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


In basketball, an assist is a pass to a teammate that directly leads to a score by field goal. The top 25 highest assists totals in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's basketball history are listed below. The NCAA did not split into its current divisions format until August 1973. From 1906 to 1955, there were no classifications to the NCAA nor its predecessor, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States. Then, from 1956 to spring 1973, colleges were classified as either "NCAA University Division " or "NCAA College Division ". Assists are a relatively new statistic in college basketball, having only become an official statistic beginning with the 1983–84 season. According to the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball media guide, however, there were two seasons in the early 1950s in which assists were recorded: 1950–51 and 1951–52.
The all-time leader in career assists is Bobby Hurley of Duke. He recorded 1,076 assists in 140 games between 1989–90 and 1992–93. He also led the Blue Devils to consecutive national championships in 1991 and 1992. Second on the list is Chris Corchiani of NC State, another Atlantic Coast Conference school. In his four seasons, Corchiani compiled 1,038 assists. Only two other players besides Hurley and Corchiani have recorded 1,000 career assists at the Division I level: Ed Cota of North Carolina and Jason Brickman of LIU Brooklyn. Sherman Douglas of Syracuse is the only player on this list who also recorded 20 or more assists in a single game at both the Division I and National Basketball Association levels. For his college career, he played in 138 games while recording 960 assists.
One school, Bradley, has two different players represented in the top 25 all-time career assists leader board – Jim Les and Anthony Manuel. However, Les split his career between Bradley and Cleveland State, so his career totals are not exclusive to those schools.

Key

Pos.GFCRef.
PositionGuardForwardCenterReferences

*Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Team

Top 25 career assists leaders

PlayerPos.TeamCareer startCareer endGames
played		AssistsRef.
GDuke198919931401,076
GNC State198719911241,038
GNorth Carolina199620001381,030
GLIU Brooklyn201020141301,009
GEast Tennessee State19871991127983
GMaryland19992003138972
GSyracuse19851989138960
GMarquette19911995123956
GKansas20012005138954
GPortland / UNLV19871991138950
GNotre Dame /
Oklahoma State		19952000124947
*GOregon State19861990120939
GOhio20092013143934
GSan Francisco19901994116902
GNortheastern19831987128894
GArkansas State19962000114893
GMichigan State20162020139890
GCleveland State / Bradley19821986118884
GOld Dominion19841988120883
GIona20082012132880
GDelaware19841988110877
GLouisiana Tech20112015140858
GClemson19841988122857
GBradley 19851989108855
GFlorida Gulf Coast20112015137845