March Madness is here, and soon it will be time for the NBA draft. We wondered how many players on the teams in the tournament will be making it to the draft and playing in the NBA next year? It seems most of the top college basketball teams always send their starters to the NBA. So, what colleges send the most players to the NBA, and who are they?
#1 Duke
This year they are 16 players that have played at Duke in the NBA. A few players that are NBA that played at Duke are: Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Mike Dunleavy, Gerald Henderson, Grant Hill, Dahntay Jones, Corey Maggette, Josh McRoberts, JJ Redick.
#2 Kentucky and UCLA
This year there are 15 Kentucky basketball players that were represented in the NBA. Some of the most famous players from UK that are in the NBA are: Kelenna Azubuike, Eric Bledsoe, Keith Bogans, DeMarcus Cousins, Chuck Hayes, Jamaal Magloire, Jodie Meeks, Nazr Mohammed, Daniel Orton, Patrick Patterson, Tayshaun Prince, Rajon Rondo, John Wall. UCLA was tied this year with Kentucky with the number of players they have in the NBA at 15. Some players from UCLA are that are in the NBA: Arron Afflalo, Matt Barnes, Darren Collison, Baron Davis, Jordan Farmar, Dan Gadzuric, Jrue Holiday, Ryan Hollins, Jason Kapono, Kevin Love, Luc Mbah a Moute, Earl Watson, Russell Westbrook.
#3 Texas
At a total of 13 players in the NBA, Texas is third. Various NBA players that represent Texas are: LaMarcus Aldridge, D.J. Augustin, Avery Bradley, Kevin Durant, Maurice Evans, T.J. Ford, Daniel Gibson, Royal Ivey, Damion James, Dexter Pittman.
#4 Kansas and North Carolina
Both of these colleges are represented in the NBA with 12 players. A few players from Kansas are: Darrell Arthur, Cole Aldridge, Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins, Nick Collison, Drew Gooden, Carl Henry, Kirk Hinrich, Darnell Jackson, Paul Pierce, Brandon Rush, Julian Wright. Some players from North Carolina in the NBA: Vince Carter, Walter Davis, Wayne Ellington, Raymond Felton, Tyler Hansbrough, Brendan Haywood, Antwan Jamison, Ty Lawson, Jerry Stackhouse, Brandan Wright.
#5 Connecticut
With 11 players Connecticut is the fifth top team with players in the NBA. Some of these players include: Jeff Adrien, Ray Allen, Hilton Armstrong, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, A.J. Price, Hasheem Thabeet, Richard Hamilton, Charlie Villaneuva.
Many thanks to our intern Haeli for writing this post for the Knetbooks Blog!