It's a tough task. Just ask any of the 18 coaches, retired coaches, former players, media and basketball observers we asked to help out. Pick the 10 greatest college basketball players of all time. And watch everyone decry having to pick one star over another.

Impossible. Brutal. Crazy.

That's what everyone says, which is fine. Because it is August, Midnight Madness is still two months away and if you are a college hoops fan, you need something to discuss and debate. The relative merits of repealing the 5/8 rule can only pass so much time.

Larry Bird took Indiana State to new heights and was National Player of the Year as a senior. (AP)

Hence the latest installment of our "Best Of" series and the toughest assignment thus far.

Try deciding between Bill Bradley and Tom Gola, Elvin Hayes and Elgin Baylor, Jerry Lucas and Oscar Robertson.

Can a list of all-time basketball greats, any list, not include Michael Jordan? Does a 44-point per game scoring average guarantee a spot? How exactly do you compare the games of Bob Kurland and Patrick Ewing? What do you do with Ralph Sampson? How important is winning? How important is supporting cast?

Impossible. Brutal. Crazy.

But we tried, consulting a large group of observers -- from Hall of Fame coaches to Hall of Fame fans -- because most of the players competed long ago. And because this way we can share some of the blame, although, as always, we will happily take and appreciate any and all feedback.

The criterion was relatively simple: This is a college list and college list only.

How a player fared before or after NCAA play means nothing. Because it is about college basketball, a player must have played at least three seasons to be eligible -- eliminating greats such as Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Chris Webber and Isiah Thomas.

Other than that, take your pick. Here's ours.

10. Pete Maravich, Louisiana State (1967-1970) -- A much debated choice because his teams were not great winners (never reaching NCAA Tournament play) and he benefited from a system his father, Press, the then LSU coach, designed to keep him gunning (1,168 shots in 1969-70). But the numbers are simply overwhelming, a never to be duplicated career scoring average of 44.2 points per game for the three-time consensus All-American. Maravich finished with a whopping 3,667 career points and four times poured in 60 or more in the 40-minute, no shot clock college game. In 1970 (the same year he hung 69 on Alabama) he engaged in a legendary duel with Kentucky's Dan Issel, scoring 64 to Issel's 51 as the two players set a record for two players -- combining for 115 points -- in one game. The year before he had three consecutive games of scoring 50 or more. Now just imagine the numbers "Pistol Pete", a 6-foot-5 dead-on jump shooter, could have put up with a 3-point shot.

9. Tom Gola, La Salle (1951-1955) -- A four-time All-American, the 6-6 Gola's greatest accomplishment is that 45 years after graduating, he remains the NCAA's all-time career rebounding king with 2,201 boards, a career per-game average of 18.1. An icon in Philadelphia, Gola led La Salle to both the 1952 NIT and 1954 NCAA Championships. His team lost to Bill Russell's San Francisco squad in the 1955 NCAA finals. He earned National Player of the Year honors in 1954. Gola was a player ahead of his time, a multipurpose threat who poured in 2,461 points (a 20.8 ppg career average). La Salle managed a 102-19 record during his four seasons.

8. Patrick Ewing, Georgetown (1981-84) -- It is difficult to imagine Big East Basketball taking off in the 1980s without Ewing, the 7-0 hulking, rough and tumble Georgetown Hoya. A two-time All-American and 1985 National Player of the Year, Ewing was an indomitable presence in the middle of the Georgetown attack, averaging 15.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game for his career. He led Georgetown to an average of 30.3 wins a season, three National Championship games and the 1984 NCAA title, when he was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Only a late Michael Jordan jumper (1982) and a near perfect Villanova performance (1985) kept him from three titles. His dominance -- "he was just plain scary in the paint," said one former player -- in the 1980s is indisputable.

7. Christian Laettner, Duke (1988-1992) -- The 6-11 forward is one of college basketball's greatest winners, leading Duke to four Final Fours and two national championships during a period when the NCAA Tournament was at its most competitive. National Player of the Year in 1992, Laettner averaged 19.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game his final three seasons, but was most deadly in the game's true lonely moments. He hit overtime buzzer-beating game winners in both the 1990 (Connecticut) and 1992 (Kentucky) Elite Eight games. He remains the only player to start in four Final Fours and was the gutty assassin that finally pushed the perennial bridesmaid Blue Devils over the top.

