Senioritis: Canaan Latest Senior Failing to Return to All-American Status

April 14th, 2013 - 11:20

Senioritis is a colloquial term referring to an illness described as decreased motivation displayed by students nearing the end of their careers. In basketball lingo, it's a dreaded disease that also afflicts All-Americans.

The malady lingers even in an era when the majority of premium players bid adieu the first time a pro scout watches one of their games. This season, the A-A shunning might have been because it was a mid-major involved rather than power conference player. Murray State's Isaiah Canaan failed to return to All-American status despite significant increases in both scoring and assists.

Actually, this ailment is rarely a player's fault and seems to mainly infect voters. In one of the greatest injustices in NCAA history, Seton Hall's Nick Werkman averaged 33.2 ppg and 13.8 rpg in 1963-64 but wasn't named an All-American for the second straight season.

Canaan joined Werkman among 18 players who didn't retain A-A status despite averaging more than 20 points per game as a senior. Following is an alphabetical list of major-college players named All-American as an undergraduate since the late 1940s (after the roster disruption of WWII) but not as a senior when they fell off the honors radar:

Senior Player Pos. School Year(s) as A-A Final Season Summary
*Bruno Boin C Washington 1957 15.2 ppg in 1958-59
Joe Caldwell F Arizona State 1963 21.8 ppg and 12.2 rpg in 1963-64
Isaiah Canaan G Murray State 2012 21.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 4.3 apg in 2012-13
Lorenzo Charles F North Carolina State 1984 18.1 ppg and 6.4 rpg in 1984-85
Derrick Chievous F Missouri 1987 23.4 ppg and 8.5 rpg in 1987-88
Bobby Cook F Wisconsin 1947 12.4 ppg in 1947-48
Russ Critchfield G California 1967 22 ppg in 1967-68
John "Hook" Dillon F North Carolina 1946 and 1947 182 points in 1947-48
Bruce Douglas G Illinois 1984 8.8 ppg and 6.2 apg in 1985-86
Erwin Dudley F-C Alabama 2002 14.8 ppg and 9.5 rpg in 2002-03
Louis Dunbar F-G Houston 1974 24.3 ppg and 9.3 rpg in 1974-75
Bill Erickson G Illinois 1949 10.4 ppg in 1949-50
Kenny Fields F UCLA 1983 17.4 ppg and 6.9 rpg in 1983-84
Ryan Gomes F Providence 2004 21.6 ppg and 8.2 rpg in 2004-05
Jimmy Hagan C Tennessee Tech 1959 24.3 ppg and 17.2 rpg in 1959-60
Julius Hodge G-F North Carolina State 2004 17 ppg and 6.6 rpg in 2004-05
Terrell "Tu" Holloway G Xavier 2011 17.5 ppg and 4.9 apg in 2011-12
Frank Howard C-F Ohio State 1957 16.9 ppg and 13.6 rpg in 1957-58
Robbie Hummel F Purdue 2010 16.4 ppg and 7.2 rpg in 2011-12
Thad Jaracz C-F Kentucky 1966 11.3 ppg and 7.1 rpg in 1967-68
George Kaftan F-C Holy Cross 1947 and 1948 11.6 ppg in 1948-49
Ted Kitchel F Indiana 1982 17.3 ppg and 4.1 rpg in 1982-83
Brandin Knight G Pittsburgh 2002 11.2 ppg and 6.3 apg in 2002-03
Tom Kondla C Minnesota 1967 21 ppg and 9 rpg in 1967-68
John Lucas III G Oklahoma State 2004 17.7 ppg and 4.1 apg in 2004-05
Mark Macon G Temple 1988 22 ppg and 4.9 rpg in 1990-91
Billy McCaffrey G Vanderbilt 1993 20.6 ppg 4.2 apg in 1993-94
Bill Mlkvy F Temple 1951 17.4 ppg and 15.8 rpg in 1951-52
Lee Nailon C Texas Christian 1998 22.8 ppg and 9.3 rpg in 1998-99
Anthony Peeler G Missouri 1990 and 1991 23.4 ppg and 5.5 rpg in 1991-92
Ronnie Perry G Holy Cross 1977 through 1979 22.9 ppg and 2.9 apg in 1979-80
Chris Porter F Auburn 1999 14.6 ppg and 7.3 rpg in 1999-2000
A.J. Price G Connecticut 2008 14.7 ppg and 4.7 apg in 2008-09
Mark Randall F-C Kansas 1990 15 ppg and 6.2 rpg in 1990-91
Pat Riley F Kentucky 1966 17.4 ppg and 7.7 rpg in 1966-67
Lawrence Roberts F-C Mississippi State 2004 16.9 ppg and 11 rpg in 2004-05
Sean Singletary G Virginia 2007 19.8 ppg and 6.1 apg in 2007-08
Chris Smith C Virginia Tech 1960 19.9 ppg and 16.5 rpg in 1960-61
Michael Smith C-F Brigham Young 1988 26.4 ppg and 8.6 rpg in 1988-89
Ken Spain C Houston 1968 14.8 ppg and 11.6 rpg in 1968-69
Hank Stein G Xavier 1958 13.7 ppg in 1958-59
Jordan Taylor G Wisconsin 2011 14.8 ppg and 4.1 apg in 2011-12
Kenny Thomas C New Mexico 1998 17.8 ppg and 10 rpg in 1998-99
Chris Thomforde C Princeton 1967 14.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg in 1968-69
Monte Towe G North Carolina State 1974 10.4 ppg and 4.1 apg in 1974-75
Jim Tucker C Duquesne 1952 13.4 ppg and 13.6 rpg in 1953-54
Clarence Weatherspoon F Southern Mississippi 1991 22.3 ppg and 10.5 rpg in 1991-92
Nick Werkman F Seton Hall 1963 33.2 ppg and 13.8 rpg in 1963-64
Sherman White C Long Island 1950 25.4 ppg in 1950-51
Henry Wilmore F-G Michigan 1971 and 1972 21.8 ppg and 6 rpg in 1972-73
George Wilson C Cincinnati 1963 16.1 ppg and 12.5 rpg in 1963-64
Luke Witte C Ohio State 1972 13.7 ppg and 8.3 rpg in 1972-73

*Boin missed the 1957-58 season after dropping out of school and playing AAU ball

NOTES: UCLA's Lucius Allen (academic problems in 1968-69) and St. John's Mel Davis (knee injury in 1972-73) and Texas Western's Bobby Joe Hill (injury and grade problems in 1966-67) did not play full or at all in their senior seasons. . . . Canisius' Larry Fogle, an All-American as a sophomore in 1974 when he led the nation in scoring, entered the NBA draft as a hardship case the next year after failing to earn All-American status again. . . . Illinois' Frank Williams, an All-American as a sophomore in 2000-01, declared for the NBA draft as an undergraduate the next year after failing to to earn All-American status again. . . . Austin Peay's Fly Williams, an All-American as a freshman in 1973 when he led the nation in scoring, entered the ABA draft as an undergraduate the next year after failing to earn All-American status again.