A Graders! Australia's greatest all-time NCAA players

• Two Australians (Andrew Bogut and Ben Simmons) have dominated college and gone on to become a No.1 draft pick in the NBA
• Australian Alex Condon won an NCAA championship with Florida last season
• The list of Australian talents to play NCAA basketball continues to grow

The Australian Boomers are tipping-off a new era under Adam Caporn against the University of Colorado Buffaloes.

A new coach, new system and some fresh faces fill out the Boomers roster for the exhibition as well as the upcoming FIBA Men's Asia Cup. But as the Boomers take on another college outfit, we decided to put together a list of the best college careers of those male stars throughout history who have donned the green and gold.

From some No.1 draft picks, to Boomers legends and other forgotten talents — we take you through basketball.com.au's all-time Australian college men basketball careers.

Who makes your team?

STARTING FIVE

Point Guard: Matthew Dellavedova (St Mary's)

Playing a full four seasons at St Mary's in Moraga, California — Matthew Dellavedova had a college career to remember. Right from his freshman season, Delly had an immediate impact on Randy Bennett's program, starting in every game and helping lead the Gaels to a memorable run to the Sweet 16 at the NCAA Tournament after an upset win over Villanova. Delly also knocked down the clutch free throws to seal the win against the Wildcats.

He would go on to play another three seasons with no shortage of more memorable moments, including a game-winning buzzer beater from beyond the halfway line to beat BYU in 2013.

Dellavedova would go on to become the all-time scoring leader for St Mary's — a record he still holds today - and was also the all-time assists leader for the university before fellow Australian Emmett Naar later eclipsed him. In arguably the best career in St Mary's basketball history, Delly was named West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2012 and had his No.4 jersey retired by the school.

It would also be a career that would set him up for an elite professional career, where he won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

Shooting Guard: Patty Mills (St Mary's)

Another St Mary's product in our starting five, you can't go past the impact Patty Mills had in Moraga in his two seasons under Randy Bennett. Before Dellavedova and his group of Australians led St Mary's to the Sweet 16 in 2010, it was Mills and his teammates who moved the school into a top 25 ranking for the first time in almost 20 years.

Mills' dazzling performances for the Gaels led to him being named the WCC Newcomer of the Year as well as earning All-WCC First Team honours. He averaged 14.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 32.1 minutes in his first college season, setting a school freshman points record with 472 for the season, and had a season-high 37 points against Oregon in November, 2007.

In his second and last season with St Mary's, Mills averaged 18.4 points, 3.9 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals, was named All-WCC First Team for a second straight year and then was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers, where he would tip-off a long and decorated NBA career, including winning a championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.

Small Forward: Andrew Gaze (Seton Hall)

Andrew Gaze's college career was short, but my word it was sweet.

Already having dominated the NBL in Australia with the Melbourne Tigers, Gaze took his talents to Seton Hall to play for the legendary PJ Carlesimo. Gaze averaged 13.6 points for a Pirates team, which went all the way to the NCAA National Championship game, where they lost 80-79 against Michigan.

In one of the most memorable runs to the National Championship game in NCAA history, Gaze played a major role in Seton Hall's success, including 19 points in their Elite 8 win over UNLV followed by 20 points in their win over Duke in the Final Four. It was Seton Hall's first ever run to the Final Four.

What a standard this set for Gaze's career — winning and shining wherever he went. Becoming an NBA champion, second all-time on the Olympic Games scoring list and winning seven NBL MVP awards.

Power Forward: Ben Simmons (LSU)

Much like Gaze's college career, Ben Simmons' time at the collegiate level was short. But unlike Gaze, Simmons' time at LSU wasn't sweet, it was dominant!

As the most hyped prospect in his class, Simmons went to LSU with a lot of expectations on his shoulders. And while his team may never have qualified for the NCAA Tournament, the Melbourne product did everything he could individually.

