Gone but not forgotten. The crown jewel of NCAA Tournament has been tarnished long before coronavirus cancellation a couple of campaigns ago. Keith Smart, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player for 1987 national kingpin Indiana, returned to his NBA assistant coaching job near the middle of previous decade after battling a rare form of skin cancer spreading along the left side of his jaw. Smart's ailment surfaced as a question lingered following center Andrew Smith, the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for Butler's 2011 NCAA playoff runner-up, losing his fight against lymphoma: Would someone susceptible to conspiracy believe there is a Final Four curse; especially in wake of Smart's IU teammate (starting forward Daryl Thomas) dying of a heart attack several years ago at age 52 before fellow Hoosier forward Eric Anderson, a starter for 1992 F4 squad, passed away in late 2018 following a bout with pneumonia?

This topic also reared its ugly head several seasons ago when Michael Wright, leading rebounder and second-leading scorer for Arizona's 2001 national runner-up team including Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson and Luke Walton, was found dead with a skull fracture in New York City in the back seat of his Lexus SUV. Covered with garbage bags, the Chicago high school teammate of Kevin Garnett was 35. More than a year later, his roommate and an alleged accomplice were arrested for drugging and murdering him plus desecrating human remains.

Ranging from famous military battles to freak circumstances to mysterious disappearances to nuclear bombs to CIA activity to suicides, the existence of a Final Four curse is debatable although there is no denying a striking number of prominent national semifinal players and coaches died prematurely. For instance, Sid Tanenbaum, the second-leading scorer for NYU's 1945 national runner-up, was murdered on September 4, 1986, at the age of 60 when stabbed to death by a local woman in his Queens machine shop. According to police reports, Tanenbaum was assaulted because he chose to stop lending money to his attacker after previously assisting her numerous times.

Each Final Four participant in 1977 had a prominent player pass away by the age of 56. It was during a 31-year span from 1962 through 1992 when at least one F4 player died before 60 (Mike Masucci played for NCAA champion Kansas in 1987-88 before dying at 36 but was dismissed from squad before the playoffs commenced). Life expectancy in the U.S. for people born in 2017 is 78.5 years. Any tribute isn't enough when a man such as Smith is buried long before his time. Unspeakable tragedy also struck Butler several years ago when the six-month-old son of Emerson Kampen, a backup to Smith, died of a genetic disorder affecting the central nervous system. A pair of backup centers to Ohio State All-American Jerry Lucas are among the following lengthy list of additional Final Four participants (cited chronologically) passing away early (60 and younger), but the deceased left lasting memories:

• Three of Oregon's starting five on the first NCAA championship team in 1939 - guards Bobby Anet and Wally Johansen and center Slim Wintermute - all died in their 40s. Wintermute disappeared in Lake Washington in 1977, a case that never has been solved.

• Don Scott, who made a free throw for Ohio State's national runner-up in inaugural NCAA Tournament championship contest in 1939, died at the age of 23 on October 1, 1943, when U.S. Army Air Forces captain's B-26 Marauder bomber crashed in England while in training after football All-American halfback already completed nine bombing missions during WWII.

• Center Bill Menke, the third-leading scorer for Indiana's 1940 NCAA champion who supplied a team-high 10 points in the Hoosiers' national semifinal victory over Duquesne, later became a Navy pilot and served in World War II. In January 1945, he was declared missing in action (and presumed dead) when he didn't return from a flight in the Caribbean.

• Thomas P. Hunter, a three-year letterman who was a sophomore member of Kansas' 1940 runner-up, was killed in action against the Japanese on Guam, July 21, 1944, while fighting with the Ninth Marines as a first lieutenant. Hunter was elected posthumously as captain of the Jayhawks' 1945-46 squad that compiled a 19-2 record.

• Dale Gentry, the fifth-leading scorer for Washington State's 1941 national runner-up, collapsed and died of a heart attack in 1963 at the age of 50 after completing arrangements for his 16-year-old son's funeral following injuries incurred in an auto accident.

• All 11 regulars on Pitt's 1941 Final Four team participated in World War II and one of them, guard Bob Artman, was killed in action.

• Center Ed Voss, the second-leading scorer for 1942 champion Stanford, died of polio in 1953 at the age of 31, a month after his 7-year-old son also succumbed to the disease. Cardinal teammate Jack Dana's wife, California socialite Renee Cohu, died of a sleeping pill overdose in the winter of 1970 at the age of 42 when the missing daughter of a former TWA president was found in a Miami Beach motel.

• Charles "Stubbie" Pearson, captain of Dartmouth's 1942 national runner-up and valedictorian of his class the same year, was killed in action on March 30, 1945, while dive-bombing a Japanese ship off the Palau Islands. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Teammate George Galbraith Jr., a backup forward, died in a training flight over Mississippi.

• Three of the top seven scorers for Kentucky's first NCAA Tournament and Final Four team in 1942 died during World War II - Mel Brewer (Army second lieutenant/25 years old in France), Ken England (Army captain of ski troop/23 in Italy) and Jim King (Army second lieutenant and co-pilot/24 in Germany).

• Bob Doll, an All-American for Colorado in 1942, died in 1959 at the age of 40 of an apparent suicide.

• Milo Komenich, leading scorer for Wyoming's 1943 NCAA titlist, died in 1977 at his home at the age of 56.

• Georgetown's Lloyd Potolicchio, who matched DePaul legend George Mikan's 11-point output in the 1943 national semifinals when the Hoyas eliminated the Blue Demons before bowing to Wyoming in title tilt, joined the Air Force. Potolicchio was boom operator Master Sergeant when killed in a refueling mission on January 17, 1966, in a B-52 crash off the coast of southern Spain. His KC-135 tanker was completely destroyed when its fuel load ignited, resulting in the B-52G breaking apart with B28RI hydrogen weapons falling to earth and plutonium contamination occurring near the fishing village of Palomares. In March 2009, Time magazine identified the Palomares accident as one of the world's "worst nuclear disasters." Teammate Bob Duffey, a backup swingman, was killed on November 13, 1944, in European theater combat.

• Curtis Popham, Texas' co-captain in 1943, was one of seven Longhorns lettermen since the mid-1930s to make the supreme sacrifice during WWII.

• Swingman Johnny Jorgensen, a teammate of Hall of Famer George Mikan on DePaul's 1943 Final Four team, died in mid-January 1973 at the age of 51.

• All-American Audie Brindley of 1944 runner-up Dartmouth died of cancer in 1957 at the age of 33.

• Swingman Joe Bradley, a regular for Oklahoma A&M's 1946 NCAA champion, was 58 when he died on June 5, 1987.

• Center Jack Underman, the leading scorer for Ohio State's 1946 national third-place team, was an oral surgeon in Elyria, Ohio, when he died in an auto crash on October 23, 1969, at the age of 44.

• Frontcourter Frank Oftring, a key contributor for Holy Cross' 1947 champion and 1948 national third-place team, died on October 4, 1982, at the age of 58. Teammate Dermie O'Connell was 60 when perishing on October 5, 1988. Teammate Bob Curran, a regular for both squads, was 56 when he passed away on October 18, 1977.

• Center Gerry Tucker, the leading scorer for Oklahoma's 1947 national runner-up, died on May 29, 1979, at the age of 57.

• Forward Tom Hamilton, a regular as a freshman forward with Texas' 1947 national third-place club, died at the age of 48 on November 29, 1973, after suffering a brain hemorrhage prior to officiating a high school football game in Tyler, Tex. Hamilton, a first baseman briefly with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1952 and 1953, served as baseball coach and athletic director for St. Edward's (Tex.) at the time of his death.

• Center Bob Harris, the leading scorer for Oklahoma A&M's 1949 national runner-up, died on April 10, 1977 at the age of 50. Teammate Joe Bradley, A&M's second-leading scorer, passed away on June 5, 1987, at the age of 58.

