NCAA: Where Deflated Employment Prospects Happen (March Madness)

 

After 2 rounds (that matter) most of the lottery draft picks are gone. Shabazz Muhammad was supposed to be the number one pick in the draft at one point this season. Now he’s falling quickly due to a mediocre season and a short, rough tournament appearance. Meanwhile like dust, Cody Zeller rises, mostly because he’s actually good, and also because people will have opportunities to watch Indiana play on a national stage.

Luckily, a lot of high level talent is still in the tournament. In the Sweet 16 games there will be quite a few players with NBA talent. I’m ordering the games by time and date now that there are so few games. I’m listing the projected first round draft picks, but in games where there aren’t any, I’m also listing the players that are in DraftExpress.com’s top 100 players. You never know who will have his chances of appearing in an NBA uniform bolstered by a strong NCAA tournament appearance.

Thursday March 28

Marquette v. Miami (FL) 5:15PM

None, but Vander Blue (Marquette) is 66, Kenny Kadji (Miami) is 68, and Shane Larkin (Miami) is 38

Arizona v. Ohio State 5:47PM

None, but Arizona has Solomon Hill (54) and Brandon Ashley (64). Ohio State has Deshaun Thomas(62) and Aaron Craft (88)

Indiana v. Syracuse 7:45PM

4    Cody Zeller C - 20 years old, Sophomore - 7' 0" 240lbs. – Indiana
7    Victor Oladipo SG/SF - 20 years old, Junior - 6' 5" 210lbs. – Indiana
15    Michael Carter-Williams PG - 21 years old, Sophomore - 6' 5" 175lbs. – Syracuse

Wichita State v. La Salle 8:17PM

There is not a player projected to be in the top 100 players picked (in a 60 player draft) playing in this game. What’s worse is that one of these teams will advance, creating the same issue in the elite eight

Friday March 29

Louisville v. Oregon 5:15PM

24    Gorgui Dieng C - 23 years old, Junior - 6' 11" 245lbs. – Louisville

Kansas v. Michigan Mar. 29 5:37PM

2    Ben McLemore SG - 20 years old, Freshman - 6' 4" 195lbs. – Kansas
10    Trey Burke PG - 20 years old, Sophomore - 6' 0" 180lbs. – Michigan
20    Glenn Robinson SF - 19 years old, Freshman -6' 6" 210lbs. - Michigan

Michigan State v. Duke Mar 29 7:45PM

12    Mason Plumlee C - 23 years old, Senior - 6' 11" 245lbs. – Duke
23    Gary Harris SG - 18 years old, Freshman - 6' 4" 210lbs. - Michigan State

Florida v. FGCU Mar. 29 7:57PM

Florida has Patric Young (37) and Erik Murphy (63).

NCAA: Where getting a real job happens.

 

If you're a fan of the Thunder, Spurs, Heat or 13 other squads, your team is headed to the playoffs. If you're not a fan of these teams, then your team is headed to the NBA draft lottery. Right now, the hope for the non-playoff teams is that there will be a player to lift them from the bottom to the top. The NCAA tournament brings the opportunity to see these players. If you view NCAA basketball as a major league farm system for NBA talent, then the tournament is the first, all important step in the process. For these players, a strong appearance in the NCAA tournament will have a huge impact on where they will be drafted.

I've listed the top 25 draft picks and the time that they will play their first game of the tournament.  It's listed roughly by projected draft order according to Draftexpress.com

Friday - 9:50 PM (16) Western Kentucky vs (1) Kansas*     TNT
2    Ben McLemore SG - 20 years old, Freshman - 6' 4" 195lbs. – Kansas

Friday - 9:57 PM (11) Minnesota vs (6) UCLA*       tru TV
3    Shabazz Muhammad SG -19 years old, Freshman - 6' 6" 223lbs. - UCLA

Friday- 4:10 PM (16) James Madison vs (1) Indiana*         TBS
4    Cody Zeller C - 20 years old, Sophomore - 7' 0" 240lbs. – Indiana
7    Victor Oladipo SG/SF - 20 years old, Junior - 6' 5" 210lbs. - Indiana

Thursday- 4:40 PM (12) Oregon vs (5) Oklahoma State*       TNT
5    Marcus Smart PG - 19 years old, Freshman - 6' 4" 200lbs. - Oklahoma State

Thursday 7:27 PM (12) California vs (5) UNLV*        tru TV
6    Anthony Bennett PF - 20 years old, Freshman - 6' 7" 239lbs. - UNLV

Friday- 6:50 PM (15) Florida Gulf Coast vs (2) Georgetown*          TBS
8    Otto Porter SF - 19 years old, Sophomore - 6' 8" 200lbs. - Georgetown

