Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a ("There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven - A time to give birth, and a time to die; . . . .")

Gone but not forgotten. Among alums of this year's participants, Connecticut's Stanley Robinson (32), North Carolina State's Lorenzo Charles (47) and Purdue's Herm Gilliam (58) helped give birth to tournament dreams as vital players for previous Final Four teams before dying prior to reaching the age of 60. What many deem a full life is not guaranteed.

The crown jewel of NCAA Tournament has been tarnished long before coronavirus cancellation in 2020. 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 by tourney) 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 WWII. In January 1945, he was declared missing in action (and presumed dead) when he didn't return from a flight in the Caribbean. Teammate Bill Torphy, also a member of IU's "Hurryin' Hoosiers" titlist coached by Branch McCracken, was killed in action in the hedgerows of Normandy, France, in summer of 1944 during more than two months worth of battles ensuing after D-Day invasion. Torphy, a forgotten member of national kingpin because he didn't receive a spot on 12-man traveling team during the national playoffs, is the subject of a documentary Not Pictured.

• 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 September of 1959 at the age of 40 of an apparent suicide. A .45 caliber pistol he owned was discovered near his body found in the Rocky Mountains.

• 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 of lung cancer 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 of a heart attack in 1976 at the age of 56. Jack McMahon, the second-leading scorer for national runner-up St. John's, died on June 11, 1989 at 60.

• 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.

• Roy Searcy, a backup forward for North Carolina's undefeated 1957 national champion, died of colon cancer on Christmas Eve 1994 at the age of 58.

• 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. Teammate Paul "Pablo" Robertson, a New York native averaging 5.1 ppg and 2.9 rpg when declared academically ineligible after the first semester, died in 1990 at the age of 46 after playing seven years with the Harlem Globetrotters.

• 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-February 1981 after shooting himself and falling into a coma upon 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. Al Williams, the team's third-leading rebounder, died in summer of 2007 at 59 from liver cancer.

• 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. Teammate Greg Douglas, a backup forward, passed away in 2005 at the age of 57.

• 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. Redshirt center Geoff Crompton, who went on to play in the NBA, died of leukemia in 2002 at the age of 46.

• 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. Guard Mark Alcorn, a St. Louis transfer whose cancer was detected in late 1980 when the Tigers competed in Great Alaska Shootout, died in early 1982 at the age of 23. 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.

• Cecil Exum, a member of North Carolina's 1982 NCAA titlist - coach Dean Smith's first national champion in his seventh Final Four - died in early July 2023 at the age of 60 after he was in intensive care with lung complications.

• 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.

• Kenton Edelin, top rebounder for Virginia's 1984 Final Four team the year after national player of the year Ralph Sampson graduated, died in late 2022 at the age of 60. Edelin suffered multiple strokes, causing significant brain trauma paralyzing the left side of his body.

• 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 the age of 52 from 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. UNC teammate Eric Montross, fourth-leading rebounder and sixth-leading scorer with the Tar Heels in 1991, died of cancer in mid-December of 2023 at the age of 52. Montross, a two-time All-American, was an All-NCAA Tournament team selection in 1993 as the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder for national titlist.

• 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, a backup forward for Duke's 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 in summer of 2012 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.

• Major Parker, a part-time starter for Florida's 2000 national runner-up, died in early November 2022 at the age of 44 from a heart-related issue.

• 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, 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 of suicide on November 9, 2019, when stepping in front of a westbound Amtrak train in Albion, Mich., where he was attending college.

• Reggie Chaney, an Arkansas transfer who was a part-time starter for Houston's 2021 Final Four club, died in late August 2023 at the age of 23 from a fentanyl overdose.

At least they're not illegal aliens taking American positions/jobs. At any rate, defending NCAA champion Connecticut has three foreigners on its roster. North Carolina State and Purdue also have 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 19 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 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. Following is a chronological list of Final Four regulars in the last 30 tourneys coming from more than 40 different foreign nations (in reverse order):

2024 - Purdue C Will Berg (native of Sweden), North Carolina State C-F Mohamed Diarra (France) plus three Connecticut players - Samson Johnson (Togo), Apostolos Roumoglou (Greece) and 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 (Columbia).
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).

In an era of deity Dr. Fraudci covid manipulation and spewing of nonsense about data function research, 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. Eleven years ago, retired Duke icon 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) moved into a tie for runner-up with Adolph Rupp (Kentucky) behind Coach K. 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. John Calipari collected 12 different A-As in his first 15 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.

Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper to wipe butts of big George Soros-supported butt boys and girls, seeking translator to try to understand Plagiarist Biledumb or cowering in fetal position from liberal lunatic climate change claptrap while awaiting medical 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 18 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 major-college coach to finish his career with more than 500 victories and never participate in the NCAA playoffs? Hint: The coach spent his entire four-year school coaching career at one institution and had nine consecutive winning seasons at Division I level from 1972-73 through 1980-81.

2. Who is the only player to average more than 26 points per game for an undefeated NCAA champion before averaging less than five points per game in his NBA career? Hint: He averaged the same number of points in NCAA Tournament as he did for entire season.

3. Who is the only coach to win three national third-place games? Hint: No coach accumulated as many different All-Americans as he did (16) in his first 20 campaigns at a single school.

4. Who is the only former major-college player to score more than 23,000 points in the NBA after never participating in the NCAA Tournament or NIT? Hint: His alma mater returned to small-college status after being at the Division I level for more than 50 years but never appearing in NCAA playoffs or NIT.

5. Of the 10 different players to compile season scoring averages of more than 23 points per game for a national champion, who is the only individual in this group to tally fewer than 40 points in two games at the Final Four? Hint: His team won both Final Four games that year by a minimum of 20 points.

6. Who is the only individual to coach a team to the Final Four after becoming an NCAA consensus first-team All-American and NBA first-round draft choice? Hint: He joined Chet Walker and Bob Love as 20-points-per-game scorers for the Chicago Bulls in 1969-70 after becoming the first African-American to earn a league MVP while attending Southern school.

7. Who is the only national player of the year to score less than 10 points when his school was eliminated in a Final Four contest the same season? Hint: He averaged more than 25 points per game in his four previous playoff contests that year.

8. Name the only Final Four team to have as many as six players still on its roster with double-digit season scoring averages. Hint: All six individuals played in the NBA as did another player on squad who averaged eight points per game.

9. Who is the only All-Tournament selection to finish his college playing career at another major university? Hint: His brother was a wide receiver for a Super Bowl champion.

10. Who is the only leading scorer for a Final Four team to also play for the school's football squad in a New Year's Day bowl game and win a silver medal in the Olympics as a high jumper? Hint: The Olympics climaxed a superb academic school year for the versatile athlete who won NCAA high jump crown and led his school's football and basketball teams in scoring. He also appeared in the first two NBA All-Star Games.

Answers (Day 18)
Day 17 Questions and Answers
Day 16 Questions and Answers
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

No freshman was named among the 18 NCAA Division I All-Americans this season. Duke's Kyle Filipowski was the lone sophomore although he occasionally played like an immature yearling, scoring only three points in NCAA playoff opening-round game against Vermont and fouling out of both contests vs. North Carolina State in last two weeks of the campaign.

We may have reached an inflection point in replenishing rosters where experienced transfers - seasoned veterans for "won-and-done" aspirations - are more vital than immature "one-and-done" high school recruits. For instance, Duke and Kentucky ranked 1-2, 1-3 or 2-3 in nine of the last 11 recruiting classes with the Blue Devils also ranked #1 in 2022 after UK was #2 in 2021. But it didn't mean squat of late in terms of success reaching the Final Four. Duke, which lost in national semifinals in 2022, is the only one of the two bluebloods advancing to the F4 in the last seven tourneys. Similarly, Memphis ranked atop the recruiting list twice in a three-year span from 2019 through 2021 but the Tigers garnered a grand total of one playoff triumph since 2014.

Prior to pathetic playoff performance a year ago, Brandon Miller (Alabama) was outstanding as a freshman in becoming an NCAA consensus second-team All-American. But he fell short of first-team acclaim. Three years ago, Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham achieved a distinction luminaries Mark Aguirre, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Patrick Ewing, Phil Ford, Tyler Hansbrough, James Harden, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Bernard King, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O'Neal, Derrick Rose, Ralph Sampson and Russell Westbrook failed to do. Cunningham became an NCAA consensus first-team All-American as a freshman. He was the 25th yearling on the following chronological list in this rare-air category named first-team A-A:

Extra! Extra! As a new season gains steam, it might be time to read 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.

David Justice, who hit a tie-breaking homer in his Cleveland Indians' debut on this date, was scouted by Hep Cronin (father of UCLA coach Mick Cronin) for the Atlanta Braves. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only four percent of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 2 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 2

• In 2001, San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-Western Athletic Conference basketball second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) became the fifth player in N.L. history to spend 20-plus years playing his entire career with one franchise.

• New York Mets manager Gil Hodges (hooper for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948), two days shy of his 48th birthday, suffered a fatal heart attack in 1972 after playing a round of golf in West Palm Beach with his coaches on Easter Sunday.

