Although there previously was a disenchantment stigma attached to transfers, it's no longer considered a crime to focus on them. In the midst of hyperactive 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. The leading scorers for three Final Four teams this year are transfers from other four-year universities - Auburn's Johni Broome (Morehead State), Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. (Iona) and Houston's L.J. Cryer (Baylor). Including injured Kentucky star Derek Anderson in 1997, 37 of the last 41 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 were more regular-rotation transfers appearing at the last eight Final Fours than there was in a 33-year span from 1984 through 2016. In the last 14 years (13 tourneys), 46 DI schools (38 of them mid-majors) never participating at the F4 had former players advance to the national semifinals after transferring. Following is a chronological look at how transfers have impacted the Final Four in the last 41 years (in reverse order):

2025 - Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara (transfer from Duquesne/San Diego State), Johni Broome (Morehead State), Ja'Heim Hudson (SMU), Chaney Johnson (Alabama-Huntsville), Denver Jones (Florida International), Miles Kelly (Georgia Tech), JP Pegues (Furman) and CJ Williams (Texas Tech); Duke's Neal Begovich (Stanford), Maliq Brown (Syracuse), Rueben Chinyelu (Washington State), Mason Gillis (Purdue), Sion James (Tulane) and Cameron Sheffield (Rice); Sam Alexis (Chattanooga), Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. (Iona), Micah Handlogten (Marshall), Alijah Martin (Florida Atlantic) and Will Richard (Belmont), plus Houston's L.J. Cryer (Baylor) and Mylik Wilson (Texas Tech).
2024 - Alabama's Aaron Estrada (Saint Peter's/Oregon/Hofstra), Grant Nelson (North Dakota State), Nick Pringle* (Wofford), Mark Sears (Ohio University), Mohamed Wague* (West Virginia) and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (Cal State Fullerton); Connecticut's Hassan Diarra (Texas A&M), Tristen Newton (East Carolina) and Cam Spencer (Loyola MD/Rutgers); North Carolina State's DJ Burns Jr. (Winthrop), Mohamed Diarra* (Missouri), DJ Horne (Illinois State/Arizona State), Ben Middlebrooks (Clemson), Casey Morsell (Virginia), Michael O'Connell (Stanford), MJ Rice (Kansas), Jayden Taylor (Butler) and Kam Woods (North Carolina A&T), plus Purdue's Lance Jones (Southern Illinois).
2023 - Connecticut's Nahiem Alleyne (Virginia Tech), Joey Calcaterra (San Diego), Hassan Diarra (Texas A&M) and Tristen Newton (East Carolina); Florida Atlantic's Vladislav Goldin (Texas Tech); Miami's Jordan Miller (George Mason), Norchad Ornier (Arkansas State) and Nigel Pack (Kansas State), plus San Diego State's Matt Bradley (California), Jaedon LeDee (Texas Christian), Micah Parrish (Oakland) and Darrin Trammell (Seattle).
2022 - Kansas G Jalen Coleman-Landis (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.

Extra! Extra! This is no April Fool's prank. Insofar as a new MLB season is underway, you can enhance your knowledge by reading news all about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players! Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only four percent of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Former college hoopers Tom Dettore (Juniata PA) and Paul Popovich (West Virginia) were traded for each other at MLB level on this date. Ex-HBCU hoopers Larry Doby (Virginia Union) and Lou Johnson (Kentucky State) were also traded on this date. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 1 calendar of trades focusing on several such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 1

• OF Larry Doby (reserve guard for Virginia Union's 1943 CIAA basketball titlist) traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Cleveland Indians in 1958.

• LF "Sweet" Lou Johnson (Kentucky State teammate of legendary HBCU coach Davey Whitney averaged 5.7 ppg and 2 rpg in 1951-52) traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Los Angeles Angels in 1961.

• OF-1B Len Matuszek (starter for Toledo's 18-7 team in 1975-76) traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Toronto Blue Jays in 1985.

• OF Lou Piniella (averaged 2.5 ppg and 1.4 rpg for Tampa as freshman in 1961-62) traded by the Seattle Pilots to Kansas City Royals in 1969.

• OF-1B John Poff (member of Duke's freshman basketball squad in 1970-71) traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Chicago White Sox in 1981.