• Bill Erickson, a starting guard for Illinois' 1949 national third-place team, died on September 21, 1987, at the age of 59. Teammate Walt Kersulis, who led team in scoring with nine points in Eastern Regional final defeat against eventual champion Kentucky, died of leukemia in mid-April 1973 at the age of 46. Teammate Don Sunderlage, the Illini's sixth-leading scorer in 1949 and top point producer for another third-place squad in 1951, died in mid-July 1961 at the age of 31 following an automobile accident in Lake Geneva, Wis. Reserve guard Roy Gatewood was 36 when he perished suddenly at his family residence in the spring of 1961.

• Center Ed Roman, leading scorer for CCNY's 1950 titlist who was involved in a conspiracy to fix games, died of leukemia in early March 1988 at the age of 57.

• Guard Lucian "Skippy" Whitaker, who averaged 5.2 ppg as a junior for Kentucky's 1951 national champion, died in 1990 at the age of 59.

• Bob Ferrick, coach of Santa Clara's 1952 national fourth-place team, died in 1976 at the age of 56.

• Don Schlundt, the leading scorer and rebounder for Indiana's 1953 NCAA champion, died of pancreatic cancer in October 1985 at the age of 52. Teammate Dick Farley, the Hoosiers' third-leading scorer, passed away from cancer in early October 1969 at the age of 37.

• Joe Cipriano, the second-leading scorer for Washington's national third-place team in 1953 before becoming Nebraska's all-time winningest coach, was 49 in late November 1980 when he died of cancer.

• Forward Bob Ames, who scored a total of eight points in three playoff games in 1955 for La Salle's national runner-up after being a member of the Explorers' 1954 NCAA titlist, was killed in Beirut in 1983 at the age of 49. A truck loaded with TNT on a suicide mission rammed into the facility where Ames, a father of six children, was staying while serving as a liaison trying to allay contacts among the Lebanese, Syrians and Israelis in hopes of calming the escalating discord. He joined the CIA and worked his way up the chain of command to become the Director of the CIA's Office of Analysis of the Near East and South Asia. "The Spy Who Loved Basketball" worked closely with both the Carter and Reagan administrations.

• Forward Jerry Mullen, runner-up in scoring and rebounding as captain for San Francisco's 1955 champion, died in September 1979 at the age of 45.

• Bucky O'Connor, coach for Iowa's 1955 Final Four club and 1956 runner-up, died in 1958 at the age of 44 in a highway accident near Waterloo. "The boy who has faith in God can look to the future without worry or strain," O'Connor told his players. "I firmly believe that the boys on our team who attend church are more likely to be successful because they can face their problems with hope and encouragement." Backup guard Lester "Babe" Hawthorne died of complications from cancer on September 20, 1994, at the age of 60.

• Jim Krebs, the leading scorer and rebounder for Southern Methodist's 1956 Final Four squad, was killed in 1965 at the age of 29 in a freak accident. While helping a neighbor clear storm damage, a tree limb fell the wrong way and crushed his skull.

• Forward Joe Kitchen, a member of Louisville's regular rotation for 1959 national fourth-place team, was 52 in 1991 when he died.

• John Cedargren, senior backup to All-American center Jerry Lucas for Ohio State's 1960 NCAA champion, died in 1966.

• Forward Al Filardi, the third-leading rebounder for NYU's 1960 national fourth-place squad, just turned 60 when he died in early August 1999.

• Gary Bradds, a backup to national player of the year Jerry Lucas for Ohio State's 1962 NCAA runner-up before earning the same award himself two years later, died of cancer in July 1983 when he was 40. Bradds was principal of an elementary school in Bowersville, Ohio, at the time of his demise.

• Frank Christie, Wake Forest's third-leading rebounder for 1962 national third-place team, was 50 in mid-October 1992 when he passed away following a brief illness.

• Vic Rouse, leading rebounder for Loyola of Chicago's 1963 NCAA champion, died in late May 1999 at the age of 56. He owned an educational consulting firm after earning three masters degrees and a PhD.

• Guard Denny Ferguson, a regular for Duke's 1963 national third-place team and 1964 runner-up, died from cancer in 2001 at 58. He was a professor at Cornell.

• Bill Buntin, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer (behind Cazzie Russell) for Michigan's Final Four teams in 1964 and 1965, collapsed and died during an informal workout one day after his 26th birthday in May 1968.

• Forward Jamie Thompson, the third-leading scorer for Wichita's 1965 fourth-place team who tallied 36 points when the Shockers were eliminated in the national semifinals by eventual champion UCLA, died in January 2006 at the age of 60.

• Guard Bobby Joe Hill, the leading scorer for Texas Western's 1966 NCAA titlist, passed away from a heart attack in December 2002 at the age of 59.

• Guard Rudy Waterman, Dayton's third-leading scorer for 1967 national runner-up, died at 34 in mid-June 1979 after shooting himself and developing bacterial meningitis while hospitalized in New York. He had been fired from his job as a sales representative for a Midwest aluminum company. Flyers coach Don Donoher's son, Gary, died in New York at age 27 in August 1988 from AIDS-related complications.

• Ken Spain and Theodis Lee, starting frontcourters with All-American Elvin Hayes for Houston's team that entered the 1968 Final Four with an undefeated record, each died of cancer. Spain, who overcame cancer after he was first diagnosed with it in 1977, died of the disease 13 years later in October 1990 when he was 44. Lee, who played for the Harlem Globetrotters, was 33 when he passed away in March 1979, one week after the illness was diagnosed. Teammate Don Kruse, a center for the Cougars' national third-place team in 1967, died in the spring of 2004 at the age of 59.

• Dave Sorenson, second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer as a sophomore for Ohio State's national third-place team in 1968, died in 2002 at the age of 54 because of cancer.

• Herm Gilliam, leading rebounder and second-leading scorer for Purdue's 1969 national runner-up, died of a heart attack in 2005 at the age of 58.

• Maury John, national coach of the year in 1969 when directing Drake to a national third-place finish, died of cancer in 1974 at the age of 55. Guard Gary Zeller, the Bulldogs' sixth-leading scorer, died in 1996 at 48.

• UCLA's John Vallely scored a game-high 29 points in the Bruins' 1969 Final Four semifinal victory against Drake and collected 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 1970 NCAA championship game win against Jacksonville. His daughter, Erin, died of rhabdomyosarcoma (disease primarily found in children where cancer makes up cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles) in fall of 1991 at the age of 12.

• Steve Patterson, one of UCLA's top three rebounders for NCAA kingpins in 1970 and 1971 after serving as Lew Alcindor's understudy for another titlist in 1969, died in 2004 at the age of 56 because of lung cancer.

• Point guard Vaughn Wedeking, third-leading scorer for Jacksonville's 1970 runner-up, died in the summer of 2009 at the age of 60 after suffering from Alzheimer's for several years.

• New Mexico State backup guard Milton Horne, who averaged 4.4 ppg for 1970 national third-place team, died in 2001 at the age of 52.

• Howard Porter, Villanova's leading scorer and rebounder for 1971 runner-up, was trying to trade money and crack cocaine for sex with a prostitute in St. Paul in May 2007 when the probation officer was beaten to death at the age of 58, according to murder charges filed several months later.

• Pierre Russell, a starting forward for Kansas' 1971 fourth-place finisher, died in mid-June 1995 at the age of 45.

• Reggie Royals, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer for Florida State's 1972 runner-up, passed away in mid-April 2009 at the age of 58.

• Forward Mike Lawhon, Louisville's third-leading scorer for the Cardinals' 1972 national fourth-place team, died in early April 2004 at the age of 53. Lawhon was an orthopedic surgeon who passed away while attending a medical conference.

• Larry Finch, Memphis State's leading scorer for 1973 runner-up, died in early April 2011 at the age of 60. Finch suffered the first of multiple strokes 10 years earlier. In early September 2014, his daughter (Shanae), suffering from Crohn's disease, collapsed and died at the age of 39. Teammate Ronnie Robinson, the Tigers' second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, passed away in early May 2004 at the age of 53 from congestive heart failure. Third-leading rebounder Wes Westfall, a juco recruit, died at 54 in his hometown of St. Louis.

