Extra! Extra! Read all about memorable major league baseball achievements and moments involving former college basketball players! Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Nonetheless, numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games, transactions and dates in MLB history. Former LSU hoopers Joe Adcock and Alvin Dark had significant MLB performances on this date.

Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a May 9 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

MAY 9

• Milwaukee Braves 1B Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading basketball scorer in 1945-46) clobbered two homers against the Chicago Cubs in a 1961 game.

• In his final game with the California Angels, DH Bruce Bochte (starting forward for Santa Clara's NCAA playoff team in 1969-70) collected four hits in a 5-3 win against the Kansas City Royals in 1977.

• New York Giants 2B Andy Cohen (Alabama hoops letterman in 1924 and 1925) cracked a leadoff homer but they wound up losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2, in 1929.

• Houston Astros LHP Danny Coombs (Seton Hall's third-leading scorer and rebounder as sophomore in 1961-62) tossed his lone MLB shutout (two-hitter against Montreal Expos in 1970).

• New York Giants SS Alvin Dark (hoops letterman for LSU and USL in mid-1940s) amassed four hits and four RBI for the second time in a four-game span in 1951.

• St. Louis Cardinals CF Taylor Douthit (California hoops letterman from 1922 through 1924) stroked four hits against the Boston Braves in a 1930 contest.

• Hall of Fame C Rick Ferrell (Guilford NC hooper in mid-1920s) traded by the St. Louis Browns to the Boston Red Sox in 1933.

• Pittsburgh Pirates 3B Lee Handley (Bradley hoops letterman from 1932-33 through 1934-35) banged out four hits against the Boston Braves in a 1938 outing.

• Cleveland Indians 1B Mike Hargrove (Northwestern Oklahoma State hoops letterman) supplied five RBI against the Oakland Athletics in a 1982 game.

• Atlanta Braves RF David Justice (Thomas More KY assists leader in 1984-85) collected two homers and five RBI against the Colorado Rockies in a 1993 contest.

• St. Louis Cardinals CF Lynn King (All-Missouri Valley Conference second-team hoops selection with Drake from 1928-29 through 1930-31) collected a career-high three hits against the Chicago Cubs in 1936.

• Wally Moon (averaged 4.3 ppg with Texas A&M in 1948-49 and 1949-50) reached base in his first six pinch-hit appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965.

• C Cal Neeman (Illinois Wesleyan's leading scorer in 1947-48 and 1948-49) purchased from the Philadelphia Phillies by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1962.

• INF-OF Mel Roach (averaged 9.3 ppg in 1952-53 in Virginia's final season prior to helping form ACC) traded by the Milwaukee Braves to the Chicago Cubs for OF-INF Frank Thomas in 1961.

• In his first game outside of New York City, Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) collected two hits and scored two runs in a 6-5 loss at Philadelphia in 1947.

• RHP Sonny Siebert (team-high 16.7 ppg for Missouri in 1957-58 as All-Big Eight Conference second-team selection) homered for the Cleveland Indians in the nightcap of a 1965 doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox.

• Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Eric Stults (hooper for 1999 NAIA D-II Tournament runner-up and 2000 NCCAA Tournament titlist with Bethel IN) fired a four-hit shutout against the San Francisco Giants in 2009.

• Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Kent Tekulve (freshman hooper for Marietta OH in mid-1960s) won for the fourth time in first five relief appearances of the month in 1980.

• New York Yankees CF Dave Winfield (starting forward for Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) delivered three extra-base hits against the Cleveland Indians in a 1984 game.

Extra! Extra! Read all about memorable major league baseball achievements and moments involving former college basketball players! Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Nonetheless, numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games, transactions and dates in MLB history. Former Duke basketball All-Americans Dick Groat and Billy Werber had significant performances as MLB infielders on this date.

Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a May 8 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

MAY 8

• Jerry Adair (one of Oklahoma State's three leading basketball scorers in 1956-57 and 1957-58 while ranking among the nation's top 12 free-throw shooters each season) committed an eighth-inning miscue for the Baltimore Orioles against the Detroit Tigers in 1965, ending his MLB-record streaks for consecutive errorless games by a 2B (89) and consecutive chances handled without an error (438).

• San Diego Padres RHP Mike Adams (Texas A&M-Kingsville hooper in 1996-97) notched his fourth hold in nine days but was scored upon for the first time in last 16 relief appearances in 2011.

• Philadelphia Phillies CF Ethan Allen (Cincinnati hoops letterman in 1924-25 and 1925-26) supplied five RBI in a 13-6 triumph against the Chicago Cubs in 1934.

• Brooklyn Dodgers C Ferrell Anderson (Kansas hoops letterman in 1936-37 and 1937-38) furnished four hits in an 8-5 win against the Cincinnati Reds in 1946.

• LF Bob Cerv (ranked fourth on Nebraska's career scoring list in 1949-50 at conclusion of career) acquired from the Los Angeles Angels by the New York Yankees in 1961 for his third tour of duty in pinstripes.

• Philadelphia Athletics C Mickey Cochrane (five-sport athlete with Boston University) collected three doubles against the Cleveland Indians in a 1932 game.

• Cincinnati Reds 1B George Crowe (four-year letterman from 1939-40 through 1942-43 for Indiana Central after becoming first high school player named state's Mr. Basketball) clobbered two homers in a 7-6 victory against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957.

• In 1948, Cleveland Indians RF Larry Doby (reserve guard for Virginia Union's 1943 CIAA titlist) whacked the longest home run at Washington's Griffith Stadium since Babe Ruth in 1922.

• St. Louis Cardinals CF Taylor Douthit (California hoops letterman from 1922 through 1924) contributed four hits against the Boston Braves in the first of six straight outings with multiple safeties in 1929.

• Pittsburgh Pirates SS Dick Groat (two-time All-American with Duke in 1950-51 and 1951-52 when finishing among nation's top five scorers each season) provided three hits in each game of a 1955 doubleheader split against the New York Giants.

• Philadelphia Phillies 1B Harvey Hendrick (Vanderbilt hoops letterman in 1918) went 4-for-4 against the Chicago Cubs in a 1934 contest.

• RHP Jay Hook (Northwestern's third-leading scorer with 10.7 ppg as a sophomore in 1955-56) traded by the New York Mets to the Milwaukee Braves in 1964.

• Atlanta Braves 2B Davey Johnson (averaged 1.7 ppg for Texas A&M in 1961-62) delivered two homers and five RBI against the New York Mets in a 1973 outing.

• LF "Sweet" Lou Johnson (Kentucky State hoops teammate of legendary HBCU coach Davey Whitney averaged 5.7 ppg and 2 rpg in 1951-52) traded by the Milwaukee Braves with cash to the Detroit Tigers in 1963.

• Chicago White Sox RHP Bob Keegan (Bucknell hoops letterman in 1941-42 and 1942-43) yielded three homers to Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame OF Ted Williams in a 4-1 defeat in 1957.

• Detroit Tigers SS Harvey Kuenn (played briefly for Wisconsin in 1951-52 after competing on JV hoops squad previous season) registered his second four-hit outing in a six-game span in 1956.

• Chicago Cubs 3B Vance Law (averaged 6.8 ppg for Brigham Young from 1974-75 through 1976-77) went 3-for-3 with six RBI against the San Francisco Giants in a 1988 game.

• Pittsburgh Pirates SS Johnny Logan (Binghamton hooper in 1948-49) hit safely as a pinch-hitter for the third straight time in 1963.

• Chicago Cubs CF Jerry Martin (1971 Southern Conference MVP after he was Furman's runner-up in scoring previous season) stroked four hits against the Cincinnati Reds in a 1979 contest.