6. Larry Bird, Indiana State (1976-1979) -- The self proclaimed "Hick from French Lick" managed the near impossible as a senior when he took out-of-the-way Indiana State to a 33-0 record and into the 1979 NCAA Finals against Michigan State. Bird was virtually a one-man, unstoppable show, averaging 30.3 points per game for his three-year career. A two-time All-American, Bird was National Player of the Year as a senior. "His senior year was probably the greatest individual single season in college basketball history," said one voter. The 6-9 forward was as good of a passer as he was a shooter, confounding triple-team defenses that aimed to stop him. That helped ISU go a remarkable 81-13 during his time in Terre Haute as Bird broke 30 school records.

5. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati (1957-1960) -- A three-time Sporting News All-American and National Player of the Year, the Big O revolutionized the game by playing a versatile inside/outside game at 6-5. One of only two players -- Maravich the other -- to lead the nation in scoring three consecutive seasons, Robertson finished with a 33.8 career mark, establishing 14 NCAA scoring records in the process. His 2,973 career points still ranks seventh all time, despite playing just three seasons and without the luxury of the 3-point shot. He was also a gifted passer, rebounder and defensive stopper, a total-package talent with a winner's heart. He led UC to back-to-back Final Fours in 1959 and 1960.

4. David Thompson, North Carolina State (1972-1975) -- The greatest player in the rich history of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Thompson was a magical talent, a legendary 6-4 athlete with a 42-inch vertical leap who came up as the youngest of 11 children in a cinder block home in tiny Boiling Springs, N.C. A three-time consensus All-American and National Player of the Year as a senior, Thompson thrilled Southern crowds with a career 26.8 scoring average. His greatest accomplishment, however, was leading State to the 1974 NCAA Championship, breaking UCLA's seven-year stranglehold on the title. He scored 28 as the Pack outlasted the Bruins 80-77 in a double overtime Final Four classic. State went 57-1 in his final two seasons.

3. Bill Russell, San Francisco (1952-56) -- The greatest winner in the history of professional basketball, Russell got his start in the NCAA by leading a small Catholic school to consecutive undefeated national championships in 1955 and 1956. The Dons won 55 in a row those two years as Russell became National Player of the Year in 1956. The consummate team player, the 6-10 Russell managed to average nearly as many rebounds (20.3) as points (20.7) during his four-year career. "That's what has always set him apart," said one former coach. "Russell surveyed the game and decided, 'What will it take to win?' Then he did it."

2. Bill Walton, UCLA (1971-1974) -- The San Diego native was as imposing a competitor as the college game has ever seen. Walton was part of a UCLA team that captured 88 consecutive victories and he was named National Player of the Year three times. Walton was at his best in the big games, twice winning NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, including 1973 when he shot a ridiculous 76.3 percent from the floor for the tourney. That included his historic 21 for 22 effort against Memphis State in the 1973 National Championship Game. The gifted, multitalented 7-2 center averaged 20.3 points, 15.7 rebounds and a .651 field goal percentage for his career.

The Hall of Famer formerly known as Lew Alcindor turned into a pretty good pro, too.(AP)

1. Lew Alcindor, UCLA (1966-69) -- You want individual honors? How about a consensus first team All-American in each of his three seasons in Westwood? How about the consensus National Player of the Year as a junior and a senior? How about Sporting News Player of the Year as a sophomore? How about a three-time NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player? How does career averages of 26.4 points, 15.5 rebounds and a .639 field goal percentage strike you? He was a terror at both ends of the floor, an unstoppable offensive threat, a dominant rebounder and simply impenetrable low post defender.

Of course, what the 7-2 New Yorker was always about was winning and no one did it better than Alcindor. His UCLA teams captured three NCAA championships and compiled an 88-2 record on his watch. As one voter put it, "when Alcindor played, it just wasn't fair. You had no chance." Which is why they play the games. And why none was ever better than the future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.