• Maurice Lucas, leading scorer and rebounder for Marquette's 1974 national runner-up, died in 2010 at the age of 58 from bladder cancer. Teammate Jerry Homan, a backup frontcourter, had a son, Luke, pass away in the fall of 2006 when the UW-LaCrosse student's body was recovered in the Mississippi River after last seen celebrating Oktoberfest (UW-L teammate Austin Scott was charged with two counts of obstructing officers for lying to authorities during the death investigation).

• Danny Knight, the leading scorer and rebounder for Kansas' 1974 Final Four team, was 24 when he died in June 1977, three weeks after sustaining injuries in a fall down the steps at his home. Knight had been suffering headaches for some time and doctors attributed his death to an aneurysm in the brain. Teammate Norm Cook, the Jayhawks' second-leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer as a freshman, was 53 in 2008 when he died after suffering from paranoid schizophrenia most of his adult life.

• Dan Hall, a frontcourt backup from Kentucky's historic recruiting class as a freshman for UK's 1975 NCAA Tournament runner-up, died of an apparent suicide at age 58 the first full week in January 2013. Hall subsequently transferred to Marshall, where he averaged 10.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg in 1976-77 and 1977-78. UK teammate G.J. Smith, a reserve forward, died in late summer 2012 at the age of 59 because of a heart attack.

• Bob Parker, a backup center who scored a total of 14 points in two Final Four outings for Syracuse's 1975 national fourth-place team, passed away in January 2006 at the age of 51. Fellow reserve Larry Arrington perished from cancer in spring of 2013 at the age of 59.

• Mark Haymore, a member of Indiana's unbeaten club in 1976 before transferring to Massachusetts, died in late November 2004 at the age of 48. The frontcourter had a history of heart problems.

• John Robinson, Michigan's second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for 1976 runner-up, died in late September 2012 at the age of 56.

• The remains of former UCLA forward Gavin Smith, who scored 14 points for the third-place Bruins at the 1976 Final Four, were found in a rural desert area of Southern California in early November 2014. Police had been probing Smith's mysterious disappearance 2 1/2 years earlier. Smith, a 57-year-old movie executive for Fox, was driving a black 2000 four-door Mercedes E Class when he vanished at night. Most media outlets focus on Smith's connection to UCLA but he actually made a hoop name for himself playing with Hawaii, where he finished 16th in the nation in scoring in 1976-77 by setting a Rainbows' single-season record (23.4 points per game). Teammate Brett Vroman, a backup center for UCLA, had a son, Jackson, 34, found dead at the bottom of a friend's swimming pool in Hollywood in late June 2015 after previously playing for Iowa State.

• Center Jerome Whitehead, the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for Marquette's 1977 NCAA titlist, was 56 in mid-December 2012 when he was found dead because of chronic alcohol abuse. Teammate Gary Rosenberger, a guard who was the fourth-leading scorer in coach Al McGuire's swan song, passed away in the fall of 2013 at the age of 57 due to complications from a heart attack and stroke.

• Tom Zaliagiris, North Carolina's top reserve guard for 1977 runner-up, died in late January 2007 at the age of 50 because of a bacteria infection.

• Forward Glen Gondrezick, the leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for UNLV's 1977 third-place club, died in late April 2009 at the age of 53 due to complications stemming from a heart transplant he received the previous September. Teammate Lewis Brown, the third-leading rebounder and sixth-leading scorer for UNLV, spent more than 10 years homeless on the streets of Santa Monica, Calif., before passing away in mid-September 2011 at the age of 56. According to the New York Times, family members said the 6-11 center used cocaine with the Rebels. "Drugs were his downfall," said his sister. Murray State transfer Larry Moffett, UNLV's second-leading rebounder, passed away in early May 2011 in Shreveport, La., at the age of 56. He previously was a cab driver in Las Vegas.

• Guard Chad Kinch, the third-leading scorer for UNC Charlotte's 1977 national fourth-place team as a freshman, died at his parents' home in Cartaret, N.J., from complications caused by AIDS. He passed away at 35 on April 3, 1994, the day between the Final Four semifinals and final in Charlotte. The host school happened to be UNC Charlotte. It was the second time Kinch's parents lost a son. Sixteen years earlier, Ray Kinch, a Rutgers football player, was killed in a house fire. UNCC teammate Lew Massey, the 49ers' runner-up in scoring and rebounding, died in mid-January 2014 at the age of 57.

• Mike Phillips, the starting center for Kentucky's 1978 NCAA champion, died in late April 2015 at the age of 59 following a fall at his home.

• Point guard John Harrell, a point guard for Duke's 1978 runner-up after transferring from North Carolina Central, died of an aortal aneurysm at age 50 in the summer of 2008.

• Orlando Woolridge, a backup freshman in 1978 when Notre Dame made its lone Final Four appearance before he became a scoring specialist in 13 NBA seasons, died at the end of May 2012 at the age of 52 because of a chronic heart condition.

• Curtis Watkins, DePaul's second-leading scorer and rebounder for 1979 national third-place team, died in June 2008 at the age of 51 due to a blocked artery.

• Matt White, the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for Penn's 1979 Final Four squad as a senior, was fatally stabbed in mid-February 2013 by his wife, who told police she had caught him looking at child pornography. White, the Quakers' all-time leader in field-goal shooting (59.1%), was 55.

• Derek Smith, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer as a sophomore forward for Louisville's 1980 NCAA champion, died of a heart ailment at age 34 on August 9, 1996, while on a cruise with his family. He was the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder for the Cardinals' 1982 Final Four team before averaging 12.8 ppg and 3.2 rpg in the NBA with five different franchises. His son, Nolan, became a starting guard for Duke's 2010 NCAA titlist.

• Drake Morris Jr., the 29-year-old son of the third-leading scorer for Purdue's 1980 national third-place team, was shot to death in northwest Indiana in the middle of the night in late August 2011.

• Iowa's Kenny Arnold, who battled cancer for more than 30 years after undergoing surgery for a malignant brain tumor in 1985, passed away in late April 2019 at the age of 59. Chicago native was the second-leading scorer (13.5 ppg as sophomore) and assists leader for the Hawkeyes' 1980 national fourth-place team coached by Lute Olson.

• Mike LaFave, a freshman forward on Indiana's titlist in 1981 before transferring to Ball State, died at age 46 from a sudden heart attack in 2009. Teammate Steve Bouchie passed away at age 59 from a heart attack during 2020 Fourth of July weekend.

• Center Greg Cook, third-leading rebounder and fifth-leading scorer for LSU's national fourth-place team in 1981, died in mid-March 2005 from congestive heart failure at the age of 46. Assistant coach Rick Huckabay, who tagged along from high school with the Tigers' leading scorer (Howard Carter), died of cancer in 2006 at 60 after directing Marshall to the NCAA playoffs three times in a four-year span from 1984 through 1987.

• Rob Williams, leading scorer for Houston's 1982 Final Four team, died of congestive heart failure at the age of 52 in March 2014 after suffering a stroke 15 years earlier that left him blind in his left eye and partially paralyzed on his left side. Williams denied rumors he was too high on cocaine to play up to par against North Carolina in the national semifinals (0-for-8 field-goal shooting). But Williams admitted he used drugs. "Cocaine came later but I started out smoking weed (in junior high)," Williams said. "I was always a curious type of fellow, so I wanted to see what cocaine was about. So I tried it. And to tell you the truth, I liked it."

• Lorenzo Charles, the second-leading rebounder for N.C. State's 1983 champion, provided one of the tourney's most memorable moments with a game-winning dunk against heavily-favored Houston in the final. Working for a limousine and bus company based in Apex, N.C., he was killed in June 2011 when the charter bus the 47-year-old was driving with no passengers aboard crashed along Interstate 40 in Raleigh. Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano also was 47 in the spring of 1993 when he passed away because of cancer. Backup forward Quinton Leonard died of a heart attack in the spring of 2006 at the age of 44.