Following a pre-season tour in his home country, Simmons would go on to show why he was expected to be drafted with the first pick in the next NBA Draft. He recorded 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, five steals, and three blocks in a 119–108 win over North Florida in December, 2015. His 43 points were the most for a Tigers player since Shaquille O'Neal had 43 against Northern Arizona in 1991.

After the regular season, Simmons was named first-team All-South Eastern Conference and the league's Freshman of the Year.

Centre: Andrew Bogut (Utah)

Andrew Bogut put the University of Utah Utes on the map!

After making the move to Utah after spending time at the Australian Institute of Sport, Bogut had some struggles under controversial coach Rick Majerus, which was recently documented in the 'Lane Violation' documentary with Luc Longley. But then bounced back to become the best player in college basketball.

In his second season at Utah, Bogut won National Player of the Year after leading Utah to a 29-6 record as well as the Sweet 16 and the Mountain West Conference championship. Averaging 20.4 points per game, he earned Naismith College Player of the Year honours and the John R. Wooden Award and later had his No. 4 jersey retired by Utah.

Bogut also averaged 12.2 rebounds per game and was one of the best shot blockers in college basketball.

He would then go on to be the first No.1 NBA Draft pick from Australia after being taken by the Milwaukee Bucks.

BENCH

Aaron Bruce (Baylor)

Probably one of the most forgotten Australians to star at the collegiate level, Aaron Bruce played 74 games for college powerhouse, Baylor University.

The high IQ point guard, who went on to play for the Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers, started every game in is career at Baylor with a long list of achievements during his four seasons. He was the nation's leading freshman scorer in 2005 and would become only the 19th Baylor player to score 1000 points with seven points in win over Nebraska in 2007. His 39.9% three-point shooting ranks third all-time at Baylor.

He helped guide Baylor to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years in the 2007-08 season.

Ed Palubinskas (LSU)

One of the icons of Australian basketball also had a remarkable college career.

After two seasons at a junior college in Idaho and being the second leading scorer at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Palubinskas transferred to LSU and continued to show his incredible knack for scoring. He led the team in Baton Rouge for scoring during the 1972-73 season with 18.6 points per game and was selected to the All-SEC Coaches Team. He would then average 18.3 points per game in his second season at LSU.

Palubinskas showed his scoring prowess at every level — with the Boomers, in college and at the professional level.

Luc Longley (New Mexico)

The first of two Australian big men to dominate at the University of New Mexico Lobos.

Before going on to being part of the best NBA team in history and winning three championship rings with the Chicago Bulls, Longley proved he could match it with the best talents in the US during his four-year college career at New Mexico between 1987-1991.

During his college career, the West Australian averaged 19.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in his senior year and helped New Mexico reach the NCAA Tournament in 1991.

Luke Schenscher (Georgia Tech)

Another one of the forgotten Australians who shined in the NCAA was the red-headed giant in Luke Schenscher.

The South Australian starred for Georgia Tech University from 2001-2005, including being a teammate of NBA legend Chris Bosh during the 2002-03 season. Schenscher's best season came in 2003-04, where as a junior he finished fourth in the ACC in blocks (1.4 bpg) and eighth in rebounds (6.6 rpg).

He was Georgia Tech's second leading scorer in the NCAA tournament, averaging 10.8 points along with 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks, as the Yellow Jackets reached the NCAA Final Four, where he recorded 19 points and 12 rebounds in the semi-final win over Oklahoma State.

Jock Landale (St Mary's)

The third St Mary's product to feature in our list, we can't forget about current Boomers big man Jock Landale.

Landale struggled during his freshman season, earned an increased role in his sophomore year before enjoying a breakout campaign as a junior, where he averaged 16.9 points and 9.5 rebounds, as the Gaels reached March Madness.

Currently with the Memphis Grizzlies, Landale averaged 21.5 points and 10.2 rebounds as a senior and was named West Coast Conference Player of the Year.

Honourable Mentions

‍Brock Motum (Washington State), Cameron Bairstow (New Mexico), Alex Condon (Florida), Daniel Kickert (St Mary's), Tyrese Proctor (Duke)