2003 Top 50 List: Yes
Dan Collins List: Yes
I did not expect to find that Shane Battier was a Top 15 player. But as I look at his accomplishments, I am forced to that conclusion. His senior year in 2001 is one of the great years anybody ever had. He was ACC Player of the Year, National Player of the Year, NABC Defensive Player of the Year, ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and won a national championship. I’d say that about covers it…
But that’s not all. He was also NABC Defensive Player of the Year and a second team All-American as a junior. The teams he played on had an overall record of 135-15, 59-5 in the ACC. His teams went 11-1 in the ACC Tournament. He is the only player in ACC history with 200 blocks and 200 steals. His 2001 NCAA Tournament performance is one of the greatest ever by an ACC player.
One of the reasons for lingering doubts about Battier’s greatness is that, as I remember, he was considered a bit of a disappointment as a freshman and sophomore. He came in as a very hyped recruit, and while he played an important role on those 1998 and 1999 teams, he clearly played a supporting role to Trajan Langdon and Elton Brand. He was always a tremendous defender, but he wasn’t a prolific scorer, so there was a sense of “what’s with all the hype about this guy?”. But with the departures of Brand, Langdon, Will Avery, and Corey Maggette after 1999, Battier showed that he could score, in addition to everything else he did well, and that 2000 team didn’t miss a beat.
Battier, Jason Williams, and Joseph Forte were the top three vote-getters on the 2001 AP All-America team. As far as I can tell, that is the only time in the history of that award that the top three were from the same conference.
Battier is probably the only player in college basketball history to play in four NCAA tournaments as a #1 seed. I can’t find another. Gonzaga would have been a #1 in four straight tournaments had it not been for the 2020 COVID cancellation.