• Renaldo Thomas, a member of Houston's Phi Slama Jama clubs finishing national runner-up in 1983 and 1984, died in 2021 at the age of 57.

• Lamar Heard, tri-captain and steals leader for Georgia's 1983 Final Four squad, was 55 when he died in 2017. Terry Fair, the Bulldogs' leading rebounder and second-leading scorer in their initial NCAA playoff appearance, perished in late January 2020 at the age of 59. Teammate Troy Hitchcock, a 7-2 freshman center who subsequently transferred home to Heidelberg (Ohio), passed away at 29 in early 1992.

• Michael Burrell, son of Michael Graham, second-leading rebounder for Georgetown's 1984 NCAA champion, died at 25 in June 2008 during a trip to an amusement park. Burrell, beset by a tumor on his brain according to doctors, began vomiting, then collapsed and hit his head on the pavement. First of children fathered with four different women was born when Graham was in high school.

• Melvin Turpin, the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder as a senior for Kentucky's 1984 Final Four team (29-5 record), was 49 and battling diabetes in July 2010 when he committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot to the chest. Teammate Bret Bearup, a backup forward, passed away in mid-May 2018 at 56.

• Baskerville Holmes, a starting forward who averaged 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for Memphis State's 1985 Final Four team, and his girlfriend were found shot to death on March 18, 1997 in an apparent murder-suicide in Memphis. He was 32.

• Swingman Don Redden, who averaged 13 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for Louisiana State's 1986 Final Four squad, was 24 when he died in March 1988 of heart disease.

• Keith Hughes, a backup forward as a freshman for Syracuse's 1987 runner-up before transferring to Rutgers, died suddenly at his N.J. home in February 2014 at the age of 45.

• Ernie "Pop" Lewis, a senior co-captain and three-point specialist for Providence in 1987, perished in early 2018 at age 51.

• Forward Daryl Thomas, second-leading scorer and rebounder for Indiana's 1987 titlist, died in late March 2018 at age 52 of a heart attack.

• Armon Gilliam, the leading scorer and rebounder for UNLV's 1987 Final Four team, died from a heart attack on July 5, 2011, while playing basketball in a Pittsburgh area gym. He was 47.

• Mike Masucci, a freshman backup center for Kansas' eventual 1988 champion dismissed from the Jayhawks before the tourney commenced and his subsequent transfer, died in January 2005 at the age of 36 from a heart attack.

• Demetrius Calip Sr., a backup guard for Michigan's 1989 titlist, died in early February of 2023 at the age of 53.

• Guard Phil Henderson, the leading scorer and senior captain of Duke's 1990 NCAA Tournament runner-up, died of cardiac arrest in mid-February 2013 at his home in the Philippines at the age of 44. He was the Blue Devils' second-leading scorer as a junior and sixth-leading scorer as a sophomore for two more Final Four squads.

• Larry Marks, a backup forward for Arkansas' 1990 Final Four squad after being a starter the previous season, died of an apparent heart attack in mid-June 2000 at the age of 33 after playing some recreational basketball. Teammates Lenzie Howell and Ron Huery died in their 50s. Howell, who garnered Midwest Regional MOP honors, passed away in summer of 2020 at 52. Huery, the Hogs' top player off the bench in 1990, died in early November 2022 in his hometown of Memphis at the age of 55.

• Sean Tunstall, a reserve guard for Kansas' 1991 NCAA Tournament runner-up was shot and killed at age 28 in the parking lot of a recreation center in his native St. Louis on October 16, 1997, in a drug deal gone bad. Tunstall, recruited to KU when Larry Brown was the Jayhawks' coach, had received a prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of selling cocaine in 1993. "He was one of the few kids I never thought I completely reached," then KU coach Roy Williams said. Power forward Chris Lindley, who signed with Kansas and would have been a freshman for the 1991 squad before having his right foot amputated in January 1990 after a train accident, died at 34 in mid-February 2007.

• Clifford Rozier, a backup freshman forward for North Carolina's 1991 Final Four team before transferring to Louisville and becoming an All-American as a junior in 1993-94, died of a heart attack at age 45 in summer of 2018 following years in a halfway house.

• Herb Jones, leading scorer and rebounder for Cincinnati's Final Four club in 1992, died in early December 2021 at the age of 51 after a battle with liver and lung cancer. Son of Nick Van Exel, UC's assists leader, was sentenced to 60 years in prison after arrest in Garland, Tex., in late December 2010 on a capital murder charge following the shotgun shooting slaying of his friend, whose body was wrapped in plastic and dumped along a nearby lake. Prosecutors contended that Nickey feared his friend would tell authorities of robberies the two committed earlier in the year.

• Eric Anderson, starting forward for Indiana's 1992 Final Four squad, died at 48 of natural causes following a bout with pneumonia in late 2018.

• Antonio "Tony" Moore, Duke backup forward for 1994 national runner-up, died in 2016 at 41.

• Ademola Okulaja, a starting forward for North Carolina's back-to-back Final Four teams in 1997 and 1998, died at the age of 46 in spring of 2022. A cancerous tumor was found on his spine in 2008.

• Peter Sauer, a captain and third-leading rebounder for Stanford's 1998 Final Four squad, was 35 when he collapsed during a recreation game in White Plains, N.Y., hit his head and never was revived. His father, Mark Sauer, is a former president of two pro franchises - the NHL's St. Louis Blues and MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates.

• A 32-year-old brother of defensive stopper Byron Mouton, Maryland's fourth-leading scorer and rebounder for a 2001 Final Four team, was shot and killed in an apparent carjacking incident in Houston about one month into the next season. The Terrapins went on to capture the 2002 NCAA championship as the Tulane transfer finished as their third-leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer.

• Earl Badu, a walk-on member of 2002 NCAA titlist Maryland was in legal and financial trouble ($300,000 debt involving major Terps booster) in the years preceding his suicide at 33 in late September 2012 jumping from an eastern Baltimore overpass. Teammate Tahj Holden, a part-time starting center, had a three-year-old son (Max) perish from cancer in the spring of 2020.

• Stanley Robinson, third-leading rebounder for Connecticut's 2009 Final Four squad, died in summer of 2020 at the age of 32.

• Zachary Winston, a younger brother of Michigan State All-American playmaker Cassius Winston (2019 Final Four participant), died on November 9, 2019, when struck by a westbound Amtrak train in Albion, Mich., where he was attending college.

Although there frequently is a disenchantment stigma attached to transfers, it shouldn't be considered a crime. In wake of transfer portal, there has never been more impact on a Final Four from players commencing their college playing careers at other four-year NCAA Division I institutions than the past several years. Including injured Kentucky star Derek Anderson in 1997, 34 of the last 38 Final Fours featured teams with at least one starter or key reserve beginning his college career attending another four-year DI school.

Vanderbilt guard Billy McCaffrey, a transfer from Duke, is the only All-Tournament selection to finish his college playing career attending another major university. There was no All-Tournament team in 1942 when Stanford guard Howie Dallmar was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player before completing his undergraduate work at Penn toward the end of World War II. McCaffrey earned a spot on the 1991 All-Tournament team by scoring 16 points to help Duke defeat Kansas (72-65) in the championship game.

"What I really wanted was consistency; not playing a key factor in some games, very minimal in others," McCaffrey said. "My role probably would have been the same if I had stayed. I felt I could do more. I needed to enjoy the game more. I think a player likes to know that he can be counted on for certain things every night. That's how I get pleasure from the games. Your college career is too short to spend somewhere you're not happy.

"I don't regret leaving. I cherish those memories. I was happy for them (when the Blue Devils repeated in 1992). I knew when I left that they had a good chance to win (again). I took that into consideration when I made my decision to leave. I'd already been a part of a national championship. Maybe that made it easier."

