2003 College Basketball

1. Carmelo Anthony:  He was the Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four after leading Syracuse to their first ever national championship.

He was the consensus NCAA Freshman of the Year, 2^nd team All-American, and 1^st team All-Big East.

He averaged 22.2 PPG (4^th in the Big East), 10 RPG (3^rd), 36.4 minutes per game (4^th), and 1.6 steals per game.

Melo had 26 games with at least 20 points and 22 double doubles.

Syracuse beat three straight top 6 Big 12 teams to win the title.

In the regional final vs. #3 Oklahoma, Carmelo had 20-10 on 9-16 shooting in 40 minutes as Syracuse shutdown the Sooners 63-49.

Anthony averaged 20.2 points per game in the tournament.

He had 33-14 and three steals and shot 12-19 from the field in the Final Four vs. #5 Texas.

Anthony had 20 points, 10 rebs. and 7 assists in the final over #6 Kansas.

Syracuse won the title 81-78 over KU.

The Orange were Big East co-champs with 13-3 record.  They were 24-5 in the regular season (30-5 overall) and were #13 in the final poll.

2. Nick Collison: Was the NABC Player of the Year and consensus first team All-American.

 

He was also the Big 12 Player of the Year.

Collison became the Big 12 all-time leading scorer.

He was among the Big 12 leaders in scoring with 18.5 PPG (2^nd), 3^rd in RPG (10), 3^rd in blocks (1.9), and 2^nd in FG% (55.4).

The senior center had 16 double-doubles. That included 24 point 23 rebound heroic effort vs. #5 Texas.

Collison propelled Kansas back to the Elite Eight with a career high 33 vs. #7 Duke.  He also had 19 rebounds.

With the Jayhawks down by one in the second half, he scored seven straight points to give Kansas a six point lead, a lead they would not relinquish, with less than six minutes to play.

He had 12-15-5 in the Final Four pounding of #9 Marquette.

Collison finished his great career with 21 rebounds, 19 points (8-14 FGs) and three blocks and steals in title game vs. Syracuse. He played all 40 minutes.

Kansas won the Big 12 regular season with 14-2 record and was 30-8 overall. They were #6 in the final polls. They advanced to their 2^nd straight Final Four.

Collison was on the USA national team as the only non-professional. He averaged just under five points per game as the US went 10-0 win the FIBA Americas and qualify for the 2004 Olympics.

3. Dwayne Wade: Was a consensus All-American and finalist for the Player of the Year.

He was the Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

He was the MVP of the Midwest region in the NCAA tournament.

Wade carried Marquette past top ranked Kentucky 83-69 in the regional final. The win ended UK’s 26 game winning streak.

He was the 4^th player, including Magic Johnson, to record a triple double in the NCAA tournament. He finished with 29-11-11 and four blocks.

In the tournament “Flash” average 21.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 6 APG.

He led Conference USA in scoring (21.5), and was 8^th in assists (4.4), and was 2^nd in steals (2.2). He also averaged over six rebounds, and 1.3 blocks a game.

Wade had 21 twenty point games , including 28 vs. #14 Louisville.

In Marquette’s sweet 16 upset of #3 Pittsburgh, Wade scored 22 on 10-19 FGs.

He had 19-6-4 in Marquette’s blowout loss to Kansas in the Final Four.

Marquette finished #9 in final poll. They were 27-6 and 14-2 in Conference USA as regular season champions. The Golden Eagles advanced to their first Final Four in 26 years.