The madness of March is upon us, and as some of the nation’s top players look to advance in the Big Dance, we take a look back to see which current NBA players made an impact at college basketball's annual tournament.
Note: For players with multiple NCAA tournament appearances, the best year (deepest run, best performances, etc.) was chosen. Only active NBA players were included. Players are listed in alphabetical order.
Anthony Davis, Kentucky (2012)
Tournament statistics: 13.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.8 blocks, 51% shooting (six games)
Recap: Davis, the 2012 AP Player of the Year, led the Wildcats – who finished with a 38-2 record – to the eighth championship in program history, beating Kansas 67-59 in the title game. Davis only scored six points and was held to 1-of-10 from the field in the win, but he added 16 rebounds, five assists, three steals and six blocks, and was crowned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Blake Griffin, Oklahoma (2009)
Tournament statistics: 28.5 points, 15.0 rebounds, 78.0% shooting (four games)
Recap: In his second and final collegiate season, Griffin led the second-seeded Sooners to the Elite Eight, where they fell to the eventual champion North Carolina Tar Heels, 72-60. Griffin, looking like a man amongst boys, fresh off a dominant 30-point, 14-rebound performance in Oklahoma's Sweet 16 win over Syracuse, recorded 23 points (on 9-of-12 shooting) and 16 rebounds in the loss.
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (2016)
Tournament statistics: 25.2 points, 53.2% shooting, 41.7% three-point shooting (five games)
Recap: Hield carried the second-seeded Sooners to the program's first Final Four since 2002, but it wasn't the easiest of roads. Oklahoma's Round of 32 matchup with VCU went down to the wire, but Hield — who scored 36 points (29 in the second half) and hit six threes — propelled his Sooners to victory. In the Elite Eight against Dillon Brooks and No. 1 Oregon, Hield caught fire again, scoring 37 points and knocking down eight three-pointers. But it all came to an end a few days later, when the Sooners met a much stronger Villanova team in the Final Four, Hield struggled (nine points on 4-of-12 shooting) and the Wildcats won in a 95-51 rout.
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse (2003)
Carmelo Anthony cuts down the net after Syracuse beat Oklahoma 63-47. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USAT)
Tournament statistics: 20.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 47.5% shooting (six games)
Recap: In his lone collegiate season, Anthony led Syracuse to the first national title in program history. He put on a show in the Final Four against Texas, scoring 33 points to go along with 14 rebounds and three steals. He finished the championship game – an 81-78 thriller over Kansas – with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, winning the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.
C.J. McCollum, Lehigh (2012)
Tournament statistics: 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 30.4% shooting (two games)
Recap: The Mountain Hawks only won one game in the 2012 tournament, but it was the first — and the biggest — tournament win in program history. Matching up against the second-seeded Duke Blue Devils in the first round, McCollum scored a game-high 30 points, including a clutch late-game three-pointer, en route to a 75-70 victory. Lehigh lost their next game to Xavier by 12 points, but the damage — beating a Duke squad in Greensboro, N.C., some 50 miles from Durham — was already done.
Cleanthony Early, Wichita State (2013)
Tournament statistics: 16.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 50% shooting (five games)
Recap: The year the Wichita State Shockers shocked the basketball world and advanced to the Final Four as a No. 9 seed, Early was at the heart of the history. He started off the tournament with 21 points and seven rebounds in a win over Pittsburgh, followed by 16 points and seven rebounds in an upset win over No. 1 Gonzaga. His best performance of the tournament (24 points and 10 rebounds) was his last, though the Shockers fell to the eventual champion Louisville Cardinals, 72-68. A year later, Early impressed on the national stage again in the second round against Kentucky. He scored a game-high 31 points, grabbed seven rebounds and threw down a monster dunk over Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein.