There are more regular-rotation transfers at the last two Final Fours than there was in nine-year span from 1992 through 2000. Following is a chronological look at how transfers have impacted the Final Four in the last 38 years (in reverse order):

2022 - Kansas G Jalen Coleman-Landis (transfer from Illinois/DePaul/Iowa State), Villanova G Caleb Daniels (Tulane), Duke F-C Theo John (Marquette), Duke F Bates Jones (Davidson), North Carolina F Brady Manek (Oklahoma), Kansas G Remy Martin (Arizona State) and Kansas G Joseph Yesufu (Drake).

2021 - Houston F Reggie Chaney (Arkansas), Gonzaga G Aaron Cook (Southern Illinois), Baylor G Adam Flagler (Presbyterian), Houston F Justin Gorham (Towson), Houston F-C Brison Gresham (Massachusetts), Houston G Quentin Grimes (Kansas), Houston G Dejon Jarreau (Massachusetts), UCLA G Johnny Juzang (Kentucky), Baylor G Davion Mitchell (Auburn), Gonzaga G Andrew Nembhard (Florida), Baylor F Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (UNLV), Baylor G MaCio Teague (UNC Asheville) and Houston G Cameron Tyson (Idaho).

2019 - Auburn G Samir Doughty (Virginia Commonwealth), Texas Tech G Brandone Francis (Florida), Virginia F Braxton Key (Alabama), Texas Tech G Matt Mooney (Air Force/South Dakota) and Texas Tech F-C Tariq Owens (Tennessee/St. John's)

2018 - Loyola of Chicago G Clayton Custer (Iowa State), Michigan G Charles Matthews (Kentucky), Kansas G-F Malik Newman (Mississippi State), Villanova F Eric Paschall (Fordham), Michigan G-F Duncan Robinson (Williams MA) and Loyola of Chicago G Marques Townes (Fairleigh Dickinson)

2017 - Oregon G Dylan Ennis (Rice/Villanova), Gonzaga G Jordan Mathews (California), Oregon C Paul White (Georgetown), Gonzaga F Johnathan Williams (Missouri) and Gonzaga G Nigel Williams-Goss (Washington)

2016 - Syracuse G Michael Gbinije (Duke) and Oklahoma F Ryan Spangler (Gonzaga)

2015 - Michigan State G Bryn Forbes (Cleveland State)

2014 - Wisconsin F Zach Bohannon (Air Force), Florida F Dorian Finney-Smith (Virginia Tech) and Connecticut G-F Lasan Kromah (George Washington)

2013 - Wichita State G Malcolm Armstead* (Oregon) and Louisville G-F Luke Hancock (George Mason)

2012 - Ohio State F Evan Ravenel (Boston College), Louisville G Chris Smith (Manhattan), Kentucky C Eloy Vargas* (Florida), Kansas F Justin Wesley (Lamar), Kansas C Jeff Withey (Arizona) and Kansas F Kevin Young (Loyola Marymount)

2011 - Kentucky C Eloy Vargas* (Florida), Virginia Commonwealth F Jamie Skeen (Wake Forest), Virginia Commonwealth F Toby Veal* (Colorado)

2010 - None

2009 - None

2008 - Kansas G Rodrick Stewart** (Southern California) and Memphis F Shawn Taggart (Iowa State)

2007 - Georgetown F Patrick Ewing Jr. (Indiana) and Ohio State G Ron Lewis (Bowling Green)

2006 - None

2005 - Illinois F-C Jack Ingram (Tulsa)

2004 - Oklahoma State G Daniel Bobik (Brigham Young), Georgia Tech G Will Bynum (Arizona), Oklahoma State G-F Joey Graham (Central Florida), Oklahoma State F Stephen Graham (Central Florida), Oklahoma State G John Lucas III (Baylor) and Oklahoma State F Jason Miller (North Texas)

2003 - Texas F Deginald Erskin (North Texas) and Marquette F-C Robert Jackson (Mississippi State)

2002 - Oklahoma C Jabahri Brown (Florida International) and F-C Aaron McGhee* (Cincinnati) and Maryland G-F Byron Mouton (Tulane)

2001 - Michigan State F Mike Chappell (Duke), Maryland G-F Byron Mouton (Tulane) and Arizona C Loren Woods (Wake Forest)

2000 - Michigan State F Mike Chappell (Duke)

1999 - Ohio State G Scoonie Penn (Boston College)

1998 - Kentucky F Heshimu Evans (Manhattan) and North Carolina C Makhtar Ndiaye (Michigan)

1997 - Kentucky G-F Derek Anderson (Ohio State)

1996 - Kentucky G-F Derek Anderson (Ohio State) and C Mark Pope (Washington)

1995 - Oklahoma State F Scott Pierce (Illinois)

1994 - None

1993 - Kentucky G Travis Ford (Missouri) and Kansas G Rex Walters (Northwestern)

1992 - Cincinnati G Anthony Buford (Akron) and F Erik Martin* (Texas Christian)

1991 - UNLV G Greg Anthony (Portland) and C Elmore Spencer* (Georgia)

1990 - UNLV G Greg Anthony (Portland)

1989 - Illinois F Kenny Battle (Northern Illinois)

1988 - Kansas G Clint Normore (Wichita State), Oklahoma F Harvey Grant (Clemson) and Arizona F Tom Tolbert* (UC Irvine)

1987 - Providence G Delray Brooks (Indiana) and UNLV G Mark Wade* (Oklahoma)

1986 - Kansas C Greg Dreiling (Wichita State)

1985 - St. John's G Mike Moses (Florida)

1984 - Virginia G Rick Carlisle (Maine)

*Played for a junior college between four-year schools.
**Injured.

Unless you're still busy hoarding toilet paper, seeking translator to try to understand incoherent Plagiarist Bidumb or cowering in fetal position from college basketball version of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds, it's your opportunity to start taking online tests for 23 quarantined days symbolic of normal time frame from Selection Sunday to Monday evening championship contest.

We need something to occupy our minds during quarantine from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 16 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia.com's year-by-year highlights):

1. Name the only school to have four players score more than 14,000 points in the pros after never participating in national postseason competition (NCAA playoffs and NIT). Hint: One member of the foursome left college early after just one season of eligibility when he averaged 30 points per game and another is the highest scorer in NBA history to never participate in NBA playoffs.

2. Name the only father-son combination to be on the rosters of two teams from the same school to win NCAA Tournament championships. Hint: Both of them were underclassmen when their teams captured NCAA titles.

3. Who is the only player never to appear in the NBA or ABA after averaging more than 20 points per game for a team reaching an NCAA Tournament final? Hint: A college teammate was member of the NBA championship team drafting him.

4. Who is the only undergraduate non-center to average more than 23 points per game for a national champion? Hint: He is the last player to score the most points in a single game of an NCAA Tournament and play for championship team.

5. Who is the only player to appear at a minimum of two Final Fours and be game-high scorer in every Final Four contest he played? Hint: His brother is an NFL Hall of Famer.

6. Who is the only coach to win an NBA championship after directing a college to the Final Four? Hint: His college squad was implicated in a game-fixing scandal.

7. Who is the only player to grab more than 41 rebounds at a single Final Four? Hint: He is the only player to retrieve more than 21 missed shots in a championship game and only player to score more than 20 points and grab more than 20 rebounds in back-to-back NCAA finals.

8. Who is the only Final Four Most Outstanding Player to later coach a school other than his alma mater to the playoffs? Hint: He coached for more than 20 years in the same conference against UCLA legend John Wooden. He is also the only Final Four Most Outstanding Player to complete his college playing career attending another university.

9. Who is the only junior college player to later be selected Final Four Most Outstanding Player? Hint: He won the award when Final Four was held in his home state and eventually became an NBA head coach.

10. Name the only school with a losing league record to defeat a conference rival by more than 20 points in a season the opponent wound up winning the national championship. Hint: The school with a losing league mark participated in NCAA playoffs the next season for first time since reaching Final Four more than 20 years earlier when a consensus first-team All-American became only player in school history to average more than 25 points in a season.