• INF Paul Popovich (averaged 3.3 ppg for West Virginia's 1960 NCAA playoff team) traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Pittsburgh Pirates for RHP Tom Dettore (averaged 14.1 ppg and 9 rpg for Juniata PA in 1965-66) and cash in 1974.

At least they're not illegal aliens taking American positions/jobs/lives. At any rate, each Final Four team roster features foreign representation.

College basketball has taken on an increasingly international flavor with an average of more than 400 foreign athletes annually competing for NCAA Division I men's teams over the last 20 seasons. An all-time high of eight different foreign nations outside North America were represented at the 2017 Final Four as the search for talent knows no borders.

You've heard of a trade deficit. How about the trade surplus at the national semifinals? All but three Final Four since 1993 had an international flavor with at least one player from outside North America in the regular rotation of a team reaching the national semifinals. All four 2021 Final Four squads also were in this category, including multiple regulars for Baylor and Gonzaga. But 2022 emerged barren.

"If communism hadn't fallen, I would have had to make the most difficult decision in my life," said center George Zidek, the starting center for UCLA's 1995 national champion who once was yelped at by dogs and arrested during a riot in Prague. "I would have had to leave to play basketball and never come back to my country or my family. I don't know if I could have done that."

An old adage claimed that fans couldn't tell the players without a roster. Now, it's at the point where fans can't pronounce the names on rosters without taking a couple of Berlitz language courses. UCLA supplied the only set of teammates from a foreign country (Cameroon) to compete in three consecutive Final Fours (frontcourters Alfred Aboya and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute from 2006 through 2008). In a total of four F4 games, Aboya averaged 2.3 ppg and 1.5 rpg while Mbah a Moute contributed 9.8 ppg and 9.3 rpg. Following is a chronological list of Final Four regulars in the last 31 tourneys coming from more than 40 different foreign nations (in reverse order):

2025 - Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara (Dominican Republic); Duke's Khaman Maluach (South Sudan) and Tyrese Proctor (Australia); Florida's Rueben Chinyelu (Nigeria), Alex Condon (Australia) and Urban Klavzar (Slovenia), plus Houston's Cedric Lath (Ivory Coast) and J'Wan Roberts (Virgin Islands).
2024 - Purdue C Will Berg (native of Sweden), North Carolina State C-F Mohamed Diarra (France) plus three Connecticut players - F Samson Johnson (Togo), G Apostolos Roumoglou (Greece) and C Youssouf Singare (Mali).
2023 - Florida Atlantic C Vladislav Goldin (Russia) and Miami C Norchad Omier (Nicaragua).
2022 - None
2021 - Gonzaga G Joel Ayayi (France), Gonzaga C Oumar Ballo (Mali), UCLA F-C Kenneth Nwuba (Nigeria), Houston F J'wan Roberts (Virgin Islands), Baylor F Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (Cameroon) and Baylor F Flo Thamba (Congo).
2019 - Virginia F-C Mamadi Diakite (Guinea, Africa), Texas Tech G-F Brandone Francis (Dominican Republic), Texas Tech G Davide Moretti (Italy) and Virginia C Jack Salt (New Zealand).
2018 - Kansas C Udoka Azubuike (Nigeria), Kansas F-C Silvio DeSousa (Angola), Kansas G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Ukraine), Loyola of Chicago G Bruno Skokna (Croatia) and Michigan C Moritz Wagner (Germany).
2017 - Oregon F-C Kavell Bigby-Williams (England), South Carolina F-C Khadim Gueye (Senegal), Gonzaga F Rui Hachimura (Japan), Gonzaga C Przemek Karnowski (Poland), South Carolina F-C Mak Kotsar (Estonia), South Carolina F Chris Silva (Gabon), Oregon F Roman Sorkin (Israel) and Gonzaga F-C Killian Tillie (France).
2016 - Oklahoma G Buddy Hield (Bahamas).
2015 - None
2014 - Connecticut C Amida Brimah (Ghana), F Kentan Facey (Jamaica) and G-F Niels Giffey (Germany) and Florida F Will Yeguete (Ivory Coast).
2013 - Louisville C Gorgui Dieng (Senegal), Syracuse C Baye Moussa Keita (Senegal) and Wichita State C Ehimen Orukpe (Nigeria).
2012 - Kentucky C Eloy Vargas (Dominican Republic) and Louisville C Gorgui Dieng (Senegal).
2011 - Connecticut G-F Niels Giffey (Germany) and C Charles Okwandu (Nigeria) and Kentucky C Eloy Vargas (Dominican Republic).
2010 - West Virginia F Deniz Kilicli (Turkey).
2009 - Connecticut C Hasheem Thabeet (Tanzania) and Michigan State C Idong Ibok (Nigeria).
2008 - UCLA F-C Alfred Aboya (Cameroon), F Nikola Dragovic (Serbia) and F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (Cameroon) and Kansas C Alexander "Sasha" Kaun (Russia).
2007 - UCLA F-C Alfred Aboya (Cameroon) and F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (Cameroon).
2006 - Florida G Walter Hodge (Puerto Rico), F-C Al Horford (Dominican Republic) and G David Huertas (Puerto Rico), Louisiana State F Magnum Rolle (Bahamas) and UCLA F-C Alfred Aboya (Cameroon) and F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (Cameroon).
2005 - Louisville F-G Francisco Garcia (Dominican Republic), F-C Otis George (Dominica) and Juan Palacios (Colombia).
2004 - Duke F Luol Deng (Sudan) and Georgia Tech C Luke Schenscher (Australia).
2003 - Texas G Sydmill Harris (The Netherlands).
2002 - Oklahoma C Jabahri Brown (Virgin Islands) and C Jozsef Szendrei (Hungary).
2001 - None
2000 - Wisconsin G Kirk Penney (New Zealand).
1999 - Connecticut C Souleymane Wane (Senegal) and Ohio State G Boban Savovic (Yugoslavia).
1998 - Utah F Hanno Mottola (Finland) and North Carolina C Makhtar Ndiaye (Nigeria).
1997 - North Carolina F Ademola Okulaja (Germany) and C Serge Zwikker (Netherlands).
1996 - Syracuse G Marius Janulis (Lithuania) and Massachusetts G Edgar Padilla (Puerto Rico) and G Carmelo Travieso (Puerto Rico).
1995 - UCLA C George Zidek (Czechoslovakia), Arkansas G Davor Rimac (Yugoslavia) and North Carolina C Serge Zwikker (Netherlands).
1994 - Arkansas G Davor Rimac (Yugoslavia) and Florida F Martti Kuisma (Finland).
1993 - North Carolina G Henrik Rodl (Germany).

Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper to wipe butt of George Soros butt kisser/flunky Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, seeking translator to try to understand incoherent "visibility" of Plagiarist Biledumb or cowering in fetal position waiting for directive from deity Dr. Fraudci, 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

Guard Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn's runner-up in scoring average, is a former junior college product (Northwest Florida State). Former juco recruits who became NCAA DI All-Americans and led a Final Four participant in rebounding included St. John's Walter Berry (1985), Utah's Jerry Chambers (1966), UNLV's Armon Gilliam (1987), Jacksonville's Artis Gilmore (1970), Oklahoma's Harvey Grant (1988), UNLV's Larry Johnson (1990 and 1991), Memphis State's Larry Kenon (1973), North Carolina's Bob McAdoo (1972) and Kansas State's Willie Murrell (1964).

Junior college products have made a significant difference for NCAA Tournament titlists. Keith Erickson (El Camino CA), Jack Hirsch (Los Angeles Valley CA), Larry Hollyfield (Compton CA), Terry Schofield (Santa Monica CA), John Vallely (Orange Coast CA) and Sidney Wicks (Santa Monica CA) were instrumental in helping UCLA win seven of its NCAA championships (1964-65-69-70-71-72-73) and mighty mite Bobby Joe Hill (Burlington IA) was the spark-plug for Texas Western when the Miners captured the 1966 title. Wicks is the only individual to become a member of three NCAA champions after playing in junior college.

As DI academic exemptions become pervasive, the impact of juco recruits has decreased. Tony Skinn, coach at his alma mater (George Mason), is among the following alphabetical list of key Final Four team regulars previously playing for a junior college:

Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper to wipe big butts of George Soros NY flunkies (Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and State AG Letitia James), seeking translator to try to understand Plagiarist Biledumb's Easter message or cowering in fetal position seeking medical directive from Dr. Fraudci, 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 15 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. Who is the only individual to play for two NCAA champions, play for more than two NBA champions and coach two NBA champions. Hint: He was the first of four players to be a member of an NCAA championship team one year and an NBA titlist the next season as a rookie. He won the high jump in the West Coast Relays his senior year.