• Baltimore Orioles RHP Ben McDonald (started six times as freshman forward for LSU in 1986-87 under coach Dale Brown) won his first seven starts in 1994.

• Philadelphia Phillies RF Bill Nicholson (Washington College MD hoops guard for two years in mid-1930s) provided five RBI against the Cincinnati Reds in the nightcap of a 1949 twinbill.

• Boston Red Sox 2B Marv Olson (All-Iowa Conference hoops selection in 1929-30 with Luther IA) manufactured four hits in a 7-5 win against the St. Louis Browns in 1932.

• Brooklyn Dodgers C-OF Don Padgett (freshman in 1934 excelled in multiple sports for Lenoir-Rhyne NC) smacked a decisive three-run pinch homer in an 8-5 triumph against the Cincinnati Reds in 1946.

• Philadelphia Athletics 3B Billy Werber (first Duke hoops All-American in 1929-30) supplied five RBI in a 7-6 victory against the Detroit Tigers in 1938.

• New York Giants rookie 1B Babe Young (Fordham hoops letterman in 1935-36) collected four hits and four RBI against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 1940 game.

Extra! Extra! Read 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 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a May 7 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

MAY 7

• Baltimore Orioles DH Al Bumbry (Virginia State's runner-up in basketball scoring with 16.7 ppg as freshman in 1964-65) provided four hits for the second time in a four-game span in 1975.

• INF-OF Harvey Hendrick (Vanderbilt hoops letterman in 1918) traded by the Brooklyn Robins to the Cincinnati Reds in 1931.

• LF David Justice (Thomas More KY assists leader in 1984-85) jacked two homers while going 4-for-4 to help the Cleveland Indians erase a 9-1 deficit and defeat the Tampa Devil Rays, 20-11, in 1999. The next year, Justice provided three extra-base hits and five RBI against the Toronto Blue Jays in a 2000 contest.

• In 1946, Philadelphia Athletics 1B Bruce Konopka (Southern California hoops letterman in 1940-41) collected his third extra-base pinch-hit the first week of the month.

• Detroit Tigers SS Harvey Kuenn (played briefly for Wisconsin in 1951-52 after competing on JV hoops squad previous season) contributed four hits against the Chicago White Sox in a 1955 outing.

• 1B Ed Morgan (Tulane hoops letterman from 1923-24 through 1925-26) hit safely in first 14 starts of the 1934 campaign with the Boston Red Sox before he was blanked by the Detroit Tigers.

• RHP Jack Ogden (Swarthmore PA hooper in 1918) traded by the Cincinnati Reds with Leo Durocher to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1933.

• Brooklyn Dodgers 2B Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) amassed multiple-hit outings in 13 of first 19 games in 1951.

• RHP Hal Schumacher (St. Lawrence NY hooper) combined with New York Giants teammate Carl Hubbell to toss back-to-back shutouts in a 1932 doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds.

• Cleveland Indians rookie 3B Freddy Spurgeon (Kalamazoo MI hooper in 1921-22) went 4-for-4 against the Chicago White Sox in a 1925 game.

• Chicago White Sox LHP Matt Thornton (averaged 5.8 ppg and 2.4 rpg for Grand Valley State MI from 1995-96 through 1997-98) fanned five Toronto Blue Jays in two innings as he went unscored upon in 10 relief appearances during the month in 2010.

• 1B-OF Preston Ward (second-leading hoops scorer for Southwest Missouri State in 1946-47 and 1948-49) tripled after three teammates walked to spur the Brooklyn Dodgers to a 9-5 victory at Chicago in 1948.

• New York Giants 1B Bill White (two-year hooper with Hiram OH in early 1950s) homered in his first MLB at-bat in 1956 (against St. Louis Cardinals).

Extra! Extra! Read 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 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a May 6 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

MAY 6

• Hall of Fame C Mickey Cochrane (Boston University basketball player in early 1920s) clobbered his first MLB homer with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1925.

• Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Al Downing (attended Muhlenberg PA on hoops scholarship but left before ever playing) tossed a two-hit shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973.

• Boston Red Sox rookie RHP Boo Ferriss (Mississippi State hoops letterman in 1941) hurled his second straight shutout in 1945, whitewashing the New York Yankees, 5-0.

• New York Giants 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham hoops captain) furnished four hits against the Philadelphia Phillies in a 1924 game.

• RF Jim Gleeson (NAIA Hall of Famer was all-league hoops pick for Rockhurst MO in early 1930s) traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1942.

• Detroit Tigers LF Hank Greenberg (enrolled at NYU on hoop scholarship in 1929 but attended college only one semester) contributed three extra-base hits in a 6-4 victory against the New York Yankees in 1940.

• Cleveland Indians 1B Mike Hargrove (Northwestern Oklahoma State hoops letterman) collected three doubles against the Chicago White Sox in a 1983 outing.

• Milwaukee Braves SS Johnny Logan (Binghamton hooper in 1948-49) supplied at least three hits for the third consecutive contest in 1959.

• In 1968, San Francisco Giants RHP Lindy McDaniel (Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman squad) established a N.L. record with his 225th consecutive errorless game.

• New York Yankees LF Bud Metheny (William & Mary hoops letterman from 1935-36 through 1937-38) stroked four hits in a 4-3 win against the Boston Red Sox in 1944.

• In 1967, 1B Cotton Nash (three-time All-American averaged 22.7 ppg and 12.3 rpg for Kentucky from 1961-62 through 1963-64) traded by the California Angels with cash to the Chicago White Sox for 1B Bill "Moose" Skowron (scored 18 points in eight games for Purdue in 1949-50).

• Cleveland Indians 3B Graig Nettles (shot 87.8% from free-throw line for San Diego State in 1963-64) stroked three doubles against the Chicago White Sox in a 1972 game.

• A two-out, seventh-inning single by CF Jim Northrup (second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder for Alma MI in 1958-59) was the Detroit Tigers' lone safety when they were blanked, 4-0, by Dave Leonard of the Baltimore Orioles in 1968.

• Chicago White Sox rookie LHP Gary Peters (Grove City PA hooper in mid-1950s) won his first MLB start in 1963, limiting the Kansas City Athletics to four hits and one run over eight innings.

• LF Rip Repulski (started handful of hoops games for St. Cloud State MN) traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Boston Red Sox in 1960.

• Cincinnati Reds 1B Champ Summers (led SIUE in scoring in 1969-70 after doing same with Nicholls State in 1964-65) went 4-for-4 and chipped in with five RBI against the Houston Astros in the opener of a 1979 doubleheader.

• Boston Red Sox C Birdie Tebbetts (Providence hooper in 1932) blasted two homers against the Chicago White Sox in a 1950 game.

• Philadelphia Phillies CF Cy Williams (Notre Dame forward in 1909-10) homered twice in a 5-4 win against the New York Giants in 1924.

Extra! Extra! Read 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 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a May 5 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

MAY 5

• Los Angeles Angels 1B Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading basketball scorer in 1945-46) launched two homers against the Kansas City Royals in a 1964 game.

• Chicago White Sox SS Bosey Berger (Maryland's first hoops All-American led Southern Conference in scoring in league competition in 1930-31) banged out four hits against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1938 contest.

• Seattle Mariners 1B Bruce Bochte (starting forward for Santa Clara's NCAA playoff team in 1969-70) contributed four hits against the Boston Red Sox in a 1979 outing.

• In 1943, New York Giants LF Vic Bradford (Alabama hoops letterman in 1937) supplied his lone MLB hit with a single against the Boston Braves.

• 2B Marv Breeding (Samford hooper in mid-1950s) traded by the Atlanta Braves to the San Francisco Giants in 1966.

