Missing the Boat: How Good Could Louisville Have Been in 1980?

The only time an All-American attending an out-of-state university opposed a school from his hometown in an NCAA Tournament final was in 1963, when Cincinnati center George Wilson collected 10 points and 13 rebounds in a 60-58 overtime loss against Loyola of Chicago.

In 1980, Louisville natives Jeff Lamp of Virginia and Rudy Macklin of Louisiana State were All-Americans when their hometown university won the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals clobbered Louisiana State, 86-66, in the Midwest Regional final despite Macklin's team-high eight rebounds. Louisville's backcourt of Darrell Griffith and Jerry Eaves were local products.

Shane Battier missed out on the 2000 NCAA championship by failing to stay in his home state and attend Michigan State but he was Final Four MOP the next season when Duke captured the crown. Following are players who attended high school in a state that supplied the NCAA Tournament champion the same year the player was a Division I All-American for an out-of-state university:

Year NCAA Champion All-American College Hometown
2010 Duke John Wall Kentucky Raleigh, NC
2004 Connecticut Ryan Gomes Providence Waterbury, CT
2000 Michigan State Shane Battier Duke Birmingham, MI
1995 UCLA Jacque Vaughn Kansas Pasadena, CA
1989 Michigan Derrick Coleman Syracuse Detroit, MI
1982 North Carolina Eric "Sleepy" Floyd Georgetown Gastonia, NC
1982 North Carolina Dominique Wilkins Georgia Washington, NC
1980 Louisville Jeff Lamp Virginia Louisville, KY
1980 Louisville Rudy Macklin Louisiana State Louisville, KY
1974 North Carolina State John Lucas Jr. Maryland Durham, NC
1971 UCLA Stan Love Oregon Inglewood, CA
1965 UCLA John Fairchild Brigham Young Encinitas, CA
1964 UCLA Paul Silas Creighton Oakland, CA
1963 Loyola (IL) George Wilson Cincinnati Chicago, IL
1958 Kentucky Hank Stein Xavier Louisville, KY
1942 Stanford John Mandic Oregon State Los Angeles, CA
1940 Indiana Chet Aubuchon Michigan State Gary, IN
1940 Indiana Ralph Vaughn Southern California Frankfort, IN