2. Who is the only individual to average fewer than four points per game as a freshman and then be selected Final Four Most Outstanding Player the next season as a sophomore. Hint: He had more three-point baskets in two Final Four games than contributing his entire freshman season.

3. Who is the only player named to an All-NCAA Tournament team not to score a total of more than 10 points in two Final Four games? Hint: He had the same point total in each Final Four game for a team whose star had same last name.

4. Who is the only Final Four Most Outstanding Player to later coach his alma mater in the NCAA Tournament? Hint: The guard was named Most Outstanding Player although he was his team's fourth-leading scorer at Final Four that year.

5. Name the only school to have two of the six eligible teams ranked among the top five in the AP and/or UPI final polls to not participate in either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT in the days before teams other than the conference champion could be chosen to the NCAA playoffs as at-large entrants. Hint: The school lost three regional finals in one four-year span and hasn't reached Final Four in last 50-plus years.

6. Who is the only coach to lose more than five regional final games? Hint: His regional final defeats were by an average margin of 10 points and his biggest nemesis was the Big Ten Conference.

7. Who is the only individual to become NBA Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player to participate in the NCAA Tournament but never win an NCAA playoff game? Hint: He shared the NBA Rookie of the Year award with another player who was on the losing end in his only NCAA Tournament appearance. Two years later, he was NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player the same season named league MVP.

8. Of the more than 40 different players to be named NBA Most Valuable Player, score more than 20,000 points in the pros or be selected to an All-NBA team at least five times after participating in the NCAA Tournament, who is the only one to average fewer than 10 points per game in the NCAA playoffs? Hint: He is believed to be the youngest Hall of Famer to appear in an NCAA championship game at the tender age of 16 and subsequently was named to 12 consecutive All-NBA teams.

9. Who is the only guard to score more than 35 points in an NCAA final? Hint: He led his team in scoring in back-to-back Final Fours but wasn't named Final Four Most Outstanding Player either year. He is the only championship team player to have a two-game total of at least 70 points at the Final Four and is the shortest undergraduate to average more than 20 points per game for an NCAA titlist.

10. Who is the only player to have as many as 20 field goals in an NCAA championship game? Hint: He scored fewer than seven points in both his tourney debut and final playoff appearance.

Answers (Day 15)
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

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 barely achieved the feat five seasons ago (30.1 ppg).

This campaign, Villanova's Eric Dixon (23 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 Dixon 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 Dixon 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). Dixon 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.

Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper again to wipe butts of Manhattan NYC Mayor Eric Adams, DA Alvin Bragg, NY Governor Kathy Hochul and NY State AG Letitia James after they were told to leave funeral by family of slain police officer, 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.

Answers (Day 14)
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

Brandon Ingram (Kinston, NC) came close to becoming an All-American selection for Duke nine years ago but fell short; especially following a 10-turnover outing at Louisville. Several years ago, Harry Giles (Winston-Salem, NC) was hyped as a freshman phenom but averaged an anemic 3.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg while contributing total of only nine assists in 26 games after incurring a knee injury. Neither Giles nor Ingram achieved a distinction generated by no other A-A in the school's illustrious history.

This season, Maine product Cooper Flagg became the 47th different individual to become an All-American for Duke (34 under coach Mike Krzyzewski). Incredibly, none of them spent their formative years in any of North Carolina's 100 counties and can be counted as in-state recruits. It doesn't seem possible, but State of North Carolina laid a Blue Devils' goose egg while states such as Alaska, Connecticut, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma and Oregon also contributed to their list of All-Americans.

By contrast, the North Carolina Tar Heels had in-state talent account for multiple-year All-Americans such as Phil Ford, Antawn Jamison, Michael Jordan, Rashad McCants and James Worthy. The official web site of the State of North Carolina says the state is "a better place." But it hasn't been for Duke in regard to securing premium players prior to Ingram. Following is an alphabetical list detailing the hometowns of Duke's 47 All-Americans coming from 24 different states plus the District of Columbia and Canada:

Boise State appeared good enough this year to possibly earn an at-large invitation despite being winless after 10 playoff outings. But the West remains the worst as such a viewpoint shouldn't be a surprise unless you put stock in creepy porn lawyer #Avenaughty as a #Dimorat presidential candidate, hideous Hunter's laptop is Russian disinformation or always believe contrived comments from Muslim Brotherhood apologist/former CIA chief John "NBC News' Snoopy" Brennan. Utah State is more games below .500 than any institutions in NCAA playoff history (20) with Brigham Young (18) and New Mexico State (17) not far behind. Bowing out of the NCAA playoffs before the Sweet 16 is almost a tradition. Also weighing heavily out West, Wyoming is the only former national champion (1943) to compile an all-time NCAA playoff record more than five games below .500 (9-21).

Everett Shelton, coach of Wyoming's titlist, is the only championship team bench boss to finish with a non-winning playoff record (4-12 from 1941 through 1958) and was more games under .500 in NCAA Division I Tournament competition than any coach in history until supplanted by Fran Dunphy (3-17 with Penn and Temple from 1993 through 2019). Also, Shelton is the only coach to lose three consecutive regional final games (1947, 1948 and 1949).

Joining Dunphy and Shelton among the eight coaches more than six games under .500 in NCAA playoff play are Rick Byrd (1-8 with Belmont from 2006 through 2019), Pete Carril (4-11 with Princeton from 1969 through 1996), Don Corbett (0-7 with North Carolina A&T from 1982 through 1988), Hugh Greer (1-8 with Connecticut from 1951 through 1960), Stew Morrill (1-9 with Montana and Utah State from 1991 through 2011) and Mike Vining (0-7 with Louisiana-Monroe from 1982 through 1996).

More than half of the following 11 schools more than 10 games below .500 in NCAA tourney competition are from west of the Mississippi River:

School	Playoff Record	Games Below .500 Mark	Summary of Tournament Tumult
Utah State	7-27	minus 20	lost 21 of last 23 playoff games
Brigham Young	17-35	minus 18	only two victories were by fewer than six points
New Mexico State	11-28	minus 17	lost 12 straight games until ending streak this year after winning seven of 11 contests from 1968 through 1970
Princeton	15-30	minus 15	lost eight of first nine games from 1952 through 1963 and five straight contests since 1998 until reaching 2023 Sweet 16
Iona	1-16	minus 15	15 straight setbacks with first four of them by fewer than four points from 1980 through 1998
Miami (Ohio)	6-19	minus 13	only victory in 10-game span from 1969 through 1992 was in OT against defending NCAA champion Marquette in 1978
Murray State	5-18	minus 13	lost 11 games in a row from 1988 through 2006
Penn	13-26	minus 13	lost last 10 games and 15 of last 16 after entering 1979 Final Four with winning playoff record (11-9)
Montana	2-14	minus 12	won inaugural game in 1975 but lost last five contests since 2012 by an average of nearly 25 points
Wyoming	9-21	minus 12	1943 NCAA titlist before losing 12 of 13 games from 1947 through 1967
Weber State	6-17	minus 11	seven of last nine defeats since 1979 were by fewer than 12 points

Ben McCollum (31-4 with Drake) was runaway leader this year for winningest "first-time" NCAA Division I head coach after winning Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and postseason tournament crowns before leaving for Iowa. McCollum, one of seven NCAA playoff coaches in 2025 in this category, joined a select circle of DI coaching newcomers reaching the 30-win plateau. If Arizona had reached the 2022 Final Four, former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd would have become the all-time winningest rookie head coach.

More than half of the winningest first-year head coaches since Gonzaga's Mark Few in 1999-00 subsequently moved on to other similar jobs. Following are rookie NCAA Division I head coaches with the best winning percentages going back to 1963-64 when Tates Locke became Bob Knight's predecessor at Army:

Kentucky and North Carolina still rank 1-2 for most All-American honorees over the years. Cooper Flagg enabled Duke to tie UNC for most different All-Americans although none of them for the Blue Devils came from the state of North Carolina.

Illinois and Notre Dame never have won an NCAA championship despite both schools supplying more than 25 different individuals as All-Americans a minimum of 40 times. Following is a list of the top 10 universities boasting the most All-Americans since 1928-29 (AP, Converse, NABC, UPI and USBWA):