Man, was last weekend an exciting weekend to be alive. Especially for all my Drake fans and all my hoop junkies out there.
You can probably already imagine what my weekend was like... all laid out on my living room couch as I shuffled between CBS, TBS, TNT, TruTV, and CBS Sports Network with Drake’s newest album bumping on my Bose SoundLink Bluetooth speaker III (highly recommended btw). It was all good vibes until… Villanova took that fat L to Wisconsin! I didn’t have them repeating this year but I definitely had them going pretty far.
Oh well, I took a deep breath, brushed it off, and focused my attention on my other picks. But then the madness continued. Down goes Florida State, and there goes Louisville, and then to cap it all, down goes Duke. All of sudden four teams that I had advancing deep into my bracket were all knocked out, including my pick for national champion!!!
As I sat there and watched my bracket slowly fall apart I scrolled through my tournament challenge app and thought about two things: “how did my college roommate, the same roommate who beat me in the championship of fantasy football this year, call all these darn upsets” and second, “Boy Villanova could have really used Daniel Ochefu’s presence down low in that game against Wisconsin”.
With “Do Not Disturb and Teenage Fever” (personal favorites on More Life) on repeat stirring up my intellectual juices I thought to myself hmmm I think I want to write about our Wizards players and their March Madness experience.
So, I pulled out my laptop and went to work. Along the process, I found out some interesting facts.
Seventy-eight: The NCAA Tournament was first established back in 1939 – therefore there have been a total of 78 national champions crowned.
Nine: Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Bill Walton, and Michael Jordan make up for nine of those 78 national championship teams.
Three hundred and fifty-one: There are total of 351 Division Men’s basketball programs across 32 total conferences and ONLY 68 of 351 go dancing in March.
Eighty-nine point nine million: I was one of 89.9 MILLION streaming More Life via apple music in the first 24 hours of its release, sheeeeesh.
With all that new Drake going through one ear and out the other, I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite Drizzy lyrics of all time that related sports and music, goes a little something like “And that’s around the time that your idols become your rivals, you make friends with Mike, but you A.I. him for you survival, dang I swear sports and music are so synonymous, cause we want to be them, and they want be us”.
Key word: “Want”.
Chris McCullough (Syracuse Orangemen)
Career Stats: 9.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG (16 Career Games)
Syracuse University (2014-2015)
NCAA Tournament Appearances:
McCullough played just 16 overall games at Syracuse before tearing his ACL which subsequently ended his freshman season. However, with McCullough in the lineup the Orangemen went 12-4. Without him in the lineup the team struggled and went 6-9, finishing with an 18-13 overall record.
Sheldon Mac (Texas Longhorns & Miami Hurricanes)
Career Stats: 13.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG (141 Games)
University of Texas (2011-2013) & University of Miami (2014-2016)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (First Round, Sweet 16)
Sheldon Mac, the ball player formerly known as McClellan, made a big decision to transfer to THE University of Miami after spending his freshman and sophomore year under Rick Barnes in Texas. After sitting out the 2013-14 season due to NCAA transfer regulations, his Hurricanes failed to earn a spot in the 2015 NCAA Tournament after going 21-12. Fortunately, McClellan was able to turn things around his senior season, averaging a career high 15.5 PPG while also being named second team All-ACC. McClellan’s strong play earned a #3 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament as his team finished with a 25-7 overall record. Despite having an incredible senior season, McClellan’s college career ended in tournament play at the hands of the #2 seeded Villanova Wildcats in the Sweet 16.
Daniel Ochefu (Villanova Wildcats)
Career Stats: 7.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG (141 Games)
Villanova University (2012-2016)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (First Round, Second Round, Second Round, National Championship Game)
Ochefu attended Villanova University for all four years of college. During his freshman and sophomore year he helped lead Villanova to the big dance only to lose in the first weekend of the tourney. During Ochefu’s junior year, Villanova had an incredible regular season as they went 32-2 overall and earned the school’s first #1 seed since 2006, back when Kyle Lowry and Randy Foye were still in a Wildcat uniform working to put Villanova’s basketball program on the map. Despite their dominance in regular season play, the incredible season was cut short in the second round to #8 seeded NC State.
In his senior season, Ochefu helped guide his team to a 29-5 overall record earning a #2 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Having learned from the blood, sweat, tears, and heartbreak from the previous dances the Villanova Wildcats were able to put together an unbelievable run in the big dance. It was a run that ended with one of the greatest finishes in March Madness history. After a back and forth game vs the #1 seeded UNC Tar Heels, Kris Jenkins shot a game winning three as time expired to help crown the Villanova Wildcats as the 2016 National champions.
Jason Smith (Colorado State Rams)
Career Stats: 14.7 PPG, 7.9 RPG (87 Career Games)
Colorado State University (2004-2007)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
Jason Smith had a great individual career at Colorado St. racking up personal accomplishments which include first team All-Mountain West honors during both his sophomore and junior year; however, Smith’s Rams went just 11-17 his freshman year, 16-15 his sophomore year, and 17-13 during his junior year – failing to reach the NCAA Tournament each year.
