Niang, Paige in ESPN’s Top 10 college players

ESPN ranked the Top 100 college basketball players in the nation this month over the past week. The top 10 players were revealed today, and two players with Iowa ties made the cut.

Linn-Mar grad and North Carolina star Marcus Paige checked in at No. 2.

'Paige could easily have grabbed the top spot in this poll after leading the Tar Heels in scoring (17.5 PPG) and assists (4.2 APG) last season,” ESPN wrote. 'Expectations are even bigger for the junior, and he will need to meet them for North Carolina to excel.”

Iowa State forward Georges Niang ranked seventh. ESPN had this to say about the junior:

'Back from his injury and noticeably slimmer, Niang's impact on the Cyclones is almost too much to quantify. A point-center who can pass as deftly as he can score, the junior needs to be great to fill the void left by Melvin Ejim and DeAndre Kane.”

Other local notables in the Top 100:

No. 61: Aaron White, Hawkeyes:

'The Hawkeyes' late collapse and a slight usage decline both obscured another mostly brilliant campaign from White. With leading scorer Roy Devyn Marble gone but pretty much everyone else back, White will find it far more difficult to recede into the crowd.”

No. 95: Dustin Hogue, Cyclones:

'The junior college transfer started every game and finished second in the Big 12 with 8.4 rebounds per game. He was best in the postseason, scoring a career-high 34 points in Iowa State's loss to eventual champion UConn.'