Answers (Day 16)

Day 15 Questions and Answers

Day 14 Questions and Answers

Day 13 Questions and Answers

Day 12 Questions and Answers

Day 11 Questions and Answers

Day 10 Questions and Answers

Day 9 Questions and Answers

Day 8 Questions and Answers

Day 7 Questions and Answers

Day 6 Questions and Answers

Day 5 Questions and Answers

Day 4 Questions and Answers

Day 3 Questions and Answers

Day 2 Questions and Answers

Day 1 Questions and Answers

NCAA Tournament confrontations between members from the same power league are relatively rare. The Duke/North Carolina matchup in national semifinals was 31st such intra-conference tourney tilt and first-ever between ACC rivals in the playoffs. Five seasons ago, SEC rivals Florida and South Carolina met in the East Regional final. It was the first such contest between SEC members in a 31-year span.

The Big Ten Conference, taking some solace from eight teams eliminated in first two rounds last year and nine members cast adrift before Elite Eight this season, accounted for seven of the first 18 NCAA Tournament games pitting league members against each other. Six campaigns ago marked the first time a league (ACC) generated three intra-conference playoff confrontations in a single tourney.

For the 12th straight tourney, at least one team reached the Final Four after losing a vital player who defected following the previous season to make themselves available for the NBA draft or turn pro overseas. Duke defectors Matthew Hurt, Jalen Johnson and D.J. Steward wound up in the NBA G League rather than the Final Four while rookies Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Villanova) and Day'Ron Sharpe (North Carolina) moved into regular rotations for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets, respectively, despite failing to be among top 28 NBA draftees in 2021.

Among schools losing a prominent undergraduate early, Kentucky was the only school to capture a crown (1998 without Ron Mercer) until Duke achieved the feat (2010 without Gerald Henderson) and UK secured another title two years later sans Brandon Knight. In a once-in-a-lifetime achievement, UK returned to the national semifinals in 2011 after losing five undergraduates who became NBA first-round draft choices.

The Final Four has had at least one team arrive after losing a prominent undergraduate to the NBA draft 19 times in the last 20 tourneys. Following is a list of the 41 squads unfazed by the early loss of key player(s) who left college with eligibility still remaining:

The last seven top scorers among Final Four participants didn't become highest point producer at F4. In 2016, Oklahoma's Buddy Hield, the nation's runner-up in scoring with 25.4 points per game, came close to duplicating one of the most overlooked achievements in NCAA Tournament history. In 1951-52, Clyde Lovellette of champion Kansas became the only player to lead the nation in scoring average (28.4 ppg) while competing for a squad reaching the NCAA tourney title game. Final Four luminaries averaging more than 30 ppg include Elvin Hayes (36.8/Houston '68), Oscar Robertson (33.7/Cincinnati '60 and 32.6/Cincinnati '59), Rick Mount (33.3/Purdue '69), Elgin Baylor (32.5/Seattle '58), Bill Bradley (30.5/Princeton '65) and Len Chappell (30.1/Wake Forest '62).

Lovellette, an 11-year NBA center who passed away three years ago, served as sheriff of Vigo County in his native Indiana (noted for raid on Terre Haute brothels). Ochai Agbaji has been scoring under his season average during the tourney, but aspires to "raid" the Final Four by joining Lovellette as the only other player cracking the 30-point plateau in the national semifinals and championship contest in the same season (33 against both Santa Clara and St. John's). However, only two top scorers entering the previous 15 national semifinals wound up leading that specific Final Four in total points after Gonzaga's Drew Timme fell short of Jared Butler's 39 points for Baylor last year.

Hield was the first Final Four player since Georgia Tech's Dennis Scott to average in excess of 25 ppg. Only two other Final Four players notched higher scoring averages than Hield since the playoff field expanded to at least 32 teams in 1975 - Larry Bird (28.6 ppg for Indiana State '79 and Glen Rice (25.6 for Michigan '89). Rice scored 59 points in two Final Four games. The highest F4 total since him was accrued by Arizona guard Miles Simon with 54 in 1997. Timme joins the following list of individuals in the last 30 tourneys amassing the highest scoring average from a Final Four club since Scott's mark of 27.7 ppg in 1989-90:

Season	Top Scorer Among Final Four Participants	School	Average	Final Four's Two-Game Top Scorer
1989-90	Dennis Scott	Georgia Tech	27.7 ppg	Duke's Phil Henderson/UNLV's Anderson Hunt (49 points)
1990-91	Larry Johnson	UNLV	22.7 ppg	Duke's Christian Laettner (46 points)
1991-92	Christian Laettner	Duke	21.5 ppg	Duke's Bobby Hurley (35 points)
1992-93	Jamal Mashburn	Kentucky	21.0 ppg	Michigan's Chris Webber/ UNC's Donald Williams (50 points)
1993-94	Khalid Reeves	Arizona	24.2 ppg	Arkansas' Corliss Williamson (52 points)
1994-95	Bryant Reeves	Oklahoma State	21.5 ppg	UCLA's Ed O'Bannon (45 points)
1995-96	John Wallace	Syracuse	22.2 ppg	Wallace (50 points)
1996-97	Antawn Jamison	North Carolina	19.1 ppg	Arizona's Miles Simon (54 points)
1997-98	Antawn Jamison	North Carolina	22.2 ppg	Kentucky's Jeff Sheppard (43 points)
1998-99	Richard Hamilton	Connecticut	21.5 ppg	Hamilton (51 points)
1999-00	Morris Peterson	Michigan State	16.8 ppg	Peterson (41 points)
2000-01	Jay Williams	Duke	21.6 ppg	Duke's Shane Battier (43 points)
2001-02	Juan Dixon	Maryland	20.4 ppg	Dixon (51 points)
2002-03	Carmelo Anthony	Syracuse	22.2 ppg	Anthony (53 points)
2003-04	Ben Gordon	Connecticut	18.5 ppg	UConn's Emeka Okafor (42 points)
2004-05	Sean May	North Carolina	17.5 ppg	May (48 points)
2005-06	Glen Davis	Louisiana State	18.6 ppg	Florida's Lee Humphrey (34 points)
2006-07	Arron Affalo	UCLA	16.9 ppg	Ohio State's Greg Oden (38 points)
2007-08	Tyler Hansbrough	North Carolina	22.6 ppg	Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts (50 points)
2008-09	Tyler Hansbrough	North Carolina	20.7 ppg	UNC's Ty Lawson (43 points)
2009-10	Jon Scheyer	Duke	18.2 ppg	Duke's Kyle Singler (40 points)
2010-11	Kemba Walker	Connecticut	23.5 ppg	Butler's Shelvin Mack (37 points)
2011-12	Thomas Robinson	Kansas	17.7 ppg	Robinson (37 points)
2012-13	Russ Smith	Louisville	18.7 ppg	Louisville's Luke Hancock (42 points)
2013-14	Shabazz Napier	Connecticut	18.0 ppg	Kentucky's James Young (37 points)
2014-15	Frank Kaminsky	Wisconsin	18.8 ppg	Kaminsky (41 points)
2015-16	Buddy Hield	Oklahoma	25.4 ppg	Villanova's Josh Hart (35 points)
2016-17	Sindarius Thornwell	South Carolina	21.6 ppg	UNC's Justin Jackson/Gonzaga's Nigel Williams-Goss (38 points)
2017-18	Jalen Brunson	Villanova	19.2 ppg	Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo (46 points)
2018-19	Jarrett Culver	Texas Tech	18.9 ppg	Virginia's De'Andre Hunter (41 points)
2018-19	Cassius Winston	Michigan State	18.9 ppg	Virginia's De'Andre Hunter (41 points)
2020-21	Drew Timme	Gonzaga	19 ppg	Baylor's Jared Butler (39 points)
2021-22	Ochai Agbaji	Kansas	18.9 ppg	Kansas' David McCormack (40 points)

Need an example showing how scoring is down in college basketball? Disregard the freak set of circumstances in 2008-09 when eventual NBA MVP Stephen Curry went scoreless against Loyola (Md.). Unsure if it is a byproduct of doomed civilization stemming from eco-fascist climate change, but only one NCAA Division I player averaged in excess of 30 points per game in the 21st Century (since LIU's Charles Jones in 1996-97). He was Campbell's Chris Clemons, who achieved the feat three seasons ago (30.1 ppg).