• Boston Braves SS Dick Culler (#9 jersey retired by High Point for hoops Little All-American in 1935 and 1936) went 5-for-6 in a 1945 doubleheader against the New York Giants.

• New York Giants SS Alvin Dark (hoops letterman for LSU and USL in mid-1940s) went 4-for-4 and chipped in with four RBI in a 1951 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

• After two shaky starts in 1951, Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Con Dempsey (played hoops for San Francisco during Golden Age of athletics on Hilltop) tossed two shutout innings of relief against the New York Giants in his third and final MLB appearance.

• RHP George Earnshaw (Swarthmore PA hooper in 1922) ignited a 17-game winning streak for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1931 with a 4-1 triumph over the Boston Red Sox.

• St. Louis Browns C Rick Ferrell (played forward for Guilford NC before graduating in 1928) furnished four hits for the second time in a three-game span in 1931.

• Oakland Athletics 3B Wayne Gross (led Cal Poly Pomona in assists in 1974-75) went 4-for-4, including three extra-base hits, in a 6-2 win against the Detroit Tigers in 1981.

• Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Gil Hodges (hooper for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) homered twice against the Cincinnati Reds in a 1951 contest.

• Atlanta Braves RF David Justice (led Thomas More KY in assists in 1984-85) smacked two homers against the Philadelphia Phillies in a 1996 game.

• St. Louis Browns LHP Ernie Koob (Western Michigan hoops letterman in 1914) hurled a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox in 1917.

• OF Don Lock (led Wichita State in field-goal percentage in 1956-57 and 1957-58) traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Boston Red Sox in 1969.

• In a twinbill sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals LF Wally Moon (averaged 4.3 ppg with Texas A&M in 1948-49 and 1949-50) began a 24-game hitting streak, the longest of the 1957 season in the N.L.

• Kansas City Athletics 1B Norm Siebern (member of Southwest Missouri State's back-to-back NAIA Tournament titlists in 1952 and 1953) went 5-for-6 and scored five runs in an 18-6 romp over the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a 1962 doubleheader.

• Detroit Tigers SS Ken Szotkiewicz (Georgia Southern hoops letterman in 1966-67) supplied career highs of two hits and two RBI against the Minnesota Twins in a 1970 contest.

• San Diego Padres OF Will Venable (All-Ivy League first-team selection as junior and second-team choice as senior averaged 9.3 ppg under Princeton coach John Thompson III from 2001-02 through 2004-05) stroked a game-winning, two-run single in the bottom of the 12th inning in a 6-5 win against the Kansas City Royals in 2014.

• St. Louis Cardinals 1B Bill White (two-year hooper with Hiram OH in early 1950s) belted two homers against the San Francisco Giants in a 1965 contest.

• Philadelphia Phillies RF Cy Williams (Notre Dame forward in 1909-10) homered twice against the New York Giants in a 1925 game.

• San Diego Padres RF Dave Winfield (starting forward for Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) delivered two homers against the Montreal Expos in a 1979 outing.

New Hampshire, after reaching the 20-win plateau for the first time in school history in 2015-16, duplicated the feat again in 2016-17. After UNH shed a big blemish on its hoops resume, Brown and Colgate remained as the only long-time NCAA Division I schools never to be part of a 20-win season at the major-college level. Harvard and Northwestern reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in school annals in 2009-10.

Following is a summary of how Brown and Colgate have been mired in mediocrity as the only institutions never to post a 20-win campaign despite participating at the NCAA Division I level more than 60 years:

Extra! Extra! Read 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 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a May 2 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

MAY 2

• Chicago Cubs 2B Glenn Beckert (three-year basketball letterman for Allegheny PA) contributed three extra-base hits against the Atlanta Braves in a 1972 game.

• Baltimore Orioles CF Al Bumbry (Virginia State's runner-up in scoring with 16.7 ppg as freshman in 1964-65) stroked four hits against the Seattle Mariners in a 1979 contest.

