VCU’s Jamie Skeen often got the better of Kansas’ Marcus Morris (pictured in white), scoring 26 points in the Rams’ Southwest Regional Championship victory in 2011.
I know we go to the well with the Final Four thing quite a bit, but sometimes it’s just unavoidable. I had another one of those “holy-crap-what-did-we-actually-do” moments last night while watching the Kentucky Wildcat Disbursement NBA Draft.
I couldn’t help but notice the staggering number of players drafted from the teams VCU beat during that run:
Southern Cal
2011: Nikola Vucevic, first round (16th overall) Philadelphia 76ers
Georgetown
None (surprising, right?)
Purdue
2011: JaJuan Johnson, first round (27th overall) New Jersey Nets
2011: E’Twaun Moore, second round (55th overall) Boston Celtics
*2012: Robbie Hummel, second round (58th overall) Minnesota Timberwolves
–Hummel was hurt and did not play during 2011 NCAA Tournament
Florida State
Chris Singleton had 16 points and nine rebounds against VCU in 2011, but he couldn’t prevent the Rams from walking away with a 72-71 overtime victory.
2011: Chris Singleton, first round (18th overall) Washington Wizards
2012: Bernard James, second round (33rd overall) Cleveland Cavaliers (traded to Dallas)
Kansas
2011: Markieff Morris, first round (13th overall) Phoenix Suns
2011: Marcus Morris, first round (14th overall) Houston Rockets
2011: Josh Selby, second round (49th overall) Memphis Grizzlies
2012: Thomas Robinson, first round (fifth overall) Sacramento Kings
2012: Tyshawn Taylor, second round (41st overall) Portland Trail Blazers
Butler
2011: Shelvin Mack, second round (34th overall) Washington Wizards
Not counting Robbie Hummel, who was injured when the Rams played Purdue, VCU played against 11 future NBA draft picks during its Final Four run (beating 10). Kansas has had five NBA draftees on its own! And there could be more (I’m talking to you, Jeff Withey).
Meanwhile, the Rams’ roster (up to this point) hasn’t had a single player drafted from that 2011 team. VCU essentially beat an NBA team to get to the Final Four. I mean, those five Kansas guys couldn’t possibly be any worse than the Charlotte Bobcats last year, could they? But I digress.
The important thing to know is that VCU faced – and defeated – an incredible amount of talent in 2011. Sometimes it’s just worth the time to stop and appreciate it.
AROUND THE HORNS 
Jun 29, 2012 @ 21:00:28
Since I was thinking the same thing about Bradford in this year’s (2012) draft, I could not agree more. Bradford was essential to the Rams run in 2011, but is being overlooked by the NBA for several “maybes”. Even though VCU made the Final Four, and had the Southwest Region’s MVP, it appears that none of those players may reach their goal of playing in the NBA. A fact that could hurt recruiting when so many ‘named schools’ are having players selected. It could be that Bradford’s (not often) poor performance in last year’s NCAA game against Indiana may have hurt him?
Jun 29, 2012 @ 21:04:10
I doubt NBA execs put too much stock in just one game. Brad played fantastic in about six or seven NCAA games. One (sorta) bad one isn’t going to make a difference.
Jun 29, 2012 @ 23:11:47
The only issue I see with Brad is that he is such a nice quiet guy. Where is the spark..the fire…the killer instincts that seem to dominate the game today. He is a terrific role player. He will never be a dominant force in the NBA..unfortunately there are a ton of role player guys out there..I wish him the best and hopes he makes it to where he wants to be.
Jun 30, 2012 @ 00:02:18
Re: spark. See George Mason, Senior Day and 2011 NCAA Tournament.