Deron Williams, Illinois (2005)
Tournament statistics: 14.7 points, 8.3 assists, 47.1% shooting (six games)
Recap: Williams, along with Luther Head and Dee Brown, led the Fighting Illini to the national championship game, where they lost to Sean May, Raymond Felton and the North Carolina Tar Heels by five points. But that wasn't the story. The story was how they got there. In the Elite Eight against Arizona, Williams helped orchestrate one of the most historic comebacks in tournament history. Down by 14 points with just over three minutes left, Illinois fought back, Williams hit a game-tying three-pointer in the final minute, and the game went to overtime, where the Fighting Illini held off the Wildcats.
Derrick Rose, Memphis (2008)
Tournament statistics: 20.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 51.8% shooting (six games)
Recap: During his lone collegiate season, Rose and the first-seeded Memphis Tigers, led by coach John Calipari, escaped a near upset in the Round of 32 against Mississippi State, pushed past No. 2 Texas and No. 1 UCLA, and advanced to the national championship game. Rose, who finished the game with 18 points and eight assists, caught fire in the second half, scoring 14 of his team's 16 points during one stretch. But Rose and guard Chris Douglas-Roberts missed a handful of key free throws down the stretch, and the Tigers fell to Mario Chalmers and the Kansas Jayhawks in overtime, 75-68. A little over a year later, Memphis was forced to vacate its 38-win season and serve three years probation due to an NCAA rules violation.
Derrick Williams, Arizona (2011)
Arizona Wildcats forward Derrick Williams (23) reacts after scoring a basket against the Duke Blue Devils. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez, US Presswire)
Tournament statistics: 22.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 47.3% shooting (four games)
Recap: In his sophomore season, Williams carried the fifth-seeded Wildcats to the Elite Eight, where they fell to the eventual champion Uconn Huskies. He scored 20 points and five rebounds in the loss, but his best performance came in the Sweet 16 against Kyrie Irving and the first-seeded Duke Blue Devils. In a 93-77 rout, Williams dropped 32 points, made five of his six three-point attempts and grabbed 13 rebounds. Now, six years and four NBA teams later, Williams plays alongside Irving, looking to find his niche with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Dwyane Wade, Marquette (2003)
Tournament statistics: 21.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 48.8% shooting (five games)
Recap: In his second and final year at Marquette, Wade carried the Golden Eagles to the program’s first Final Four trip since 1977. He was phenomenal throughout, but his most memorable performance came in the Elite Eight against No. 1 Kentucky, when he put together a 29-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist performance — just the fourth triple-double in NCAA tournament history. Marquette's run came to an end a game later against the second-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, but Wade had already captivated the nation.
Gordon Hayward, Butler (2010)
Tournament statistics: 15.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 37.3% shooting (six games)
Recap: Hayward and the fifth-seeded Butler Bulldogs, led by current Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, passed through No. 1 Syracuse in the Sweet 16 (Hayward: 17 points, five rebounds), No. 2 Kansas State in the Elite Eight (22 points, nine rebounds) and No. 5 Michigan State in the Final Four (19 points, nine rebounds) to set up a matchup with Duke in the final. Hayward had a shot to win the championship at the buzzer, but his halfcourt heave just missed, and the Bulldogs fell, 61-59.
Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's (2004)
Tournament statistics: 24.5 points, 5.0 assists, 43.8% shooting (four games)
Recap: As a senior, Nelson — the AP Player of the Year — led the Hawks to a perfect regular-season record and the first No. 1 seed in school history. Nelson started off the tournament on the right foot, with a 33-point (on 11-of-17 shooting) performance in an 82-63 rout of Liberty. The Hawks advanced to the Elite Eight, but Nelson's 17 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals were't enough, and they fell to Oklahoma State, 64-62.
