What would this year’s NCAA Tournament look like if these NBA stars stayed in school?
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I’m going to be that guy for a minute.
You know, the one who talks about how different college basketball would be like right now if this were still the old days. You know, when guys stayed all 4 years and leaving school early was almost frowned upon.
Now, it’s obviously expected. Four-year guys like Buddy Hield get knocked for not being good enough to leave school early. Meanwhile, Kentucky promotes it because it can stockpile NBA-ready talent like no one else can.
There is, however, only one Kentucky. Not even Duke has as much college-eligible NBA talent as the Cats. By “college eligible,” I’m referring to the guys who still would have been in school had they gone the 4-year route instead of leaving for the NBA.
I couldn’t help but think of what the 2018 NCAA Tournament would have looked like with those players still in school. Kentucky obviously would have been unfair (Karl-Anthony Towns would still be there) and so would Duke with Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow, Brandon Ingram and Jayson Tatum still around.
It wasn’t just them, though. Teams like UCLA would still have Lonzo Ball and even Texas would still have Myles Turner. Shoot, D’Angelo Russell would still be at Ohio State.
Below is the complete list of teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament who could’ve had these players on their roster had they not declared early for the NBA draft (there are 61!):
Kentucky (11)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Sr.)
- Trey Lyles (Sr.)
- Devin Booker (Sr.)
- Tyler Ulis (Sr.)
- Jamal Murray (Jr.)
- Skai Labissiere (Jr.)
- Isaac Humphries (Jr.)
- Isaiah Briscoe (Jr.)
- De’Aaron Fox (So.)
- Malik Monk (So.)
- Bam Adebayo (So.)
Duke (8)
- Jahlil Okafor (Sr.)
- Justice Winslow (Sr.)
- Tyus Jones (Sr.)
- Brandon Ingram (Jr.)
- Luke Kennard (Jr.)
- Jayson Tatum (So.)
- Harry Giles (So.)
- Frank Jackson (So.)
Arizona (4)
- Stanley Johnson (Sr.)
- Chance Comanche (Jr.)
- Lauri Markkanen (So.)
- Kobi Simmons (So.)
UCLA (4)
- Kevon Looney (Sr.)
- Lonzo Ball (So.)
- T.J. Leaf (So.)
- Ike Anigbogu (So.)
Florida State (4)
- Malik Beasley (Jr.)
- Dwayne Bacon (Jr.)
- Jonathan Isaac (So.)
- Xavier Rathan-Mayes (So.)
Kansas (4)
- Kelly Oubre Jr. (Sr.)
- Cliff Alexander (Sr.)
- Cheick Diallo (Jr.)
- Josh Jackson (So.)
Gonzaga (3)
- Domantas Sabonis (Sr.)
- Nigel Williams-Goss (Sr.)
- Zach Collins (So.)
Syracuse (3)
- Chris McCullough (Sr.)
- Malachi Richardson (Jr.)
- Tyler Lydon (Jr.)
NC State (2)
- Dennis Smith Jr. (So.)
- Ted Kapita (So.)
New Mexico State (2)
- Pascal Siakam (Sr.)
- Matt Taylor (Sr.)
Ohio State (2)
- D’Angelo Russell (Sr.)
- Trevor Thompson (Sr.)
Texas (2)
- Myles Turner (Sr.)
- Jarrett Allen (So.)
UNC (2)
- Justin Jackson (Sr.)
- Tony Bradley (So.)
Florida (1)
- Devin Robinson (Sr.)
Purdue (1)
- Caleb Swanigan (Jr.)
Michigan State (1)
- Deyonta Davis (Jr.)
Seton Hall (1)
- Isaiah Whitehead (Sr.)
Providence (1)
- Ben Bentil (Sr.)
Creighton (1)
- Justin Patton (So.)
Michigan (1)
- D.J. Wilson (Sr.)
Nevada (1)
- Cameron Oliver (Jr.)
West Virginia (1)
- Elijah Macon (Sr.)
Xavier (1)
- Edmond Sumner (Sr.)
The guys in bold are averaging at least 10 points per game in the NBA. In other words, those 15 players would probably be averaging at least 20 in college right now, and they’d be capable of taking over any given NCAA Tournament game.
After looking at those potential rosters, I naturally thought about what Kentucky’s starting 5 would look like. If I had to make that call, here’s the lineup that I’d roll out:
- PG: Tyler Ulis
- SG: Devin Booker
- SF: Kevin Knox
- PF/C: Karl-Anthony Towns
- C: Bam Adebayo
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox, Jamal Murray, Trey Lyles and Skai Labissiere would be THE BENCH. Yeah, that Kentucky team wins a national title and probably destroys everyone in its path like that 2008-09 UNC squad.
Who would be the Cats’ toughest competition? Probably Duke. That starting 5 would have a couple of key pieces from the 2014-15 squad that won the national title:
- PG: Tyus Jones
- SG: Jayson Tatum
- SF: Brandon Ingram
- PF: Marvin Bagley III
- C: Jahlil Okafor
And yeah, a bench of Grayson Allen, Luke Kennard, Justice Winslow, Gary Trent Jr., Wendell Carter and Frank Jackson would be pretty ridiculous, too.
Duke is the obvious choice as Kentucky’s toughest hypothetical competition, but let me throw out a different starting 5. Look at the front court that Arizona would have:
- PG: Kobi Simmons
- SG: Allonzo Trier
- SF: Stanley Johnson
- PF: Lauri Markkanen
- C: Deandre Ayton
There’s no way Arizona and Kentucky would face each other in the second round like they might have to this year. Still, watching Ayton battle Towns and Adebayo would be awesome. John Calipari wishes he still had those two guys to try and wear down the future top-3 pick. Instead, he’ll try and do so with his youngest team ever.
It might be one of the last times that we have to ponder these hypothetical matchups because the NBA is in talks to get rid of the one-and-done rule. That would obviously change college hoops as we know it, both from a freshman talent standpoint as well as a roster construction standpoint. We could get back to seeing guys who stay in school for 3 years if the NCAA follows the baseball model.
That would impact everyone. Even teams like Creighton, Gonzaga and N.C. State had one-and-dones in the past few years. Perhaps they would have never even had those players in the first place.
There are a ton of players in this year’s NCAA Tournament who figure to continue the one-and-done trend. Kentucky’s starting lineup, Ayton, Bagley, Michael Porter Jr. and Collin Sexton are all guys who figure to play their first and only NCAA Tournament games this year before jumping to the NBA. They should. Not everyone can be a lottery pick.
So until that rule is changed, I’ll keep cranking out the “if they stayed in school” rosters and make fans fantasize about how dominant their teams could’ve been.
Especially you, Kentucky fans.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
