the young man a starting spot after he had watched UM's first five opening tips from the bench. If it's curious that the leading scorer (at 18 per game) for a team that might earn a No. 1 seed was left off last week's Wooden Award midseason top 25 watch list, it is a curiosity that can and likely will be rectified. Dickinson can still be included on the final ballot of 15 players.
6. Drew Timme, Gonzaga Bulldogs
Maybe it's the mustache. Timme is sporting newly minted facial hair this season, and look at the results. The 6-foot-10 sophomore has preserved the dangerous 2-point shooting he displayed last year as, mostly, a reserve behind Filip Petrusev, only now he's recording those makes as a starter and the team's second-leading scorer. On a "normal" team where he was the featured scorer, he could well give Garza a run for his money in terms of 2-point makes per game. Speaking of Iowa, since fouling out against the Hawkeyes last month, Timme has yet to earn a fourth foul in any game. In much that same vein, over his past 177 minutes and 330 possessions of basketball, he has committed just six turnovers.
7. Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois Fighting Illini
As a junior, Dosunmu looks better more or less across the statistical board -- and keep in mind he'd already been selected as a preseason first-team All-American. His assist and turnover rates and 3-point accuracy have all registered improvements ranging from "slight" to "sizeable." Dosunmu and his teammate Kofi Cockburn both came into the week ranked in the top 20 nationally for 2-point makes per game among players who'd appeared in a minimum of seven outings. The Illini looked eminently beatable when they lost 66-63 at home by Maryland in their last outing, but over the long haul, having two star players who make a ton of 2s could prove to be a good way to play.
8. Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga Bulldogs
With his creativity off the dribble, versatility and, not least, ability to thread half-court bounce passes through traffic, Suggs has been easily the most dynamic freshman in the country to this point in the season. He holds the highest steal percentage of any player on this list, and his work on the defensive glass at a listed height of 6-foot-4 has been outstanding. All of the above traits make Suggs likely to appear at or near the top of the statistical projections for 2021 draft picks when those roll out in a few weeks. Better still, from the perspective of GU fans, he's the rare one-and-done-level star who's delivering on that potential consistently as a freshman.
9. Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
When Western Kentucky defeated Alabama 73-71 in Tuscaloosa last month, Bassey posted a 27-12 double-double and opened a good many eyes nationally. No Division I player comes close to the 6-foot-11 junior in terms of combined excellence for both defensive rebounding and shot blocking. His sophomore year was cut short by a leg injury, but now Bassey's making up for lost time with a vengeance. Roughly a third of his tries from the field are attempted dunks, and he closes that deal nearly three times per game. Do yourself a favor and add the Hilltoppers to your viewing schedule.
10. Cameron Thomas, LSU Tigers
Hopefully, the ankle injury Thomas suffered over the weekend against Ole Miss wasn't too serious. Up until that time, the freshman had blazed a highly entertaining trail through the early season. No player on this list -- not Garza, not Dosunmu, no one -- accounts for a larger share of his team's shots while he's on the floor than does Thomas. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard is a pure scorer, and his 91% accuracy at the line suggests his relatively pedestrian results from beyond the arc thus far could well improve sooner rather than later.
11. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova Wildcats
Villanova has played just three Big East games, and in that time Robinson-Earl suffered a broken nose against Butler. Yet the Wildcats and their star have both shown enough glimpses of firepower to rank comfortably among the nation's elite. For starters, the four-point win against Texas last month continues to look better and better. The 6-foot-9 Robinson-Earl has been one weighty factor driving this ascendance, draining 2s at a rate that would do members of the 2018 national title team proud. It has been an impressive performance considering just half of his 2-point attempts have come at the rim. Who says the midrange game is dead?
12. Evan Mobley, USC Trojans
While Trojans coach Andy Enfield runs one of the most balanced offenses you'll see in major-conference hoops, Mobley has emerged from this egalitarian environment as his team's leading scorer and rebounder. The freshman recorded double-doubles in each of USC's wins at Arizona and Arizona State, giving the program its first road sweep of the Wildcats and the Sun Devils since 1985. The 7-foot Mobley was particularly impressive against ASU, racking up 19 points and 13 boards to go along with six blocks. Best of all, from Enfield's perspective, Mobley's foul rate is exceptionally low for a rim-defending freshman.
13. Quentin Grimes, Houston Cougars
Grimes is a scoring wing who at 6-foot-5 is also a hard worker on the defensive glass. His 22-point performance in a win at home against Wichita State last week held emblematic value. While the junior was just 2-of-9 on his 2s, he hit four shots from beyond the arc and, as usual, was automatic at the line. That seems to be the template for a junior whose accuracy inside the arc has fallen off dramatically even as his turnovers have dropped and his free throw shooting has improved dramatically. After playing a supporting role alongside Caleb Mills last season, Grimes is now the first option in the Cougars' offense.
14. Davion Mitchell, Baylor Bears
At first glance, Mitchell's stat line is surprisingly similar to that of his teammate Jared Butler, albeit at a lower level of possession usage. Indeed, one notable difference is that Mitchell is far more successful on his 2s (shooting 63%). Baylor is reaping the benefits of these similarities, as the two juniors function as co-distributors of the ball in an offense that's tearing through the Big 12 at the rate of 1.16 points per trip. When BU brushed Illinois aside 82-69 in Indianapolis last month, Mitchell put on a show with 15 points to go along with seven assists.
15. Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt Commodores
If it's even possible for someone with his name to do so, Pippen has rather quietly been having that breakout sophomore season that sophomores are always supposed to record. He came within a hair of leading his team to a win at Kentucky, putting up 18 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. At 6-3, Pippen acts as the Commodores' lead distributor, and, while he opened SEC play with a 3-point slump, he's tenacious when attacking the rim and accurate at the line.
16. Trevion Williams, Purdue Boilermakers
In the early years of basketball, some forms of the sport allowed teams to use a single designated shooter to attempt all free throws. If we were still using that system, Williams could be in contention for national player of the year. His voluminous yet inaccurate (52%) shooting at the line will drag down his offensive rating until further notice, but there's a lot to like about a dominant 6-foot-10, 265-pound offensive rebounder who sprays assists with the alacrity of a point guard. After Williams single-handedly outscored Michigan State 24-23 in the second half of the Boilermakers' 55-54 win in East Lansing, Tom Izzo said the junior "is becoming a great player." Indeed.
17. Oscar da Silva, Stanford Cardinal
Among the players on this list that do the bulk of their scoring in the paint, da Silva is the master of getting good looks at the rim. Nearly 80% of his 2-point attempts this season have come from point-blank range, and his accuracy inside the arc (68%) reflects this emphasis on taking the ball to the hole. The 6-foot-9 senior also keeps opponents on their toes with a 3-point attempt every game or so, and at the moment he's drawing fouls better than any player in Pac-12 play. In leading the Cardinal to wins over Washington and Washington State in games played in Santa Cruz, da Silva racked up 44 points and 23 rebounds in 65 minutes.
18. Matthew Hurt, Duke Blue Devils
Is this your 2021 ACC player of the year? Quite possibly. Hurt's listed weight has increased by 20 pounds since last year, and opponents are now confronted with a 235-pound sophomore who, at 6-9, is draining shots from both sides of the arc. In the Blue Devils' 11-point win over Wake Forest in Durham, Hurt rang up 26 points on just 15 shots and still found time to record three steals. After alternating between starter and reserve and then seeing his minutes fall off significantly at the tail end of last season, Hurt has become the proverbial man for Duke in 2021.
19. Joel Ayayi, Gonzaga Bulldogs
Ayayi recording a triple-double, as he did last week against Portland, is hardly surprising. The junior is, after all, Gonzaga's best defensive rebounder at a listed height of 6-foot-5. He also dishes assists and steadfastly refuses to launch 2-point jumpers (posting a beautiful 75% success rate inside the arc as a result). No, the surprising news was surely that Ayayi had earned the first triple-double in program history. It might not have been the last.
20. Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Coming into this season, there was little to suggest that a career 31% 3-point shooter like Harper would suddenly catch fire on the perimeter. Yet that's exactly what has taken place. Even as his volume of attempts from beyond the arc has increased sharply, the junior is now connecting on 45% of his 3s. Rutgers is going through a rough patch in the rugged Big Ten, but if Harper keeps making shots from both inside and outside, the Scarlet Knights might yet win as many games as they lose in the nation's toughest league.
21. Kendric Davis, SMU Mustangs
The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award is no more, alas, but if the honor were still in existence it can be safely said that Davis would be one strong candidate for the 2021 trophy. The award was once given to the nation's top player listed at 6-foot or shorter. At 5-foot-11, Davis is tearing through opposing defenses, posting one of the highest assist rates in Division I, converting 55% of his 2-point tries and making an occasional 3. Perhaps most remarkably, the junior has recorded four blocks over the course of his career, including one this season against Houston. Can we bring the award back?
22. Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State Cowboys
Perhaps you've heard of Cunningham. He might yet be drafted before any player on this list or, for that matter, before any current non-professional player, period. If he were a "normal" freshman, we'd be singing the praises of a 6-foot-8 playmaker who hits his shots, draws fouls, helps out on the defensive glass and blocks a shot now and then. Put it this way: Any freshman who can get 25 points against Texas in 2021 bears watching.
23. Scottie Barnes, Florida State Seminoles
Barnes has been exemplary as a 6-foot-9 point guard for Florida State. Teammates including M.J. Walker and Anthony Polite have been the beneficiaries as Barnes has displayed a remarkable degree of polish for a freshman. He is in fact the Seminoles' main distributor, three times more likely than any teammate to be the source of one of the team's assists. Barnes also makes his 2s and records a high number of takeaways on defense. On the other hand, he's shooting 42% at the line and, not surprisingly, hasn't yet found the range from beyond the arc.
24. James Bouknight, UConn Huskies
Bouknight is currently sidelined by an elbow injury and has appeared in just six games as a result of his team pausing due to the coronavirus. However, we here at top-25 HQ are going to recognize all of the players and teams in similar boats this season by making room on this esteemed list for the hard-working UConn star. Prior to the sophomore's injury, Bouknight was averaging 20 efficiently scored points per game as a slashing 6-foot-5 wing.
25. Terry Taylor, Austin Peay Governors
The reigning Ohio Valley Conference player of the year, Taylor has an excellent chance at defending his crown. Thus far this season, the 6-foot-5 senior has worn out opponents in every possible way. In fact, the last time we saw APSU's star, he was recording a 38-17 double-double in the Governors' three-point win at Eastern Illinois. Given that OVC POY winners in the past decade have included Kenneth Faried, Isaiah Canaan and Ja Morant, you should pay close attention to Taylor.