Early Rising: Four J.C. Recruits Have Become All-Americans in 21st Century
March 26th, 2014 - 21:44
Wichita State forward Cleanthony Early became the fourth junior college recruit in the 21st Century to earn All-American status for a four-year institution. That's a stark contrast to an era when at least one former J.C. player was named an NCAA All-American 21 consecutive seasons from 1963-64 through 1983-84.
There were four years when a minimum of four former jucos became NCAA All-Americans the same campaign (1955, 1970, 1971 and 1982). A total of only 13 two-time All-Americans are represented on the following alphabetical list of NCAA All-Americans who previously played for a junior college:
| All-American | Pos. | Four-Year University | Junior College(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don Barksdale | C | UCLA '47 | Marin (Calif.) |
| Jim Barnes | C | Texas Western '64 | Cameron (Okla.) |
| Ron Behagen | F | Minnesota '73 | Southern Idaho |
| Walter Berry | F-C | St. John's '86 | San Jacinto (Tex.) |
| Gale Bishop | F-C | Washington '36 | Yakima (Wash.) Valley |
| Daron "Mookie" Blaylock | G | Oklahoma '89 | Midland (Tex.) |
| Ron Brewer | G | Arkansas '78 | Westark (Ark.) |
| Fred Brown | G | Iowa '81 | Southeastern (Iowa) |
| Don Burness | F | Stanford '42 | Menlo Park (Calif.) |
| Bob Burrow | C | Kentucky '55 and '56 | Lon Morris (Tex.) |
| Lawrence Butler | G | Idaho State '79 | Western Texas |
| Jerry Chambers | F-C | Utah '66 | Trinidad State (Colo.) |
| Lester Conner | G | Oregon State '82 | Los Medanos (Calif.)/Chabot (Calif.) |
| Michael Cooper | G | New Mexico '78 | Pasadena (Calif.) City |
| Jae Crowder | F | Marquette '12 | South Georgia Tech/Howard County (TX) |
| Howie Dallmar | G | Pennsylvania '45 | Menlo Park (Calif.) |
| Mel Daniels | C | New Mexico '67 | Burlington (Iowa) |
| Walt "Corky" Devlin | F | George Washington '55 | Potomac State (W.Va.) |
| Cleanthony Early | F | Wichita State '14 | Sullivan County (N.Y.) |
| Keith Erickson | F | UCLA '65 | El Camino (Calif.) |
| John Fairchild | C-F | Brigham Young '65 | Palomar (Calif.) |
| Ken Flower | G | Southern California '53 | Menlo (Calif.) |
| Darrell Floyd | G-F | Furman '55 and '56 | Wingate (N.C.) |
| Steve Francis | G | Maryland '99 | Allegany (Md.) |
| Dick Garmaker | F | Minnesota '54 and '55 | Hibbing (Minn.) |
| Armon Gilliam | F-C | UNLV '87 | Independence (Kan.) |
| Artis Gilmore | C | Jacksonville '70 and '71 | Gardner-Webb (N.C.) |
| Harvey Grant | F | Oklahoma '88 | Independence (Kan.) |
| Ed Gray | G | California '97 | Southern Idaho |
| Jack Gray | F | Texas '34 and '35 | North Texas Agricultural |
| Al Green | G | Louisiana State '79 | Arizona Western |
| Cornell Green | F | Utah State '62 | Contra Costa (Calif.) |
| Rickey Green | G | Michigan '76 and '77 | Vincennes (Ind.) |
| Bob Harris | C | Oklahoma A&M '49 | Murray State (Okla.) |
| Spencer Haywood | F-C | Detroit '69 | Trinidad State (Colo.) |
| Tom Henderson | G | Hawaii '74 | San Jacinto (Tex.) |
| Bobby Joe Hill | G | Texas Western '66 | Burlington (Iowa) |
| Simmie Hill | F | West Texas State '69 | Cameron (Okla.) |
| Darington Hobson | G-F | New Mexico '10 | Eastern Utah |
| Lionel Hollins | G | Arizona State '75 | Dixie (Utah) |
| Bobby Jackson | G | Minnesota '97 | Western Nebraska |
| John Johnson | F | Iowa '70 | Northwest (Wyo.) |
| Larry Johnson | F | UNLV '90 and '91 | Odessa (Tex.) |
| Vinnie Johnson | G | Baylor '79 | McLennan (Tex.) |
| Larry Kenon | F | Memphis State '73 | Amarillo (Tex.) |
| Dennis "Mo" Layton | G | Southern California '71 | Phoenix (Ariz.) |
| Lewis Lloyd | F | Drake '80 and '81 | New Mexico Military Institute |
| Don Lofgran | F-C | San Francisco '49 and '50 | Grant Tech (Calif.) |
| Kevin Magee | F | UC Irvine '81 and '82 | Saddleback (Calif.) |
| Bob McAdoo | F-C | North Carolina '72 | Vincennes (Ind.) |
| Cliff Meely | F-C | Colorado '71 | Northeastern (Colo.) |
| Phil "Red" Murrell | F | Drake '58 | Moberly (Mo.) Area |
| Willie Murrell | F | Kansas State '64 | Eastern Oklahoma A&M |
| Ken Norman | F | Illinois '87 | Wabash Valley (Ill.) |
| Ken Owens | G | Idaho '82 | Treasure Valley (Calif.) |
| Ricky Pierce | F | Rice '82 | Walla Walla (Wash.) |
| Chris Porter | F | Auburn '99 | Chipola (Fla.) |
| Paul Pressey | G-F | Tulsa '82 | Western Texas |
| Jesse "Cab" Renick | G | Oklahoma A&M '40 | Murray State (Okla.) |
| Mitch Richmond | F-G | Kansas State '88 | Moberly (Mo.) Area |
| Isaiah "J.R." Rider | F | UNLV '93 | Allen County (Kan.)/Antelope Valley (Calif.) |
| Alvin Robertson | G | Arkansas '84 | Crowder (Mo.) |
| Flynn Robinson | G | Wyoming '65 | Casper (Wyo.) |
| John Rudometkin | C-F | Southern California '61 and '62 | Allan Hancock (Calif.) |
| Danny Schultz | G | Tennessee '64 | Hiwassee (Tenn.) |
| Willie Smith | G | Missouri '76 | Seminole (Okla.) |
| George Stanich | G | UCLA '50 | Sacramento (Calif.) |
| Ray Steiner | G | St. Louis '52 | Moberly (Mo.) Area |
| John "Cat" Thompson | F | Montana State '29 and '30 | Dixie (Utah) |
| Jamaal Tinsley | G | Iowa State '01 | Mount San Jacinto (Calif.) |
| Vic Townsend | G-F | Oregon '41 | Compton (Calif.) |
| John Vallely | G | UCLA '70 | Orange Coast (Calif.) |
| Nick Van Exel | G | Cincinnati '93 | Trinity Valley (Tex.) |
| Darrell Walker | G | Arkansas '83 | Westark (Ark.) |
| Grady Wallace | F | South Carolina '57 | Pikeville (Ky.) |
| Lloyd Walton | G | Marquette '76 | Moberly (Mo.) Area |
| Sidney Wicks | F-C | UCLA '70 and '71 | Santa Monica (Calif.) |
| Sam Williams | F | Iowa '68 | Burlington (Iowa) |
| Sam Worthen | G | Marquette '80 | McLennan (Tex.) |