List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career blocks leaders

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In basketball, a block (short for blocked shot) occurs when a defender deflects or stops a field goal attempt without committing a foul.[1] The top 25 highest blocks totals in NCAA Division I men's basketball history are listed below. The NCAA did not split into its current divisions format until August 1973.[2] From 1906 to 1955, there were no classifications to the NCAA nor its predecessor, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS).[2] Then, from 1956 to spring 1973, colleges were classified as either "NCAA University Division (Major College)" or "NCAA College Division (Small College)".[2][3] Blocks are a relatively new statistic in college basketball, having only become an official statistic beginning with the 1985–86 season.[3]

Many well-known players, such as Hall of Famers Ralph Sampson, David Robinson[4][5] and Hakeem Olajuwon[6] accumulated college block totals that would have placed them in the top 25 all-time if they had not played before blocks were a recognized statistic. Olajuwon played for Houston and accumulated 454 blocks in his three-year career.[7] Robinson, meanwhile, evenly split his four-year career at Navy between the pre-block and the recognized-block statistical eras.[3][5] For his entire college career, Robinson recorded 516 blocks, but since only his junior and senior seasons' block totals are officially recognized, his two-year sum of 351 blocks does not even rank in the top 25 all-time.[3][5] Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State, therefore, holds the Division I record for career blocks with 564.[3][8] He played for the Bulldogs from 2006–07 through 2009–10 and surpassed Wojciech Myrda's mark of 535 during his senior season. Although Varnado ended with 29 more blocks than Myrda, it took him 26 more games—nearly the amount of a complete season—to finish with that total.[8][9]

Two of the top eight shot blockers played college basketball for only three seasons. Adonal Foyle of Colgate recorded 492 blocks in just 87 career games before he left one season early for the National Basketball Association (NBA). Foyle would get drafted 8th overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 1997 NBA draft.[10] Meanwhile, Shawn James played in 83 games while registering 443 blocks. James played for two seasons at Northeastern before transferring to Duquesne for one season.[11][12] At the conclusion of his junior year in 2007–08, James hired an agent after declaring himself eligible for the 2008 draft, thereby forgoing his final season of NCAA eligibility.[13] He was never drafted.[14]

Two schools on this list have two players represented. UConn's Emeka Okafor and Hasheem Thabeet each played three years for the Huskies before also declaring themselves for the NBA Draft. Northwestern State's D'or Fischer and William Mosley are both on this list, but Fischer only played for two seasons at Northwestern State before transferring to West Virginia.

Key[]

Top 25 career blocks leaders[]

Jarvis Varnado holds the NCAA record with 564 blocks.
Adonal Foyle recorded 492 blocks in 87 games.
Emeka Okafor finished with 441 blocks.
Hasheem Thabeet recorded 417 blocks.
Player Pos. Team Career start Career end Games
played 		Blocks Ref.
Jarvis Varnado F Mississippi State 2006 2010 141 564 [8]
Wojciech Myrda C Louisiana–Monroe 1998 2002 115 535 [9]
Adonal Foyle C Colgate 1994 1997 87 492 [15]
Tim Duncan* C Wake Forest 1993 1997 128 481 [16]
William Mosley C Northwestern State 2008 2012 124 456 [17]
Alonzo Mourning* C Georgetown 1988 1992 120 453 [18]
Tarvis Williams F/C Hampton 1997 2001 114 452 [19]
Ken Johnson C Ohio State 1997 2001 127 444 [20]
Shawn James F Northeastern /
Duquesne 		2004 2008 83 443 [11][12]
Deng Gai F Fairfield 2001 2005 100 442 [21]
Emeka Okafor C UConn 2001 2004 103 441 [22]
Lorenzo Coleman C Tennessee Tech 1993 1997 113 437 [3]
Calvin Booth C Penn State 1995 1999 114 428 [23]
Theo Ratliff C Wyoming 1991 1995 111 425 [24]
Alvin Jones C Georgia Tech 1997 2001 124 425 [25]
Etan Thomas F Syracuse 1996 2000 122 424 [26]
Shelden Williams F Duke 2002 2006 139 422 [27]
Rodney Blake F Saint Joseph's 1984 1988 116 419 [3]
Hasheem Thabeet C UConn (2) 2006 2009 100 417 [28]
Shaquille O'Neal* C LSU 1989 1992 90 412 [29]
Kevin Roberson C Vermont 1988 1992 112 409 [3]
Jim McIlvaine C Marquette 1990 1994 118 399 [30]
Stephane Lasme F Massachusetts 2003 2007 118 399 [31]
Mickell Gladness F/C Alabama A&M 2005 2008 85 396 [32]
D'or Fischer F Northwestern State (2) /
West Virginia 		2000 2005 127 392 [33]
Tim Perry F Temple 1984 1988 130 392 [34]

References[]

General
  • "2020–21 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
Specific
  1. ^ "Basketball glossary". FIBA.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "History of the NCAA". NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "2009–10 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). 2009–10 NCAA Men's Basketball Media Guide. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  4. ^ "David Robinson". HoopHall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 2009. Archived from the original on November 7, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c "David Robinson". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  6. ^ "Hakeem Olajuwon". HoopHall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 2009. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  7. ^ "Hakeem Olajuwon". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c "Jarvis Varnado". sports-reference.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Wojciech Myrda". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  10. ^ "1997 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  11. ^ a b "Shawn James (Northeastern)". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Shawn James (Duquesne)". sports-reference.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  13. ^ Lenchiner, Jeff (May 8, 2008). "Exclusive: Shawn James signs with agent". InsideHoops.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  14. ^ "2008 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  15. ^ "Adonal Foyle". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  16. ^ "Tim Duncan". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  17. ^ "William Mosley, Northwestern State". CBSsports.com. CBS Sports. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  18. ^ "Alonzo Mourning". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  19. ^ "Tarvis Williams". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  20. ^ "Ken Johnson". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  21. ^ "Deng Gai". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  22. ^ "Emeka Okafor". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  23. ^ "Calvin Booth". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  24. ^ "Theo Ratliff". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  25. ^ "Alvin Jones". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  26. ^ "Etan Thomas". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  27. ^ "Shelden Williams". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  28. ^ "Hasheem Thabeet". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  29. ^ "Shaquille O'Neal". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  30. ^ "Jim McIlvaine". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  31. ^ "Stephane Lasme". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  32. ^ "Mickell Gladness". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  33. ^ "D'or Fischer". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  34. ^ "Tim Perry". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2010.

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