Honoring eight seniors who have stayed in school

Wisconsin senior Brian Butch is averaging a career-high 13.3 points and eight rebounds. John Biever/SI

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With all the NBA defections that have proliferated college basketball over the last decade, fans have unfortunately gotten the impression that if a player makes it to his senior year, he is somehow a failure. Everyone seems in such a rush to get to the proverbial next level that it's become a little too easy to forget that college athletes, even famous ones, are really just kids. As kids, they live, they learn, they grow -- and it usually takes a lot of time. Isn't that what college used to be about?

So in this, the Year of the Freshman (Part II), let's take a moment to celebrate eight grizzled veterans who have slowly but steadily become productive, dependable players. Keep in mind, this is not my list of the eight best seniors in the country. Rather, I honor them in this space for reminding us that there's nothing wrong with taking your time to grow up, as long as you eventually get there.

Brian Butch, 6-foot-11 center, Wisconsin

Butch has long been known as the guy ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb labeled a disappointment, but to be fair, there was some validity to that argument. True, being a McDonald's All-American in high school might have given Butch a label he wasn't quite ready to wear, but he is one of the few players I can ever recall who asked his coach if he could redshirt his first year. Butch carried a reputation as a softie for a while but, as was documented in this week's SI by my estimable colleague Luke Winn, now he is all grown up. He has raised his scoring to a career-high 13.3 points per game, not by firing up threes (ironically, this is by far his worst-ever shooting year from behind the arc), but by setting up on the post and taking the ball hard to the rim. Butch no longer shies away from contact, which is reflected in his career-high 8.0 rebounds per game. I also like that he's raised his free throw percentage from 58.5 percent last season to 70.3 percent.

Shan Foster, 6-6 swingman, Vanderbilt

Kevin Stallings told me recently that even he is amazed at the season Foster is having. Foster has always been as a good long-range shooter, but there is no logical explanation for why his three-point percentage should leap from 34.6 percent last year to 51.1 percent this year -- especially considering he is getting so much more attention from opposing defenses now. Foster's experience has taught him the difference between an open shot and a good shot. When he is on, he can beat a team almost singlehandedly, as was the case when he lit up UMass for 32 points while sinking 8 of his 12 attempts from behind the arc.

In addition, Foster, whose 5.0 rebounds a game is also a career-best, has become such a good defender that Stallings sticks him on the opponent's best perimeter player.

J.R. Giddens, 6-5 swingman, New Mexico

Giddens came to Kansas five years ago as a McDonald's All-American, but he shot his way out of Lawrence. During his two years at KU, Giddens fired from long-distance so heedlessly that he averaged a paltry 26 free throw attempts per season, compared to 184.5 three-point attempts. Giddens also had some off-the-court problems. He departed Lawrence after a bar fight that left him needing 30 stitches, and last year Lobos coach Ritchie McKay suspended him for two games for having a bad attitude.

Now, under the tutelage of new New Mexico coach Steve Alford -- his third college coach -- Giddens is finally exhibiting some maturity to complement his astounding athleticism. His rebounding has risen from 6.5 to 8.5 boards a game and, most significantly, Giddens has finally learned to take the ball to the hoop. For the first time in his college career, he is on pace to attempt more free throws than threes.

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