15 best NCAA basketball players we wish played in the Twitter era

The best NCAA basketball players we wished played in the Twitter era.

Many of the best college basketball players in the history of NCAA basketball missed out on the chance to play during the era of social media. Whether they missed it by a few years, or by a few decades, players could’ve benefitted and maybe even profited from Twitter’s impact on the game.

It’s safe to say that when Twitter arrived on the social media scene, it didn’t change the world all at once. However, when it did gain steam and move into being the most popular form of social media for fans of the game of basketball, it did make quite the impact.

Flash forward 14 years from the start of Twitter in 2006, and NBA and college basketball Twitter have exploded into a miniature society of their own (with parts both good and bad). However, since it started in 2006, and didn’t’ really take off for quite a few years after that, Twitter has missed A LOT when it comes to the world of basketball.

Yes, kids, it wasn’t always lots of burners and memes, trying to prove Lebron James it the greatest of all time, or even, for some reason, trying to prove Alex Caruso beats him for that title (I still have yet to understand the fascination). At one point, NCAA basketball barely had a following on Twitter, and at one point, Twitter didn’t even exist.

The real problem here is that some of the best players in NCAA basketball history went through the entire length of their careers without ever having a meme made about them, or without a troll telling them they could beat them in a game of 21.

From Magic Johnson and Lew Alcindor to Shaquille O’Neal and Carmelo Anthony, some of the all-time most fun players to watch didn’t get the real benefits of a social media following. As much sarcasm as there is above, imagine the Twitter reaction to Shaq breaking a hoop for the first time, or the immediate reaction to Allen Iverson’s filthy crossovers.

Not only that, but we would be able to have more instant reactions to some of the greatest moments. From Alcindor’s three consecutive national titles to Jay Williams’ Miracle Minute, we would have new perspectives on some of college basketball’s greatest moments.

Whether we move the invention of Twitter backward, or we move the players themselves forwards, the opportunities are endless. In no particular order, let’s take a look at some of the top college basketball players we wish had gotten to showcase their talents during the age of Twitter.