• Chicago Cubs CF Billy Cowan (hoops co-captain of Utah's 1970 NCAA playoff team) knocked in five runs against the Houston Colt .45s in a 1964 game.

• Cincinnati Reds 1B George Crowe (four-year letterman from 1939-40 through 1942-43 for Indiana Central after becoming first high school player named the state's "Mr. Basketball") drove in six runs in a 7-3 victory at St. Louis in 1958.

• Boston Red Sox C Gene Desautels (Holy Cross hoops letterman in 1929 and 1930) went 4-for-4 against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1938 outing.

• San Francisco Giants 3B Darrell Evans (member of Jerry Tarkanian-coached Pasadena City CA club winning 1967 state community college crown) homered in both ends of a 1981 doubleheader split against the Philadelphia Phillies.

• After winning four straight starts in April, Florida Marlins LHP Mark Hendrickson (two-time All-Pacific-10 Conference selection paced Washington State four straight seasons in rebounding 1992-93 through 1995-96) earned the triumph in a 6-4 verdict over the San Diego Padres in 2008.

• New York Yankees rookie LF Charlie Keller (three-year hoops letterman with Maryland from 1934-35 through 1936-37) scored four runs and chipped in with six RBI against the Detroit Tigers in a 1939 contest.

• INF Buddy Myer (hoops letterman for Mississippi State in 1923-24) traded by the Washington Senators to the Boston Red Sox in 1927.

• 3B Graig Nettles (shot 87.8% from free-throw line for San Diego State in 1963-64) swatted a pinch-hit grand slam for the Atlanta Braves in a 12-4 victory against the Houston Astros in 1987.

• Philadelphia Phillies RHP Robin Roberts (Michigan State's second-leading scorer in 1945-46 and 1946-47) struck out 13 Chicago Cubs in a 4-2 triumph in 1957. No Philly infielder had an assist in the contest.

• In 1958, Boston Red Sox RHP Dave Sisler (All-Ivy League second-team selection for Princeton's first NCAA Tournament team in 1952) fired his lone MLB shutout (against Detroit Tigers). The next year, Sisler was traded by the Red Sox to the Tigers on this date.

• Chicago Cubs CF Cy Williams (Notre Dame forward in 1909-10) went 4-for-4 with two triples against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1914 game.

• First MLB win for RHP Jim Wilson (hoops letterman for San Diego State's 1942 NAIA Tournament participant) was a four-hit shutout for the Boston Red Sox against the Washington Senators in 1945.

If you need more unassailable evidence proving who are the best team-sport athletes in the world, check out some of the premier tight ends in NFL history (past and present). Will another former hardwood hero - VCU brute Mo Alie-Cox (Indianapolis Colts), Baylor bouncer Rico Gathers (Dallas Cowboys), 2017 second-round choice Adam Shaheen (Chicago Bears) or Miami FL regular Erik Swoope (Indianapolis Colts) - be the next prominent hooper-turned-TE after stints learning their new craft as practice players? A striking number of the elite players at that rigorous position thus far this century have been former college basketball players with another ex-Miami FL hoop regular, Jimmy Graham (Seattle Seahawks), acknowledged as the premier athlete in this category in the pro playoffs last year.

In the past, what kind of "picks" do you think imposing Mike Ditka (Pittsburgh) and John Mackey (Syracuse) set back in the day before the Big East Conference was formed? Wouldn't you love to see LeBron James maneuver down the field like Charles Atlas the same way he does when forcefully driving down the lane?

