St. Augustine's v North Carolina
Getty Images

Just before the season started, the CBS Sports rankings of the Top 100 And 1 best college basketball players dropped, and while it featured some predictable names at the top such as Purdue center Zach Edey at No. 1, we've been alerted by fans that there was some notable snubs.

Our panel of five expert voters each brought their own criteria to the exercise, and thoughts varied widely with some of the down-ballot choices. For example: the placement of a heralded freshman can vary greatly from voter to voter. Some panelists are eager to buy in on the hype with newcomers to the Division I stage while others are slow to project that a diaper dandy will truly belong among such elite company.

Some are hesitant to place mid-major players high on their lists while others relish the opportunity to give the stars from lesser-known leagues their due among college basketball's stars.

Inevitably, we don't hit on 100% of the selections. Players such as Marquette's Tyler Kolek, Texas A&M's Wade Taylor and Providence's Bryce Hopkins did not make last year's list but proceeded to be the best players for NCAA Tournament teams while enjoying breakout seasons.

So, for this week's edition of the Dribble Handoff, we're giving each of our writers the chance to advocate for the player who they believe was most egregiously snubbed from this year's Top 100 And 1 player rankings entering the 2023-24 season.

Lamont Butler, San Diego State

I tend to favor impactful players on quality teams over stat-stuffers on bad ones, which was my rationale for putting Butler 38th on my individual ballot of the best 100 And 1 college basketball players. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 8.8 points, a team-high 3.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds last season for a San Diego State team that made the title game of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Furthermore, he was the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year, which illustrates how Butler is a difference-maker on both ends of the court for a program that's turned into one of the sport's most consistent winners. Simply put, that's good enough for me and why it was surprising to see the player who hit what is undeniably the biggest shot in SDSU history omitted from a list designed to recognize college basketball's best. -- Gary Parrish

Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss

I chose my highest-ranked player on my individual ballot who didn't make our composite 101 list. Murrell, perhaps the most overlooked player in the SEC the past two seasons, is a shooting guard who will likely shine again for the Rebels as a senior. He wasn't picked among the top 13 players (what are we doing with an eight-man First Team? Please get serious) in the official preseason SEC honors, but I'd bank on him being a First or Second Team guy come March. Murrell averaged 14.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists as a 6-4 2-guard. Ole Miss begins a new era under Chris Beard. Murrell might wind up benefiting more than any other player because of it — because the Rebels could rely on him for 15 points per night in order to compete for an NCAA Tournament bid. -- Matt Norlander

Elmarko Jackson, Kansas

It feels taboo to have a whopping five players ranked inside the Top 100 (and one) of our player rankings. I get it. But it feels slightly more acceptable when you consider that the team with five players inside my own personal list is Kansas -- the team that overwhelmingly ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Elmarko Jackson was the lone Jayhawk on my ballot who did not sneak into our rankings, so I'll throw him in here as my snub candidate. With Dajuan Harris, Kevin McCullar Jr. and KJ Adams back and Hunter Dickinson transferring in, Jackson has been overlooked as a sneaky great incoming talent with major potential within Bill Self's offense, which from my view would be a mistake. He's a former five-star combo guard with big credentials and a big opportunity for the taking with Gradey Dick and Joseph Yesufu gone and Arterio Morris no longer with the team after his dismissal earlier this year. Even on a veteran-heavy team there's a pathway for Jackson to soak up a big role as a scorer and facilitator for an offense that projects to be one of the sport's best. -- Kyle Boone

Keisei Tominaga, Nebraska

Tominaga finished at No. 44 on my ballot after, and it's genuinely baffling that he missed the list. The 6-2 guard averaged 20.3 points while shooting 55.7% from the floor and 43.1% from 3-point range over Nebraska's final nine games last season. Since then, he's represented the Japanese senior national team in international play and done so quite admirably, averaging 11.4 points in five games during the FIBA World Cup. Considering that the Cornuskers lost their No. 2 and 3 scorers, his offensive contributions should only increase. 

The former JUCO product made a massive leap in efficiency and production from his first season at Nebraska to his second, and if there's even a modest uptick in 2023-24, he'll be a first-team All-Big Ten performer. -- David Cobb

Elliot Cadeau, North Carolina

On my own ballot, I had Cadeau ranked No. 76 and he was one of my highest ranked players that didn't make the Top 100 And-1 list. In total, there were six freshmen that were selected and Cadeau was not one of them. Last month, I ranked the top freshmen in the country and I had Cadeau ranked No. 5. I'm here to tell you that he might end up being the most impactful freshman in the country by the seasons end. North Carolina averaged 12 assists, which ranked No. 264 in the nation and those numbers should go up with Cadeau in the fold. 

Cadeau is a plug-and-play starter for Hubert Davis and he is one of the most talented floor generals the Tar Heels program has seen in some time. Don't be surprised if he is one the leaders in assists at the end of the season. -- Cameron Salerno