• RHP Bobby Humphreys (four-year hoops letterman for Hampden-Sydney VA in mid-1950s) traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Washington Senators in 1966.

• LF David Justice (led Thomas More KY in assists in 1984-85 while averaging 9.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg), debuting with the Cleveland Indians, whacked a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh inning in a 9-7 decision over the Oakland A's in 1997.

The good news for North Carolina State was that the Wolfpack became seventh double-digit seeded team to advance to the Final Four and third to do so with a double-digit margin of victory over four-game sweep. Although NCSU's next opponent (Purdue) lost twice to squads in this category (LSU in 1986 and VCU in 2011), the bad news is that all seven double-digit seeded F4 teams lost their national semifinal game by a double-digit average of 11 points.

*UCLA is only double-digit seeded team reaching Final Four after participating in First Four (preliminary round).
NOTE: Only automatic qualifier among the first seven double-digit seeded teams reaching Final Four was Loyola of Chicago (2018).

UCLA (six; four from NCAA Tournament champions in 1960s), Illinois (five) and Kansas (four) are the schools with most All-Americans born this month. North Carolina (April 4) and Ohio State (April 8) each had two All-Americans born on the same day. April 9 is the day to celebrate the most birthdays this month for former All-Americans. It's not an April Fool's joke that Iowa's Dick Ives was born 100 years ago on that day. Adding Dalton Knecht and Tristen Newton, following are birthdates in April for All-Americans and Hall of Fame coaches:

APRIL

1: All-Americans Joel Berry II (born in 1995/attended North Carolina), Bobby Cook (1923/Wisconsin), Mark Jackson (1965/St. John's), Brook Lopez (1988/Stanford) and Etan Thomas (1978/Syracuse).
2: All-Americans Jules Bender (1914/LIU), Jim McDaniels (1948/Western Kentucky) and Les Witte (1911/Wyoming).
3: All-Americans Pervis Ellison (1967/Louisville) and Frank Mason III (1994/Kansas).
4: All-Americans Bill Bridges (1939/Kansas), Bill Garrett (1929/Indiana), Frank Kaminsky (1993/Wisconsin), Sean May (1984/North Carolina), Larry Miller (1946/North Carolina) and George Senesky (1922/St. Joseph's).
5: All-Americans Duane "Skip" Thoren (1943/Illinois) and Scottie Wilbekin (1993/Florida) plus Hall of Fame coaches Alvin "Doggie" Julian (1901/bench boss at Muhlenberg PA, Holy Cross and Dartmouth) and John McLendon (1915/North Carolina Central, Hampton, Tennessee State, Kentucky State and Cleveland State).
6: All-Americans John Shumate (1952/Notre Dame) and Melford "Mel" Waits (1918/Tarkio MO).
7: All-Americans Vinnie Cohen (1936/Syracuse), Dwight "Bo" Lamar (1951/Southwestern Louisiana) and Don Smith (1946/Iowa State).
8: All-Americans Robin Freeman (1934/Ohio State), John Havlicek (1940/Ohio State) and Jimmy Walker (1944/Providence).
9: All-Americans John Adams (1917/Arkansas), Paul Arizin (1928/Villanova), Allen Crabbe (1992/California), Bruce Douglas (1964/Illinois), Greg "Bo" Kimble (1966/Loyola Marymount), Stan Love (1949/Oregon), Kyle Macy (1957/Kentucky), Jack Nichols (1926/Washington) and Jim O'Brien (1950/Boston College).
10: All-Americans Joe Gibbon (1935/Mississippi), Paul Judson (1934/Illinois), Charles "Stretch" Murphy (1907/Purdue), Ferdinand "Fred" Pralle (1916/Kansas) and Terry Teagle (1960/Baylor).
11: All-American LeRoy "Cowboy" Edwards (1914/Kentucky).
12: All-Americans Larry Cannon (1947/La Salle), Dave Scholz (1948/Illinois) and Tyshawn Taylor (1990/Kansas).
13: All-Americans Jim "Bad News" Barnes (1941/Texas Western), Baron Davis (1979/UCLA), Alec Peters (1995/Valparaiso) and Marvin Webster (1952/Morgan State).
14: All-Americans Leo Byrd (1937/Marshall), Larry Friend (1935/California), Joe Hobbs (1936/Florida), Mark Macon (1969/Temple) and Stan Modzelewski (1920/Rhode Island State) plus HOF coach Ken Loeffler (1902/Yale, Denver, La Salle and Texas A&M).
15: All-Americans Rodney Carney (1984/Memphis), Michael Cooper (1956/New Mexico), Walt Hazzard (1942/UCLA), Filip Petrusev (2000/Gonzaga) and Anthony Roberts (1955/Oral Roberts).
16: All-Americans Lew Alcindor (1947/UCLA), Wendell Hudson (1951/Alabama), Rodney Monroe (1968/North Carolina State) and Walt Williams (1970/Maryland).
17: All-Americans Cleanthony Early (1991/Wichita State) and Horace Walker (1937/Michigan State) plus HOF coach John Kresse (1943/College of Charleston).
18: All-Americans Michael Bradley (1979/Villanova), Don Ohl (1936/Illinois), Don Otten (1921/Bowling Green State) and Caleb Swanigan (1997/Purdue).
19: All-Americans Lew Beck (1922/Oregon State), Keith Erickson (1944/UCLA), Mike Evans (1955/Kansas State), Jack Foley (1939/Holy Cross), Dalton Knecht (2001/Tennessee), Kelly Olynyk (1991/Gonzaga) and Russ Smith (1991/Louisville).
20: All-Americans Henry "Hank" Finkel (1942/Dayton), Allan Houston (1971/Tennessee) and Lamond Murray (1973/California).
21: All-Americans Gary Grant (1965/Michigan), Chuck Mencel (1933/Minnesota), Dave Meyers (1953/UCLA) and Bob Patterson (1932/Tulsa).
22: All-Americans DeJuan Blair (1989/Pittsburgh), Bill Garnett (1960/Wyoming), Spencer Haywood (1949/Detroit) and Dennis Hopson (Ohio State).
23: All-Americans John Bagley (1960/Boston College), Gail Goodrich (1943/UCLA), Bobby Joe Mason (1936/Bradley) and Mike Novak (1915/Loyola of Chicago).
24: All-Americans Ernie Grunfeld (1955/Tennessee) and Hank Stein (1936/Xavier).
25: All-Americans Charles Cleveland (1951/Alabama), Dave Corzine (1956/DePaul), Tim Duncan (1976/Wake Forest) and John McCarthy (1934/Canisius).
26: All-Americans Bob Boozer (1937/Kansas State), Dick Ives (1924/Iowa), Tristen Newton (2001/Connecticut) and Delon Wright (1992/Utah).
27: All-American Courtney Alexander (1977/Fresno State).
28: All-Americans John Fairchild (1943/Brigham Young), Paul Hogue (1940/Cincinnati), Josh Howard (1980/Wake Forest) and Flynn Robinson (1941/Wyoming).
29: All-American Andy Wolfe (1925/California).
30: All-Americans Paul Lindemann (1918/Washington State), Isiah Thomas (1961/Indiana) and Brandon Joel "B.J." Tyler (1971/Texas) plus Hall of Fame coach Rick Byrd (1953/Belmont).

