Best NCAA basketball players ever from every state

Arkansas: Joe Barry Carroll

Only 56.8 miles separate Jacksonville and Pine Bluff but less separates Joe Barry Caroll’s and Glen Rice’s collegiate careers.  When all is said and done, Joe Barry Carroll gets the nod as being the best college player from Arkansas.

Prior to the seven-foot Carroll arriving on the West Lafayette campus, Purdue Basketball participated in the National Tournament once in its entire existence. During his tenure, ‘JB’ would lead the Boilermakers there two additional times. His averages of 22 points, 9 rebounds, and almost 3 blocks per game in his senior year while being selected as a Consensus All-American is more indicative of how talented he was, as his four-year averages are tempered by his stats as a freshman.

That year’s tournament, which only saw 32 teams participate,  Carroll made the All-Tourney Team by accumulating 158 points on 98 field goal attempts with a 68 field goal percentage and blocking 12 shots in six games. Carroll also went 14 of 17 while Purdue won the third-place game, and Carroll subsequently named to the All-Tourney Team.

Many will cite Glen Rice’s stats are just as impressive with his senior season averages of 25 points, six rebounds, and two assists leading to his naming as a Consensus All-American. Rice continued making his home state of Arkansas proud by being named to the All-Tournament Team while Michigan won the National Championship with Rice being named NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

The aforementioned are all impressive stats that are good enough to rank him at the top of many states, but on the way to becoming Tourney MOP, Rice accumulated just 24 more points on 33 more field goal attempts than Carroll, which supports Carroll’s selection even more.