|
By Adam Stanco
BasketballWriter@cs.com
7 Secrets to NCAA Tournament
Success: NBA Talent
Winning six straight NCAA
Tournament games is a daunting task, requiring chemistry, passion, luck, and
a team bursting with talent.
Serious talent.
At least four future NBA
players worth of talent, to be exact. They were not always from the same
graduating class, but from 1994 through 2006, ten of the twelve national
champs claimed no fewer than four future NBA players. In fact, more than
four pros donned the rosters of eight of those title teams. The two that
didn’t? The 2003 Syracuse team and last year’s Florida squad.
The ‘03 Orange may have
bucked the trend, but even they were awful close. Via the lottery, Carmelo
Anthony joined the Denver Nuggets and Hakim Warrick joined the Memphis
Grizzlies. Jeremy McNeil, Kueth Duany, and Gerry McNamara have all spent
time in the NBDL. Josh Pace and Billy Edelin have played professionally
overseas.
Last year’s National
Championship squad, Florida, will certainly be sending four of their
starters to the NBA. Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, and Taurean
Green will all probably be playing for pay as early as next season. And no
one would be shocked if back-up power forward Chris Richard came
face-to-face with a 10-day contract.
Professional talent is
obviously not the only factor in winning a title, for no team can dance
through the big dance without determination, precise passing, grit, and
persistence. But cutting the net and raising the trophy is impossible
without a plethora of players with pro potential.
Depth gives talented teams
a distinct advantage over almost anyone they play. Options. With so much
talent spread throughout the starters, opponents do not have the luxury of
double-teaming the elite.
There are 65 teams who
could potentially win a game in this year’s NCAA Tournament, yet only a
select few are stacked enough to win it all.
Examples:
Florida
Kansas
North Carolina
Ohio State
Secrets For NCAA Tournament
Success:
-
Talent
- NBA potential is no joke.
-
Post Defense
- The bigger, the better.
-
Sharp Shooting
- Simple math: three is better than two.
-
Experience
- Who has nerves of steel?
-
Star Power
- Winning is the All-American way.
-
Guard Play
- Little guys point the way.
-
X-Factor
- Fear of the unknown.
The March Manifesto is the secret
to filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket.
|
