Fair and Balanced: Wisconsin's Frank the Tank is Latest Great White Hope

February was Black History Month, but shouldn't we be fair and balanced to fully embrace political correctness? Amid running (comparable to well-meaning Starbucks) the risk of portrayal akin to Al Campanis when discussing race issues, CollegeHoopedia.com has conducted extensive research on trailblazing African-Americans who broke the color barrier at current NCAA Division I schools. In order to not be one-sided, it's time to assess the racial overtones of college basketball through the current minority prism of the white player.

According to a politically-direct UCF study several years ago, fewer than 1/3 of NCAA Division I players are white. There is some credence to refraining from judging a book by its cover, but the last time a majority of the NCAA consensus All-American first-team selections were white was 1969-70 (LSU's Pete Maravich, Purdue's Rick Mount and Kentucky's Dan Issel).

Non-whites accounted for more than 83% of the NCAA consensus All-American first- and second-selections since the shot clock was introduced nationwide in 1985-86. Alarmists might beg to differ, but the white American player hasn't exactly slipped into extinction. This isn't boxing, but versatile Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky clearly is the latest "Great White Hope."

Celebrating discriminating White History Moments even if it might offend college hoops sage Charles Barkley and entitled Kentucky guard Andrew Harrison, the last all-white NCAA consensus first-team All-American squad was in 1953-54. White players matter. There is no reason to recoil at the following alphabetical list of the modest total of 20 different white players before Kaminsky named an NCAA consensus first-team All-American:

White First-Team All-American	Pos.	School	A-A Season(s)
Steve Alford	G	Indiana	1985-86 and 1986-87
Andrew Bogut	C	Utah	2004-05
Nick Collison	F	Kansas	2002-03
Dan Dickau	G	Gonzaga	2001-02
Danny Ferry	F	Duke	1988-89
Jimmer Fredette	G	Brigham Young	2010-11
Tyler Hansbrough	F-C	North Carolina	2006-07 through 2008-09
Bobby Hurley	G	Duke	1992-93
Casey Jacobsen	F-G	Stanford	2000-01
Christian Laettner	F-C	Duke	1991-92
Raef LaFrentz	F-C	Kansas	1996-97 and 1997-98
Kevin Love	C	UCLA	2007-08
Doug McDermott	F	Creighton	2011-12 through 2013-14
Chris Mihm	C	Texas	1999-2000
Adam Morrison	F	Gonzaga	2005-06
Chris Mullin	G	St. John's	1984-85
Troy Murphy	F	Notre Dame	1999-00 and 2000-01
Kelly Olynyk	C	Gonzaga	2012-13
J.J. Redick	G	Duke	2004-05 and 2005-06
Keith Van Horn	F	Utah	1996-97