Thursday- 7:15 PM (13) South Dakota State vs (4) Michigan* CBS
10    Trey Burke PG - 20 years old, Sophomore - 6' 0" 180lbs. – Michigan
20    Glenn Robinson SF - 19 years old, Freshman -6' 6" 210lbs. - Michigan

Friday- 12:15 PM           (15) Albany vs (2) Duke*            CBS
12    Mason Plumlee C - 23 years old, Senior - 6' 11" 245lbs. - Duke

Thursday- 4:10 PM (16) Southern University vs (1) Gonzaga*            TBS
13    Kelly Olynyk C - 21 years old, Junior - 7' 0" 238lbs. - Gonzaga

Thursday- 9:57 PM (13) Montana vs (4) Syracuse*    tru TV
15    Michael Carter-Williams PG - 21 years old, Sophomore - 6' 5" 175lbs. – Syracuse

Friday- 7:20 PM (9) Villanova vs (8) North Carolina*         TNT
19    James McAdoo PF - 20 years old, Sophomore - 6' 9" 226lbs. - North Carolina

Thursday- 1:40 PM (9) Wichita State vs (8) Pittsburgh*          TBS
22    Steven Adams C - 19 years old, Freshman - 6' 11" 235lbs. – Pittsburgh

Friday- 12:15 PM           (14) Valparaiso vs (3) Michigan State*     CBS
23    Gary Harris SG - 18 years old, Freshman - 6' 4" 210lbs. - Michigan State

Thursday- 6:50 PM (16) North Carolina A&T vs (1) Louisville*            TBS
24    Gorgui Dieng C - 23 years old, Junior - 6' 11" 245lbs. – Louisville

 

Edit: These players are not in the NCAA tournament

1 Nerlens Noel C - 18 years old, Freshman - 6' 11" 216lbs. – Kentucky
9 Rudy Gobert PF/C - 20 years old, International - 7' 1" 235lbs. – Cholet
16 Alex Poythress SF/PF - 19 years old, Freshman - 6' 8" 239lbs. – Kentucky
17 C.J. McCollum PG/SG - 21 years old, Senior - 6' 3" 192lbs. – Lehigh
18 Archie Goodwin SG - 18 years old, Freshman - 6' 5" 195lbs. – Kentucky
21 Willie Cauley C - 19 years old, Freshman - 7' 0" 244lbs. – Kentucky
25 B.J. Young PG/SG - 19 years old, Sophomore - 6' 3" 180lbs. - Arkansas

Not in the NIT but in the NCAA Tournament

11 Alex Len C - 19 years old, Sophomore - 7' 1" 255lbs. – Maryland
14 Isaiah Austin C - 19 years old, Freshman - 7' 1" 220lbs. - Baylor

NBA Where Conflicting Incentives Happens

Where the fight for number one happens

At this point there’s only three sets of important matchups. There’s playoff bound teams fighting for home court advantage, mediocre teams fighting for a spot in the playoffs, and bad teams playing for better lottery position.

Monday

ORL @ NO LP 6PM

The fight for the best seeds in the draft begin in March after the trade deadline. These two teams are 4 and a half games apart in the standings

Tuesday

Good god the Tuesday slate of games is horrible. There BOS @ PHI and LAL @ OKC if you’re into those sorts of things. There’s also DEN @ SAC on league pass, because that’s what you paid for the league pass service to watch.

Wednesday

HOU @ DAL 630PM

Remember when Dallas was NBA champion 2 years ago? Right now they are fighting for the right to get crushed by the spurs or Thunder. The Rockets have shown themselves to be a worthy competitor.

Thursday

OKC @ NY LP 6PM

Ronnie Brewer’s homecoming isn’t the only reason to watch. These two teams have been flashy, impressive and dominant over weaker competition recently, but lackluster against teams that are nearer to them in the standings.

LAC @ DEN LP 830PM

Lob City in versus the team that leads the league in dunks per game. Sounds legit.

Friday

OKC @ CHA LP 5

The problem arises at the end of the year, when one team needs the win and the other team is better off losing. The Thunder are trying to get the number one seed in the playoffs and the Bobcats are looking for the number one seed in the lottery. Sounds like all the makings of a beatdown. On the other hand, maybe Charlotte will play with some pride.

Saturday

CHA @ WAS LP 6PM

The lottery seeding game of the week. Both of these south east conference foes are fighting for the top lottery pick. Last Year Charlotte was second overall and Washington was third. They are currently projected as the first and third seeded teams.

Sunday

CLE @ TOR 4PM

Come on lottery jackpot. Cleveland has had Lebron James and Kyrie Irving with their number one picks. Toronto got Andrea Bargnani last time the balls rolled their way. This would be the type of draft that Toronto would get a high pick in, just to make their fan base even more miserable.

IND @ MIA NBATV 4PM

The number one and two seeds in the east play each other on national TV? Sign me up.