Birthdays in January for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in February for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in March for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in April for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in May for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in June for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in July for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in August for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in September for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in October for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in November for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in December for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches

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

Weep On It/Think On It/Sleep On It/Drink On It. That could have been the motto for Alabama until the Crimson Tide left the list of "Susan Lucci" schools in NCAA Division I by finally advancing to the Promised Land in its 25th tournament appearance. Brigham Young, Missouri and Xavier are the only three schools participating in more than 25 NCAA Tournaments but never advancing to a Final Four (cumulative 88 playoff appearances).

Missouri has reached a regional final on four occasions but fell short in advancing to the Final Four. Four years ago, Xavier joined Mizzou (1994) as the only schools never reaching the national semifinals despite earning a #1 seed at some point during their NCAA playoff participation. Boston College is another bridesmaid multiple times comparable to Xavier, losing three regional finals (1967, 1982 and 1994) in 18 tourney appearances (22-19 record) since the field expanded beyond eight teams in 1950.

The following "Forlorn Four" frustrated institutions remain in quagmire because they've made at least 24 appearances without reaching the Final Four:

Try, try again! History repeats itself but can take longer than anyone wants or expects. Purdue, making its 32nd NCAA playoff appearance since its last Final Four in 1980, and North Carolina State, a Cinderella story champion in 1983, each returned to the national semifinals this year. No school was anywhere close to the Boilermakers in volume of tourney frustration between F4 appearances.

Three seasons ago, Baylor participated in the Final Four for the first time since 1950. The Bears' 71-year absence between national semifinal appearances is exceeded only by Oregon (78). Purdue joined the following 14 institutions going more than 35 years before returning to the Promised Land: