The Consensus 1981 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, the

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The USBWA annually awar ...

, The

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

and the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University ...

1981 Consensus All-America team

Individual All-America teams

AP Honorable Mention: * John Bagley, Boston College *Gene Banks, Duke * Earl Belcher, St. Bonaventure *

Curtis Berry Curtis Berry (born June 16, 1959) is a retired American professional basketball player. As a freshman, Berry moved to the University of Missouri campus at Columbia and averaged 6.8 points in 1978, as a sophomore collegian, he led the varsity i ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

*Rolando Blackman, Kansas State *Ray Blume, Oregon State * Kevin Boyle,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

*Clyde Bradshaw, DePaul * Darrell Browder, TCU * David Burns, Saint Louis *

Antoine Carr Antoine Labotte Carr (born July 23, 1961) is an American retired basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Dawg", he played power forward (and sometimes center) for six different teams in the National Basketball Association across 16 seasons. Early life ...

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

* Howard Carter, LSU * Tom Chambers, Utah * Jamie Ciampaglio,

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

Sam Clancy Sam Clancy (born May 29, 1958) is a former defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, and Indianapolis Colts. He also played for the Pittsburgh Maulers and the Memphis Showboats ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

* Riley Clarida, Long Island * Matt Clark, Oklahoma *

Darius Clemons Darius Clemons is a retired American basketball player. He is known for his standout college career at Loyola University in Chicago, where he was named Midwestern City Conference Player of the Year in 1981. He remains the school's all-time lea ...

, Loyola (IL) * Bob Convey, Saint Francis (PA) *

Ron Cornelius Ronald Dean Cornelius (February 14, 1945 – August 18, 2021) was a session musician and producer who has played on albums by Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Al Kooper and Loudon Wainwright III. He was also the president of Gateway Entertainment whic ...

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

Quintin Dailey Quintin "Q" Dailey (January 22, 1961 – November 8, 2010) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'3" guard who played collegiately at the University of San Francisco, he later went on to a career in the NBA, playing for the Chicago B ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

* Ron Davis,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

* Mickey Dillard,

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

* Ronnie Dixon, Duquesne * Mike Evelti,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

* Mike Ferrara, Colgate *Rod Foster, UCLA * Ricky Frazier, Missouri *

Zam Fredrick Zambolist "Zam" Fredrick Sr. (born August 17, 1959) is a retired American professional basketball player. He spent his professional career playing in Italy, from 1981 to 1987, after graduating college from the South Carolina Gamecocks men's baske ...

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

* Bob Fronk,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

* Ken Green, Texas–Pan American * Andra Griffin, Washington * Pete Harris,

Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

* Scott Hastings,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Len Hatzenbeller Leonard Phillip Hatzenbeller Jr. (born May 6, 1959) is an American former basketball center. In college, he competed for Drexel. He was both an honorable mention All-American and the East Coast Conference Player of the Year in 1981. A native ...

, Drexel *

Rod Higgins Roderick Dwayne Higgins (born January 31, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who formerly served as president of basketball operations for the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Hornets. He is also the father of fo ...

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

* Angelo Hill,

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

* Jo Jo Hunter,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

* Eddie Johnson,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

* Frank Johnson, Wake Forest * Harry Kelly,

Texas Southern Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

*Albert King, Maryland * Larry Lawrence, Dartmouth *

Cliff Levingston Clifford Eugene Levingston (born January 4, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Professional playing career A former power forward, Levingston played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Levingston st ...

, Wichita State *

Alton Lister Alton Lavelle Lister (born October 1, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player. He is currently serving as an assistant coach for TNT Tropang Giga in Philippine Basketball Association. Lister graduated from Woodrow Wilson High ...

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

*Durand Macklin, LSU *

Jeff Malone Jeffrey Nigel Malone (born June 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball, Mississippi State, and is mostly known for his time with the Washington Bullet ...

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

* Greg Manning, Maryland *

Ethan Martin Ethan Cash Martin (born June 6, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies in and . Professional career Los Angeles Dodgers Martin was drafted in the 1st ro ...

, LSU * David Maxwell, Fordham *

Ronnie McAdoo Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

* Jim McCloskey, Loyola Marymount * Mike McGee,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

* Mark McNamara,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Larry Nance Larry Donnell Nance Sr. (born February 12, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. A forward from Clemson University, Nance played 13 seasons (1981–1994) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Phoen ...

, Clemson *

Mike Olliver Michael Orlando Olliver (born March 21, 1959) is an American former basketball player. He is best known for his college career at Lamar University, where he was the Southland Conference Player of the Year in 1981. Olliver was born in Temple, Tex ...

, Lamar * Michael Perry,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

* Eddie Phillips,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Ricky Pierce Richard Charles Pierce (born August 19, 1959) is an American retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Deuces" and "Big Paper Daddy", he was selected as an NBA All-Star (1991) and was twice the NBA Sixth Man of the Year (19 ...

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

John Pinone John Gabriel Pinone Jr. (born February 19, 1961) is a retired American professional basketball player. High school Pinone played competitively at South Catholic High School in Hartford, leading the team to the Class L state championship in 1977 ...

, Villanova * Mark Radford, Oregon State * David Russell, St. John's * Mike Sanders, UCLA *

Danny Schayes Daniel Leslie Schayes (born May 10, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played for Syracuse University and played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 1981 until 1999. At 6' 11" and 235 pounds, h ...

, Syracuse *

Byron Scott Byron Antom Scott (born March 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, Scott won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their ...

, Arizona State * Tom Seaman, Holy Cross *

Jose Slaughter Jose Dan Slaughter (born September 9, 1960) is an American former basketball player. He was a 6'5" shooting guard and attended the University of Portland. Slaughter played for the NBA's Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American pr ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

* Andre Smth,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

* Derek Smith,

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

* Dale Solomon,

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

Gary Springer Gary Springer Sr. (born February 18, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who is best known for his collegiate career at Iona between 1980–81 and 1983–84. High school career Springer grew up in Harlem, New York and a ...

, Iona * Mike Strayhorn, William & Mary *

Terry Teagle Terry Michael Teagle (born April 10, 1960) is a retired American professional basketball player, whose National Basketball Association (NBA) career lasted from 1982 to 1993. During his playing career, at a height of 6'5" (1.96 m) tall, he played ...

, Baylor *

Linton Townes Linton Rodney Townes (born November 30, 1959) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6 '7" (201 cm) 190 lb (86 kg) swingman from Richmond, Virginia, he played collegiately at James Madison University from 197 ...

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

Corny Thompson Cornelius Allen "Corny" Thompson (born February 5, 1960) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'8" (203 cm) 225 lb (102 kg) power forward who occasionally also played the center position. Thomson was a m ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

LaSalle Thompson LaSalle Thompson III (born June 23, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player, who spent most of his 15-year career with the Kansas City/Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers. The 6 ft 10 in, 245-pound Thompson spent time a ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

*Kelly Tripucka, Notre Dame * Kelvin Troy,

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

Elston Turner Elston Howard Turner Sr. (born June 10, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Playing career A 6'5" (1.96 ...

, Ole Miss * David Vann, Saint Mary's * Ken Webb,

Fairleigh Dickinson Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

Buck Williams Charles Linwood "Buck" Williams (born March 8, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers. He was well known for his rebounding ability and trademark goggles. Williams, ...

, Maryland * Sam Williams, Arizona State * Sid Williams,

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

* Jim Wright,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1981 Ncaa Men's Basketball All-Americans NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...