Joakim Noah, Florida (2006)
Florida's Joakim Noah celebrates in the 2007 national championship game. (Photo: Michael A. Schwarz, USAT)
Tournament statistics: 16.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.8 blocks, 55% shooting (six games)
Recap: Florida’s frontcourt of Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer was one of the most talented in tournament history, leading the Gators to consecutive championships for the first time since Duke went back-to-back in 1991 and '92. During Florida's first championship run in 2006, Noah — who had emerged as one of the most dominant bigs in the country — put together a 15-point, 10-rebound, five-block performance in the Sweet 16 over Georgetown, followed by a 21-point, 15-rebound, five-block outing in the Elite Eight against No. 1 Villanova. From there, the Gators rolled past George Mason and UCLA, and Noah was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Kemba Walker, Connecticut (2011)
Tournament statistics: 23.5 points, 5.7 assists, 40.2% shooting (six games)
Recap: As a junior, Walker — who also led Uconn to the Big East tournament title — orchestrated one of the most improbable March Madness runs in NCAA history. He started off the tournament with 18 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in a rout of Bucknell, scored 33 points in the Huskies' Round of 32 matchup with Cincinnati and 36 points a round later against San Diego State and current San Antonio Spurs superstar Kawhi Leonard. When it was all said and done, the Huskies — who finished ninth in the Big East regular-season standings — won 11 straight from the start of the Big East tournament to the end of the Big Dance, where they beat Butler, 53-41, in a knock-down, drag-out final, and Walker was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Kevin Love, UCLA (2008)
Tournament statistics: 19.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.0 blocks, 57.1% shooting (five games)
Recap: Love and the first-seeded Bruins — a team with loaded with NBA talent — advanced to the Final Four, where they fell to Derrick Rose and coach John Calipari's Memphis Tigers, 78-63. Love stuffed the stat sheet in UCLA's five games, highlighted by his 29-point (on 10-of-14 shooting), 14-rebound, four-assist, four-block outing in the Bruins' 10-point win over Western Kentucky in the Sweet 16. He also tallied 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks in the Bruins' second-round win over Texas A&M.
Kyle O'Quinn, Norfolk State (2012)
Norfolk State players Kyle O'Quinn, Brandon Wheeless and Chris McEachin celebrate their 86-84 win against Missouri. (Photo: Nati Harnik, AP)
Tournament statistics: 15.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 44% shooting (two games)
Recap: O'Quinn may not be the sexiest name on this list, and the Norfolk State Spartans may not be the sexiest team. But just hours before C.J. McCollum and No. 15 Lehigh knocked off No. 2 Duke as mentioned above, the 15th-seeded Spartans pulled off an 86-84 upset over No. 2 Missouri, becoming just the fifth 15-seed to beat a two-seed in tournament history. O'Quinn finished the game with 26 points (on 10-of-16 shooting), 14 rebounds and converted a huge and-one in the final 40 seconds. With their spot in history secured, the Spartans went on to lose to Florida by 34 points in the next round.
Kyle Singler, Duke (2010)
Tournament statistics: 18.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 44.3% shooting (six games)
Recap: After two consecutive years of early NCAA tournament exits, Singler's Blue Devils finally cut down the nets in 2010. Singler, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, tallied 19 points (on 7-of-13 shooting) and nine rebounds in the win over Butler, but his best performance came in the Final Four against West Virginia (who upset the Blue Devils in the Round of 32 when Singler was a freshman). He scored 21 points (on 8-of-16 shooting), grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists to give Duke a commanding 78-57 win over the Mountaineers.
Nick Collison, Kansas (2003)
Tournament statistics: 18.7 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 65.9% shooting (six games)
Recap: After losing to Maryland in the Final Four a year before, Collison and the Jayhawks advanced to the national championship, where they fell short again, this time to Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse. Collison, a senior, scored 19 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the loss. The game before that, he put up 12 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a 94-61 win over Dwyane Wade and Marquette. But his most dominant game of the tournament came in a 69-65 Sweet 16 win over Duke — 33 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Randy Foye, Villanova (2006)
Tournament statistics: 23.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 38.8% shooting (four games)
Recap: Alongside current Toronto Raptors All-Star Kyle Lowry, Foye led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight, where they fell to Florida, 75-62, but his most memorable performance came in the Sweet 16 against Boston College. The Wildcats won the game, 60-59 in overtime, on a goaltending call, but it was Foye who carried the team to victory. He was the only Villanova player to reach double figures, scoring 29 points, and he hit a pair of late-game free throws and a clutch jumper with under a minute left in regulation.
