WSET.com - ABC13The King's Court for May 5, 2011

NCAA Tournament + Current NBA Players - What If? by Nick King

As I sat on my couch last night watching the NBA Playoffs, I got to thinking about what would happen if every university brought back all their players from the past 15 years or so, for a one day tournament. Actually, initially I was trying to figure out what the best team of that era would be right now (05-06 Connecticut?), based on the shape everyone is currently in, but decided that was too much of a headache. So, I went to see what university's could put out at least a starting five (using players from current NBA rosters). I found 18, then kicked out two, leaving a Sweet 16 setup.

I seeded them based on the number of players they could trot out (in case of a tie, age and injuries are factored in, Greg Oden), and here's what that looked like:

1) UCLA (14)
2) Duke (13)
3) Kentucky (12)
4) Kansas (12)
5) North Carolina (11)
6) UConn (10)
7) Arizona (10)
8) Texas (9)
9) Wake Forest (8)
10) Georgia Tech (8)
11) Florida (8)
12) Syracuse (7)
13) Ohio State (7)
14) LSU (7)
15) Stanford (6)
16) Memphis (5)

I'm sure it surprises no one who the top 5 schools are, but it's worth noting three of the five had a stretch in the 2000's where they were putrid. But anyway, on with the tournament.

Sweet 16

1) UCLA vs 16) Memphis -- A lot closer than you'd think. Most teams in this group would have an impossible time defending Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans together, but the Bruins can throw six different point guards at them. This one comes down to UCLA being too deep and too powerful inside. Joey Dorsey fouls out, leaving the Tigers with only four men. Kevin Love resorts to shooting full court chest passes at the basket, making three. UCLA advances.

2) Duke vs 15) Stanford -- Even with 13 players, Duke's not as good as you'd think. But they're good enough to beat Stanford, seeing as four of the six Cardinal players are the Collins and Lopez twins. All four foul out in the first half, Duke advances.

3) Kentucky vs 14) LSU -- The Tigers are scary inside, even without the use of an injured Shaquille O'Neal. The Wildcats throw plenty of big bodies at them though, and there's nobody wearing purple and gold that can stop Rondo and John Wall. Tayshaun Prince is spotted doing the John Wall dance, Kentucky advances.

4)Kansas vs 13) Ohio State -- Unable to use Greg Oden the Bucks send out Kosta Koufos and Byron Mullens. Paul Pierce rolls off the court in a wheelchair laughing. Kansas advances.

5) North Carolina vs 12) Syracuse -- No Tar Heel can stop Carmelo, but they let him score his 40. On the other end, Jonny Flynn's not good enough to run around with Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton. North Carolina advances.

6) UConn vs 11) Florida -- Perhaps the most interesting matchup of this round. The only point guard on the floor is A.J. Price of UConn. Florida's much better in the paint, with Joakim Noah and Al Horford rejoining to go along with David Lee and Marreese Speights. Mike Miller and Matt Bonner go cold from the outside though, and Price feeds Ray Allen, Ben Gordon and Rip Hamilton all day. Hasheem Thabeet waves a towel all game, UConn advances.

7) Arizona vs 10) Georgia Tech -- Two of the more underwhelming teams. The Wildcats possess an odd combination of guys past their prime and guys yet to hit their prime. Similarly, the Yellow Jackets have a handful of guys yet to hit their stride as well. In a close game late, Chris Bosh misses a dunk and Jason Terry hits a clutch three for the win. Arizona advances.

8) Texas vs 9) Wake Forest -- A close second to UConn-Florida for best matchup. Texas is nearly unstoppable between Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge being fed by the trio of T.J. Ford, D.J. Augustin and Daniel Gibson. The Demon Deacons counter with an even better trio of point guards, Chris Paul, Jeff Teague and Ish Smith, hitting Tim Duncan and Josh Howard. Wake Forest comes close to the only upset, but Duncan doesn't have enough left in the tank. Texas advances.

We'll see how the next eight games shake out next time I post (yes, three weeks from now the NBA playoffs will still be going strong), and crown our champion. My gut says Duke falters before the Final Four, but no promises.

Also, for reference, the rosters are listed below.

UCLA (14) - (Ryan Hollins, Baron Davis, Arron Afflalo, Darren Collison, Matt Barnes, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Kevin Love, Jordan Farmar, Dan Gadzuric, Trevor Ariza, Russell Westbrook, Jrue Holliday, Jason Kopono, Earl Watson)
Duke (13) - (Elton Brand, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Gerald Henderson, Mike Dunleavy, Dahntay Jones, Josh McRoberts, Shane Battier, Corey Maggette, Shelden Williams, Chris Duhon, JJ Redick, Grant Hill)
Kansas (12) - (Paul Pierce, Julian Wright, Kirk Hinrich, Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Xavier Henry, Mario Chalmers, Drew Gooden, Cole Aldrich, Nick Collison, Darnell Jackson, Julian Wright)
Kentucky (12) - (Rajon Rondo, Keith Bogans, Tayshaun Prince, Chuck Hayes, Patrick Patterson, Jamaal Magloire, Nazr Mohammed, Daniel Orton, Jodie Meeks, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledose, John Wall)
North Carolina (11) - (Marvin Williams, Ed Davis, Brandan Wright, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood, Raymond Felton, Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington, Vince Carter, Danny Green)
UConn (10) - (Ray Allen, Hilton Armstrong, Caron Butler, Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton, Jeff Adrien, Hasheem Thabeet, A.J. Price, Rudy Gay, Emeka Okafor)
Arizona (10) - (Jerryd Bayless, Jason Terry, Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill, Luke Walton, Mike Bibby, Gilbert Arenas, Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson, Mustafa Shakur)
Texas (9) - (Avery Bradley, D.J. Augustin, Daniel Gibson, T.J. Ford, Dexter Pittman, Kevin Durant, Royal Ivey, LaMarcus Aldridge, Maurice Evans)
Wake Forest (8) - (James Johnson, Jeff Teague, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ish Smith, Chris Paul, Darius Songaila, Tim Duncan, Josh Howard)
Georgia Tech (8) - (Mario West, Thad Young, Anthony Morrow, Will Bynum, Chris Bosh, Jarrett Jack, Gani Lawal, Derrick Favors)
Florida (8) - (Marreese Speights, Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, David Lee, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Matt Bonner)
LSU (7) - (Shaq, Glen Davis, Tyrus Thomas, Garrett Temple, Anthony Randolph, Brandon Bass, Marcus Thornton)
Syracuse (7) - (Carmelo Anthony, Etan Thomas, Andy Rautins, Jonny Flynn, Donte Green, Wes Johnson, Hakim Warrick)
Ohio State (7) - (Kosta Koufos, Mike Conley, Evan Turner, Michael Redd, Daequan Cook, Byron Mullens, Greg Oden)
Stanford (6) - (Josh Childress, Jarron Collins, Jason Collins, Landry Fields, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez)
Memphis (5) - (Shawne Williams, Joey Dorsey, Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Tyreke Evans)