If you’re a hardcore Villanova Wildcats Nerd, you might be able to name a few solid players that Ranker.com could have included at the tail end of this list of the Greatest Villanova Basketball Players of All Time. (No Hank Siemiontkowski ??!! – Nevermind, he’s #43). Otherwise, it’s very complete.
On the other hand, and not to sound too much like Old Man Yells At Cloud, but, not ranking Paul Arizin number one is wrong, and placing him after the likes of Randy Foye, Bill Melchioni and Ryan Arcidiacano (who has averaged 4.4 points per game in six seasons in the NBA), is positively ludicrous.
Granted, top-ranked Jalen Brunson played a major role in the Wildcats’ 2016 and 2018 NCAA Championships, while Arizin’s Villanova teams only made the tournament once (in 1949, losing to Kentucky, the eventual winner).
So, if you’re in the championships over stats camp (think Russell vs. Wilt), maybe you could make a case that Brunson was the greatest Villanova player, while at Villanova.
NBA scouts didn’t see it that way. Arizin was the first overall pick in the draft, whereas Brunson wasn’t selected until the second round, and was the 33rd pick overall.
If you compare their Pro careers … well, there is no comparison. Arizin was an All-Star in all 10 of his seasons in the NBA. Except for his rookie year, he averaged more than 20 points per game – every season. He led his Philadelphia Warriors to an NBA Championship in 1955-56. And in the 1956-57 season, Arizin was the league’s top scorer.
This is not to say that Brunson isn’t also having a nice career in the NBA. After playing his first four seasons with the Mavericks, this past season, Brunson averaged 24 points/per game for the Knicks, good enough for 20th in the league. But neither of his teams was able to advance beyond their conference finals.
Don’t make the mistake of ranking COLLEGE players” careers by including details of their Pro careers. The NBA is a different game than College and the players themselves, after years of experience and just plain growing up, are also different than they were in college.