Trey Burke (Michigan Wolverines) Career Stats: 16.9 PPG, 5.7 AST (73 Games) University of Michigan (2011-2013) NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (First Round, National Championship Game)
Trey Burke had a stellar college career during his two seasons in Ann Arbor. During his freshman year, he helped lead his team to a 24-9 overall record while also being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The Wolverines earned an at large bid with a match up against #13 seeded Ohio Bobcats in the first round. The “easy” first round match up ended up being a nightmare, as the Bobcats ended the Wolverines season far earlier than many expected in a disappointing 65-60 first round loss.
Burke used the early exit as fuel to his sophomore season, coming out with vengeance as he earned National Player of the Year leading his Wolverines to a 26-7 overall record and a #4 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. This time around, Burke avoided the first round upset, winning five straight nail biting games in order to advance to the national championship. With just one team standing in the way, Burke’s dream was ultimately cut short at the finish line when his Wolverines were defeated by #1 seeded Louisville. Outside of his dominant play, Burke will most likely be remembered for his game tying three point shot in the Sweet 16 against the #1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks. It was an unbelievable shot near the end of regulation that tied the game and forced OT, where the Wolverines secured the victory and knocked off the #1 seeded Jayhawks in extra play.
Kelly Oubre Jr. (Kansas Jayhawks) Career Stats: 9.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG (36 Games Played) Kansas University (2014-2015) NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1 (Second Round)
During his lone season as a Jayhawk Oubre was able to help lead Kansas to a 26-8 overall record, earning a #2 Seed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. However, despite having a great regular season, Oubre’s freshman year ended in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at the hands of an underrated #7 seeded Wichita St. team led by Ron Baker.
Otto Porter Jr. (Georgetown Hoyas) Career Stats: 12.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG (64 Games Played) Georgetown University (2011-2013) NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (Second Round, First Round)
In his freshman year, he led his team to 23-9 overall record in the regular season which earned the Hoya’s a #3 seed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. After winning their first-round game against #14 seeded Belmont, his team was upset in the second round by #11 seeded NC State. During Porter’s sophomore campaign, he led his team to a 25-6 overall record earning a #2 seed in the dance. Just like his freshman year, the struggle in tournament play continued as his Hoyas were upset by the infamous #15 seeded Florida Gulf Coast University, also known as “dunk city” this time in just the first round.
Markieff Morris (Kansas Jayhawks) Career Stats: 8.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG (109 Games) Kansas University (2008-2011) NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3 (Sweet 16, Second Round, Elite 8)
Although Morris and his Kansas Jayhawks made it to the big dance all three times during his tenure at Kansas, each trip to the big tourney led to heart break. The summer before his freshman year key players from the 2008 national championship team (Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur) left for the NBA draft. Regardless of the situation the young Jayhawks surpassed preseason expectations finishing 25-7 in the regular season earning a #3 seed in the tourney. After pairing two wins together in the first weekend of the 2009 tourney, the Jayhawks ultimately lost in the Sweet 16 to #2 seed Michigan St who went on to lose in the national championship that year.
His Sophomore season, Markieff helped lead his Jayhawks to a 32-2 overall record earning a #1 seed in the tourney. This time, his dreams of a national championship were ended in the second round, in an upset loss to #9 seeded Northern Iowa. In Morris’s junior season, he led his team to a #1 seed once again with an identical 32-2 overall record after averaging 13.6 PPG to go along with 8.3 RPG. However, his season was ended in heart breaking fashion, when the Jayhawks fell short to the #11 seeded VCU Rams led by Shaka Smart in the Elite 8.
Bradley Beal (Florida Gators) Career Stats: 14.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG (37 Games) University of Florida (2011-2012) NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1 (Elite 8)
Beal had one lone season in that Gator uniform before electing to go pro in the 2012 NBA Draft. As a freshman, Beal led his team to a 23-10 overall record earning an at large bid in the 2012 NCAA Tournament as a #7 seed. After knocking out #10 seeded Virginia, #15 seeded Norfolk St, and #3 seeded Marquette the Gator’s dreams of national championship run were cut short in the Elite 8 in a loss to #4 seeded Louisville. That Louisville team ultimately lost in the Final Four to the Kentucky Wildcats led by Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist who eventually were crowned national champions.
John Wall (Kentucky Wildcats) Career Stats: 16.6 PPG, 6.5 APG (37 Career Games) University of Kentucky (2009-2010) NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1 (Elite 8)
John Wall, similar to Beal, also had one lone season on the college basketball level. Wall was part of John Calipari’s first dynasty at Kentucky where he played alongside present NBA stars Eric Bledsoe and Demarcus Cousins. This talented freshman team led the Wildcats to 19-0 start to the season, eventually ending the year with a 32-2 overall record while also finishing as SEC regular season and SEC tournament champions. The regular season success helped them earn a #1 seed in the 2010 NCAA tournament. However similar to Beal, Wall’s Wildcat’s were defeated in the Elite 8 to #2 seeded West Virginia University.
Editor's note:
While all the players above played in the U.S. for college, the Polish Machine Marcin Gortat spent his 'college years' playing for RheinEnergie Köln who won their only significant titles while he was playing with them.
German Champion: (1)
2005–06|
German Cup: (3)
2004, 2005, 2007
BBL Champions Cup: (1)
2006