Shabazz Napier, Connecticut (2014)
Connecticut Huskies guard Shabazz Napier celebrate after defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 60-54 in the championship game of the Final Four. (Photo: Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports)
Tournament statistics: 21.2 points, 4.5 assists, 46.3% shooting (six games)
Recap: A senior with one national championship (2011) already under his belt, Napier led the seventh-seeded Huskies through the gauntlet — past No. 2 Villanova (Napier: 25 points, five rebounds), No. 3 Iowa State (19 points, five assists), No. 4 Michigan State (25 points, six rebounds, four assists) and No. 1 Florida (12 points, six assists, four steals). In his final collegiate game, Napier put together a 22-point, six-rebound, three-steal performance against Kentucky, leading the Wildcats to their second title in four years and earning the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.
Shelvin Mack, Butler (2011)
Tournament statistics: 20.3 points, 43.8% shooting (six games)
Recap: A year after losing to Duke in the national championship game, Butler made it back to the final game of the Big Dance. Only this time, there was no Gordon Hayward. Mack led the eight-seeded Bulldogs past No. 1 Pittsburgh, No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 2 Florida, setting up a meeting with Kemba Walker and No. 3 Connecticut. Mack struggled and the Bulldogs lost again, but the run — which was highlighted by Mack's late-game heroics against Florida — added Butler to the list of college basketball's biggest Cinderella stories. Again.
Stephen Curry, Davidson (2008)
Tournament statistics: 32.0 points, 3.3 steals, 46.7% shooting, 44.2% three-point shooting (four games)
Recap: Before he was the two-time MVP, NBA champion, best three-point shooter in NBA history Stephen Curry, he was a small, lightly-recruited sharpshooter who thrust himself into the national spotlight with mid-major Davidson. In 2008, Curry, a sophomore, carried the 10th-seeded Wildcats to the Elite Eight. He started off the tournament with a bang, erupting for 40 points (24 of which came from beyond the arc) on 14-of-22 shooting to beat Gonzaga. Next: 30 points and five assists to beat No. 2 Georgetown. After that: 33 points and four steals to beat No. 3 Wisconsin. Curry's Wildcats eventually fell to the Kansas team that would go on to win the national championship. But Curry's reign as one of the most prolific scoring point guards in college basketball history was well underway.
Ty Lawson, UNC (2009)
Tournament statistics: 20.8 points, 6.8 assists, 3.9 steals, 50% shooting (six games)
Recap: In his third and final season in Chapel Hill, Lawson helped lead a Tar Heel squad of Ed Davis, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, Tyler Hansbrough and Tyler Zeller to the program's fifth NCAA championship. North Carolina rolled through the field, winning each game by double digits, en route to an 89-72 win over Michigan State in the final. Lawson finished the game with 21 points, six assists and a championship-game record eight steals.
Tyus Jones, Duke (2015)
Tournament statistics: 13.0 points, 4.5 assists, 42.4% shooting (six games)
Recap: Jones entered the NCAA tournament as the fourth-leading scorer on a Duke team led by Jahlil Okafor, Quinn Cook and Justise Winslow. He left as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. The Blue Devils didn't have much trouble getting to the national championship game, where they went up against Frank Kaminsky and the Wisconsin Badgers. Jones scored a game-high 23 points and hit a dagger three-pointer with just over a minute left, and Duke went on to win, 68-63.
Trey Burke, Michigan (2013)
Tournament statistics: 15.5 points, 6.3 assists, 36.6% shooting (six games)
Recap: The Wolverines would have been eliminated in the Sweet 16 against Kansas had it not been for Burke, who hit a deep three-pointer in the final seconds to send the game to overtime. They followed up the win with victories over No. 3 Florida in the Elite Eight (Burke: 15 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) and No. 4 Syracuse in the Final Four (seven points, five rebounds, four assists) before falling to No. 1 Louisville by six in the title game despite Burke's game-high 24 points (on 7-of-11 shooting).
