The last line of defense: College basketball’s ten greatest shot blockers

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A strong defensive presence in the low post is vital for any successful basketball team. And now that the game is primarily won and lost in the backcourt, a team with even a decent shot-blocker has a chance to be more successful than it would have 10 or 15 years ago.

Shot blockers are a team’s defensive anchor, and the last line of defense guarding the basket. Their mere presence can affect the outcome of a shot, and as we saw with Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics of the 1960s, even be the catalyst in starting an offensive fast break.

What we’ve seen this year with Anthony Davis and his Kentucky Wildcats (25-1, 11-0 SEC) is that, if the right players are put around a defensive stalwart like a shot blocker, the team is nearly unstoppable.

Davis’ shot blocking abilities have lifted Kentucky’s defense to unprecedented heights this season. He recently broke future NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal’s SEC freshman shot blocking record, and it’s only February.

And although Davis’ season has been phenomenal, we here at OCS wondered where Davis would rank among not just the best freshmen shot blockers, but against the best of all-time in college basketball.

 

Shawn Bradley – Brigham Young, 1990-91, 1 season

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games:           34

Blocks:           177

Average:        5.2

Shawn Bradley and Anthony Davis share more similarities than you might think. Both set tremendous shot blocking records as freshmen, both have similar builds, and both left school after their freshman year. Sorry, Wildcat fans, but you know it’s gonna’ happen. Bradley’s 177 blocks for a freshman stood as an NCAA record for nearly 20 years, until the 2009-10 season, when Marshall’s Hassan Whiteside broke it by swatting 182 shots.

 

 

Ben Wallace – Virginia Union, 1994-96, 2 seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games:           62

Blocks:           225

Average:         3.6

Ben Wallace was blessed with the perfect defensive mentor: Charles Oakley. He first met Wallace at a summer basketball camp when Wallace was a teenager, and Oakley recognized his potential and started grooming him. Wallace paid Oakley back by attending his alma matter, Virginia Union, where Oakley had terrorized offenses in the early 1980s. In only two years of college basketball, Wallace broke most of Oakley’s tenured records, including the one for the most blocks in a single season, which Wallace set in 1995-96 with 114.

 

 

Alonzo Mourning – Georgetown, 1989-92, 4 seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games:           120

Blocks:            453

Average:         3.7

It’s hard to believe that two towers of terror like Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo once patrolled the paint together at Georgetown. It’s even harder to believe that neither of their teams made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament during their final three years together. Both centers carried over their defensive prowess into the pros, with each winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award multiple times, twice for Mourning and four times for Mutombo. And despite Mourning and Mutombo sharing about 50-70 blocks a season for two years, Mourning’s 169 blocks as a freshman in 1989 still stands at tenth on the all-time list for most blocks in a season.

 

Wojciech Myrda – Louisiana-Monroe, 1999-2002, 4 seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games:           115

Blocks:            535

Average:         4.7

Myrda was a shot blocking machine during his time down south, but most college basketball fans haven’t heard of him. Part of it is due to his unique name, but some would argue it’s because he played at a mid-major, and therefore his insane number of blocks needs an asterisk. But even if Myrda did play in a lesser conference, he made the jump from overseas, only playing one year of “American” basketball during his senior year of high school in Louisiana, and he still swatted shots like he was playing volleyball. If only he had a nickname…

 

 

Shaquille O’Neal – LSU, 1990-92, 3 seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games:           90

Blocks:            412

Average:         4.5

Yes, at one point Shaq was skinny. And, similar to the case with Georgetown in the early ‘90s with Mutombo and Mourning, Shaq was never able to get LSU past the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But Shaq was a force in the paint as a college player, relying much more on his defensive skills in the SEC than he would in the NBA. His record 115 blocks as a freshman stayed unbroken until this season. And when the Tigers rolled onto campus, no one wanted to challenge Superman in the paint.