Seven years ago, Eastern Washington's Tyler Harvey (23.1 ppg) finished with the lowest average for the national scoring leader since Yale's Tony Lavelli posted 22.4 ppg in 1948-49. As a means of comparison to an era when scorers flourished, an average of 36 players annually posted higher scoring marks than Harvey in a six-season span from 1967-68 through 1972-73, including a high of 44 in 1969-70 when LSU's Pete Maravich nearly doubled Harvey with 44.5 ppg despite the absence of the three-point field goal.

Glenn Robinson Jr. (30.3 ppg for Purdue in 1993-94) was the only player from a power six league to pace the country in scoring in a 41-year span from 1971-72 through 2011-12 (South Carolina was independent in 1980-81 and TCU was SWC member in 1994-95). Bryant's Peter Kiss joined the following list citing the high and low games for players during the season when they led DI in scoring average:

NOTE: Leaders are unofficial from 1935-36 through 1946-47.

Naturally, it would be unfair to include "one-and-done" players from two seasons ago as coronavirus prevented them from participating in national postseason competition. But you can go back to Big Ben to assess whether he was a freshman phenom or flop. Six seasons ago, LSU's Ben Simmons was the first NCAA consensus All-American in 38 years (since Minnesota's Mychal Thompson and Portland State's Freeman Williams in 1978) to leave college after failing to appear in either of the two principal national postseason tournaments during their career. After previously occurring frequently, Army's Kevin Houston (1987) had been the last All-American of any type to miss the NCAA tourney and NIT. Houston, Thompson and Williams comprise three of 23 four-year players among all A-As in this dubious category. Thompson is among a total of 50 such players from Big Ten Conference members.

Simmons' questionable NBA playing status this season is nothing new. He plus fellow All-Americans Kay Felder (Oakland) and Markelle Fultz (Washington freshman five years ago) might have made bigger names for themselves in college if they had participated in national postseason competition prior to declaring early for the NBA draft. Fultz, briefly a teammate of Simmons with the Philadelphia 76ers, became the 126th standout from a member of an existing power league (26 of them consensus) on the following alphabetical list of All-Americans, including Kevin Love's father (Stan Love/Oregon A-A in 1971), who never competed in the NCAA playoffs or NIT since the national-tourney events were introduced in the late 1930s:

No Postseason All-American	Position	School	Year(s) All-American
Alvan Adams	C	Oklahoma	1974 and 1975
Jim Ashmore	G	Mississippi State	1957
Chet Aubuchon	G	Michigan State	1940
*Don Barksdale	C	UCLA	1947
Leo Barnhorst	F-C-G	Notre Dame	1949
John Barr	G	Penn State	1941
*Walt Bellamy	C	Indiana	1961
Gale Bishop	F-C	Washington State	1943
Bruno Boin	F-C	Washington	1957
George BonSalle	C	Illinois	1957
Wally Borrevik	C	Oregon State	1944
*Vince Boryla	F-C	Notre Dame/Denver	1949
Fred Boyd	G	Oregon State	1972
*Frank Burgess	G	Gonzaga	1961
Jim Burns	G	Northwestern	1967
Lawrence Butler	G	Idaho State	1979
*Leo Byrd	F	Marshall	1959
Bob Calihan	C	Detroit	1939
Dan Callandrillo	G	Seton Hall	1982
Joe Capua	G	Wyoming	1956
Tom Chilton	F	East Tennessee State	1961
*Doug Collins	G	Illinois State	1973
Russ Critchfield	G	California	1967
Billy Cunningham	F	North Carolina	1964 and 1965
*Chuck Darling	C	Iowa	1952
A.W. Davis	F	Tennessee	1965
Charlie Davis	G	Wake Forest	1971
***Terry Dischinger	C-F	Purdue	1960 through 1962
Bill Ebben	F	Detroit	1957
Paul Ebert	C	Ohio State	1952 through 1954
Frank Ehmann	F	Northwestern	1955
Bob Faris	F	George Washington	1939
Bob Faught	C	Notre Dame	1942
Kay Felder	G	Oakland	2016
Ken Flower	G	Southern California	1953
**Darrell Floyd	G-F	Furman	1955 and 1956
*Chet Forte	G	Columbia	1957
Don Freeman	F	Illinois	1966
**Robin Freeman	G	Ohio State	1955 and 1956
Markelle Fultz	G	Washington	2017
Terry Furlow	F	Michigan State	1976
*Dave Gambee	F	Oregon State	1958
*Dick Garmaker	F	Minnesota	1954 and 1955
Bill Garrett	C	Indiana	1951
Ed Gayda	F	Washington State	1950
Harold Gensichen	F	Western Michigan	1943
Ralph "Toddy" Giannini	G	Santa Clara	1940
Joe Gibbon	F	Mississippi	1957
Chester "Chet" Giermak	C	William & Mary	1950
**Otto Graham	F	Northwestern	1943 and 1944
**Dick Groat	G	Duke	1951 and 1952
**Dale Hall	F	Army	1944 and 1945
*Ralph Hamilton	F	Indiana	1947
Bill Hanson	F-C	Washington	1962
Vince Hanson	C	Washington State	1945
Bill Hapac	F	Illinois	1940
Jules "Skip" Harlicka	G	South Carolina	1968
Jerry Harper	C-F	Alabama	1956
*Spencer Haywood	F-C	Detroit	1969
**Fred Hetzel	F-C	Davidson	1963 through 1965
Joe Hobbs	G	Florida	1958
Paul Hoffman	F-C	Purdue	1947
Kevin Houston	G	Army	1987
Frank Howard	C-F	Ohio State	1957
**Bailey Howell	F-C	Mississippi State	1958 and 1959
Lou Hudson	G-F	Minnesota	1965 and 1966
*Dick Ives	F	Iowa	1944 and 1945
*Chester "Chet" Jaworski	G	Rhode Island State	1939
Ron Johnson	C	Minnesota	1959 and 1960
Vinnie Johnson	G	Baylor	1979
Paul Judson	G	Illinois	1956
Rich Kelley	C	Stanford	1975
*Walt Kirk	G	Illinois	1945
**Leo Klier	F	Notre Dame	1944 and 1946
Ed Koffenberger	C-F	Duke	1946 and 1947
Tom Kondla	C	Minnesota	1967
Ron Kramer	C	Michigan	1957
Dennis "Mo" Layton	G	Southern California	1971
Kevin Loder	F	Alabama State	1981
Stan Love	C	Oregon	1971
Jeff Malone	G	Mississippi State	1983
John Mandic	C	Oregon State	1942
Julius McCoy	F	Michigan State	1956
Banks McFadden	C	Clemson	1939
George McGinnis	F	Indiana	1971
*Jim McIntyre	C	Minnesota	1948 and 1949
Mark McNamara	C	California	1982
Carl McNulty	C	Purdue	1952
Chuck Mencel	G	Minnesota	1953 and 1955
Mike Mitchell	F	Auburn	1978
*Bill Mlkvy	F	Temple	1951
**Glen Max Morris	C-F	Northwestern	1945 and 1946
Jack Murdock	G	Wake Forest	1957
Phillip "Red" Murrell	F	Drake	1958
Don Nelson	F-C	Iowa	1961 and 1962
*Johnny Neumann	F-G	Mississippi	1971
Paul Neumann	G	Stanford	1959
Albert "Ab" Nicholas	G	Wisconsin	1952
Don Ohl	G	Illinois	1958
Frank Oleynick	G	Seattle	1975
Dick O'Neal	C	Texas Christian	1957
Bernie Opper	G	Kentucky	1939
**Kevin O'Shea	G	Notre Dame	1947 through 1950
Robert Parish	C	Centenary	1974 through 1976
Roger Phegley	G-F	Bradley	1978
Ricky Pierce	F-G	Rice	1982
Lou Pucillo	G	North Carolina State	1959
Dave Quabius	G	Marquette	1939
Ray Ragelis	F-C	Northwestern	1951
Jimmy Rayl	G	Indiana	1962 and 1963
Bob Rensberger	G	Notre Dame	1943
John Richter	C	North Carolina State	1959
Bill Ridley	G	Illinois	1956
Eddie Riska	F	Notre Dame	1941
Flynn Robinson	G	Wyoming	1965
Mike Robinson	G	Michigan State	1974
Wil Robinson	G	West Virginia	1972
Gene Rock	F-G	Southern California	1943
Marshall Rogers	G	Pan American	1976
Joe Ruklick	C	Northwestern	1959
**Dave Schellhase	F	Purdue	1965 and 1966
Harv Schmidt	F	Illinois	1957
Dave Scholz	F	Illinois	1969
Danny Schultz	G	Tennessee	1964
**Frank Selvy	F	Furman	1952 through 1954
*George Senesky	F-G	St. Joseph's	1943
*Bill Sharman	G	Southern California	1950
Gene Shue	F	Maryland	1953 and 1954
*Ben Simmons	F-G	Louisiana State	2016
Gary Simmons	G	Idaho	1958
Ralph Simpson	F-G	Michigan State	1970
Meyer "Whitey" Skoog	F-G	Minnesota	1949 through 1951
Doug Smart	C-F	Washington	1957 through 1959
Chris Smith	C	Virginia Tech	1960
Don Smith	C	Iowa State	1968
Glen Smith	F	Utah	1952
Forrest "Frosty" Sprowl	F	Purdue	1942
Bill Stauffer	F-C	Missouri	1952
Terry Teagle	G-F	Baylor	1982
Gary Thompson	G	Iowa State	1957
**Mychal Thompson	F-C	Minnesota	1977 and 1978
Rudy Tomjanovich	F	Michigan	1969 and 1970
Gene Tormohlen	C	Tennessee	1959
Walt Torrence	G-F	UCLA	1959
John Townsend	F	Michigan	1938
Vic "Slick" Townsend	G-F	Oregon	1941
Dick Van Arsdale	F	Indiana	1965
Tom Van Arsdale	F	Indiana	1965
Ernie Vandeweghe	F	Colgate	1949
*Grady Wallace	F	South Carolina	1957
Lou Watson	F-G	Indiana	1950
Nick Werkman	F	Seton Hall	1963
Paul Westphal	G	Southern California	1971 and 1972
*Murray Wier	G-F	Iowa	1948
Richard "Buzz" Wilkinson	G	Virginia	1955
*Freeman Williams	G	Portland State	1977 and 1978
Max Williams	G	Southern Methodist	1960
Sam Williams	F	Iowa	1968
*Mark Workman	C	West Virginia	1951 and 1952
George Yardley	F	Stanford	1950
Rich Yunkus	C	Georgia Tech	1970 and 1971