 

 

Anthony Davis – Kentucky, 2011-Present**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games:           26

Blocks:            127

Average:         4.8

Anthony Davis has really flipped the definition of what a shot blocker can be. Big forwards and centers like him used to only get their blocks down in the paint, but thanks to the evolution of the three point line, guards are able to draw the big men out, and either go around them, or pull them away from the basket. But not Davis. He’s been out at the three point line blocking shots, timing his jump perfectly to deflect the ball at its apex, sometimes even coming down with the rebound. Unlike other big men on this list, he hasn’t been quite as clumsy, showing the unique ability to hang in the air on shot fakes long enough to block the shot on the way down and not foul the shooter. Davis was originally a guard in high school before shooting up to 6-foot-10, and the control he has over his body has really been evident on the defensive end this season.

 

 

Shawn James – Northeastern, 2004-06, 2 season

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games:           55

Blocks:           332

Average:         6.0

Technically, Shawn James did play one more season at Duquesne in 2007-08, but his shot blocking statistics from his two years at Northeastern are what got him a spot on this list. Built like the other thin centers on this list, James actually had more offensive skills, totaling five triple doubles while playing for the Huskies. His 196 blocks as a sophomore is the second-most all-time for one season, behind Navy’s David Robinson who did it in five more games played. James’ 6.53 blocks per game average for 2005-06 is still the highest in NCAA history for one season, but despite his prodigious defensive talent, no NBA team drafted him after his final collegiate season at Duquesne. As of 2011, he has yet to suit up for an NBA team.

 

 

Jarvis Varnado – Mississippi State, 2007-10, 4 seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games:           141

Blocks:            564

Average:         4.0

To look at Varnado, a tall, thin, and unassuming basketball player from Mississippi State, you wouldn’t think that he is college basketball’s all-time shot block king. But that’s just about all he did for the Bulldogs. He didn’t have much talent on the offensive end, but he was ferocious in attacking shooters and anything orange and round that came into his line of sight. His defensive rebounding skills were top notch as well, and he pulled down over 10 boards per game during his senior season. The sheer number of blocks he totaled is mind-boggling, especially considering it came in such an up-tempo conference with talented offensive players like the SEC.

 

 

Hakeem Olajuwon – Houston, 1982-84, 3 seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games:           100

Blocks:            454

Average:         4.5

Before he was known for his “Dream Shake,” Olajuwon was a bench player who came into the game to spark the Cougars on defense. Growing up playing soccer and handball in his native country of Nigeria, Olajuwon developed excellent hand-eye coordination and agility unusual for his size. He was never too big for his body, and before he became an offensive juggernaut, he developed a reputation as a merciless shot blocker. As his former coach at Houston, Guy Lewis, once reminisced, “Charles Barkley was coming to town, and he said he was going to dunk on Hakeem…well, the first four times Barkley tried to dunk on him, Hakeem had four blocks.”

 

 

Patrick Ewing – Georgetown, 1982-85, 4 seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games:           143

Blocks:             493

Average:         3.4

What’s John Thompson’s secret? He coached three elite shot blockers during his tenure at Georgetown, but Ewing was his most prized possession. The big man dominated the Big East in the early 1980s like he was playing against Division II competition. Led by his fearsome defense, the Hoyas reached the title game in three of his four years at Georgetown, winning the national championship over rival center Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston in 1984. But Ewing’s most infamous performance came against North Carolina in the 1982 championship game. The Hoyas lost by one in a game that went all the way to the wire, but Ewing blocked a few shots earlier in the game that had been called for goaltending, which they clearly were. The intimidation and aggression that had fueled Ewing and the Hoyas drive to the title game came back to hurt them, as the strategy to intimidate the Tar Heels backfired and it ended up costing Georgetown valuable points that they would need late in the game.

 

Honorable Mentions

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – UCLA, 1967-69, 3 seasons

Wilt Chamberlain – Kansas, 1957-58, 2 seasons

Bill Russell – San Francisco, 1954-56, 3 seasons

Unfortunately for these three centers, blocked shots weren’t kept as an official NCAA statistic until the 1985-86 season, which was well past Chamberlain and Russell’s retirement from the pros, and just three years shy of Kareem’s. But according to statisticians, announcers, fans, coaches, and the players themselves, it wasn’t unusual for these three to get upwards of 10 or even 20 blocked shots in a game. According to its historical records section, the NBA didn’t count blocked shots as an official statistic until 1973-74, but unofficial box scores show Chamberlain might have recorded the first playoff quadruple-double in NBA history, accumulating 24 points, 32 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocks in the 1967 playoffs.

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