*Number of times named an NCAA consensus All-American.

Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper for next pandemic, seeking translator to try to understand Plagiarist Bidumb or cowering in fetal position from college basketball version of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds, it's your opportunity to start taking online tests for 23 quarantined days symbolic of normal time frame from Selection Sunday to Monday evening championship contest.

We need something to occupy our minds during quarantine from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 14 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia.com's year-by-year highlights):

1. Name the only school to compile a losing record in a season it won on the road against a conference rival later capturing the NCAA championship. Hint: The school is a former national titlist itself, but had just one winning league mark in 12 years from 1977-78 through 1988-89.

2. Name the only school to compile a conference record of more than 10 games below .500 in a season it defeated a league rival becoming NCAA champion. Hint: The school, which finished in first or second place in league competition four consecutive seasons in early 1930s, had 44 consecutive non-winning records in conference play before securing its first tourney appearance.

3. Name the only school to trail by at least 10 points at halftime of a tournament game and end up winning the contest by more than 20. Hint: A prominent network broadcaster played for the team. The next year, the school became the only one in tourney history to win back-to-back overtime games by double-digit margins.

4. Who is the only coach to lose in back-to-back seasons to teams seeded 14th or worse? Hint: He captured an NCAA championship later that decade.

5. Name the only double-digit seeded team to reach the Final Four until Virginia Commonwealth achieved the feat last year. Hint: It's the worst-seeded school to defeat a #1 seed, a conference rival that defeated the team a total of three times that year during the regular season and postseason league tournament. The next year, the university became only school to reach back-to-back regional finals as a double-digit seed.

6. Name the only school to win a regional final game it trailed by more than 15 points at halftime. Hint: The school lost its next game at the Final Four to a team that dropped a conference game against the regional final opponent by a double-figure margin. Three years later, it became the only school to score more than 100 points in a championship game and win national final by more than 21 points.

7. Who is the only team-leading scorer to be held more than 25 points under his season average in a Final Four game? Hint: He scored 39 points against the same opponent earlier in the season to help end the third-longest winning streak in major-college history. He is the only player to lead the playoffs in scoring and rebounding in back-to-back seasons although he wasn't named to the All-Tournament team one of those years despite becoming the only player to lead a tourney in scoring by more than 60 points. In addition, he is the only player in tournament history to collect more than 40 points and 25 rebounds in same game.

8. Name the only school to lead the nation in scoring offense and win the NCAA title in the same season. Hint: The top four scorers were undergraduates for the only titlist to win all of its NCAA Tournament games by more than 15 points.

9. Name the only school to play in as many as three overtime games in a single tournament. Hint: One of the three overtime affairs was a national third-place game.

10. Who is the only Final Four Most Outstanding Player to go scoreless in two NCAA Tournament games in a previous year? Hint: His NBA scoring average decreased each of last nine seasons in the league after becoming Rookie of the Year.

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In era of Dr. Fraudci covid manipulation, let's see if you genuinely want to be guided by data. Only seven individuals have coached more than 15 All-Americans with one major college. Nine years ago, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski broke a tie with Kentucky's Adolph Rupp and moved atop this list.

In one of the most overlooked achievements in NCAA history current Champaign bench boss Brad Underwood should know about, Harry Combes amassed 16 different All-Americans in his first 19 of 20 seasons as Illinois' mentor from 1947-48 through 1966-67. No other coach accumulated more than 13 All-Americans in his first 20 campaigns with a single school - North Carolina's Dean Smith (13 in first 20 seasons), Indiana's Bob Knight (12), Krzyzewski (12), Rupp (12), Indiana's Branch McCracken (11), Arizona's Lute Olson (11), UCLA's John Wooden (10) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (eight) - until former Illini mentor Bill Self (Kansas) bypassed them several years ago. No definitive word as of yet regarding how many of the A-As arrived donning Adidas gear via suspicious Self-less circumstances investigated by NCAA. Recruiting the Chicago metropolitan area isn't a panacea for the Illini, which should remember how 22 different major-college All-Americans in less than 30 years in an earlier era came from Illinois high schools located in towns featuring populations smaller than 20,000.

As a means of comparison, keep in mind inactive NCAA Division I national coaches of the year P.J. Carlesimo, Perry Clark, Tom Davis, Eddie Fogler, Jim Harrick, Marv Harshman, Clem Haskins, Maury John, Jim O'Brien, George Raveling, Charlie Spoonhour and Butch van Breda Kolff combined for 17 All-Americans in a cumulative 251 years coaching at the major-college level. Moreover, prominent active coaches Tommy Amaker, Mike Anderson, Randy Bennett, Brad Brownell, Mick Cronin, Ed DeChellis, Travis Ford, Jim Larranaga, Fran McCaffery, Bob McKillop and Dan Monson have combined for fewer All-Americans than both Combes and Self. John Calipari has collected 12 A-As in his first 13 campaigns with Kentucky. Following is list of the seven coaches with most different All-Americans at one university:

NOTE: Respected retired mentors Gale Catlett, Mike Deane, Bill Henderson, Shelby Metcalf, Stan Morrison, Bob Polk, Charlie Spoonhour and Ralph Willard never had an All-American despite at least 18 seasons coaching at the major-college level.