Cox and Gathers are the latest Ivan Drago-like football specimens. Although ex-California hooper Tony Gonzalez failed to reach the 2013 postseason with the Atlanta Falcons in his quest to finally win a playoff game before retiring, succeeding in the NFL remains a "Battle of the Titans" at the TE position. Bursting on the scene at the same position was fellow ex-college hoopster Julius Thomas, the most sought-after free agent three years ago after originally being a relatively obscure player for the Denver Broncos until emerging as their runner-up in touchdowns with 12 and contributing a team-high eight pass receptions in an AFC title-game victory against the New England Patriots. Thomas, an All-Big Sky Conference hoopster with Portland State, flashed potential as the next game-changing tight end when he caught nine touchdown passes in the Broncos' first five games three seasons ago en route to signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars. A 74-yard TD strike to "It's So Easy" at San Diego in mid-season four years ago illustrated how QB Peyton Manning capitalized on Thomas' athleticism the same way he did ex-hoopster Marcus Pollard (Bradley) with the Indianapolis Colts. Pollard, a J.C. transfer who was the Braves' leading rebounder in 1992-93, caught at least three touchdown passes each of Manning's first seven NFL seasons from 1998 through 2004.

Ditka, muzzled by ESPC for boasting sufficient fortitude to tackle mom-jeans POTUS, had a quality successor as an ex-hooper tight end with the Bears in Martellus Bennett (Texas A&M) before Bennett wound up with the New England Patriots and last season's Super Bowl. A superior athlete to keep an eye on is Texas Southern dual-sport player Derrick Griffin, who originally committed to A&M before aligning with Miami FL and subsequently sitting out and remaining in home state for academic reasons. Griffin, a Minnesota Vikings tryout despite his dismissal from football team early last season for team rules violations, boasts the physical credentials to become the latest SWAC multi-sport standout in the mold of Harold Carmichael (Southern), Andrew Glover (Grambling) and Otis Taylor (Prairie View A&M). Griffin, 6-7, led TSU with 36 pass receptions, 709 receiving yards and league-leading 11 touchdown catches before seamlessly swapping uniforms and collecting 19 points and 12 rebounds against Mississippi State plus 20 points and nine boards against Syracuse. Gathers, Shahaeen or Swoope could join Thomas, Bennett and Jordan Cameron of the Miami Dolphins plus ex-UCI hooper Darren Fells of the Arizona Cardinals moving up the following list of Top 25 NFL tight ends who were former college basketball players:

Gonzaga, Oregon and South Carolina are in transition. Next year could mark the first time since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to at least 48 teams in 1980 that three Final Four participants fail to appear in the NCAA playoffs the next season. Consider:

• Gonzaga lost four of the Bulldogs' five double-digit scorers, putting the Zags' streak of 19 consecutive NCAA tourney appearances in jeopardy.

• Departures from Oregon's roster include six members of the Ducks' seven-man core rotation.

• After South Carolina secured its first NCAA playoff victory since 1973, the Gamecocks will be without their top three point producers.

A total of 32 schools since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to at least 48 teams in 1980 failed to qualify for the NCAA playoffs the ensuing season after advancing to the national semifinals. Despite the disappointment of not participating in the NCAA playoffs, the last 16 schools in this category averaged 20 victories.

Final Four Team	Record Next Year	League Finish
Indiana State '79	16-11 in 1979-80	T5th in MVC
Michigan State '79	12-15 in 1979-80	9th in Big Ten
Purdue '80	21-11 in 1980-81	4th in Big Ten
Louisiana State '81	14-14 in 1981-82	T4th in SEC
Georgia '83	17-13 in 1983-84	T7th in SEC
North Carolina State '83	19-14 in 1983-84	7th in ACC
Houston '84	16-14 in 1984-85	T5th in SWC
Virginia '84	17-16 in 1984-85	8th in ACC
Louisville '86	18-14 in 1986-87	1st in Metro
Providence '87	11-17 in 1987-88	8th in Big East
Kansas '88	19-12 in 1988-89	6th in Big Eight
Seton Hall '89	12-16 in 1989-90	T7th in Big East
UNLV '91	26-2 in 1991-92	1st in Big West
Duke '94	13-18 in 1994-95	9th in ACC
Oklahoma State '95	17-10 in 1995-96	T4th in Big Eight
Mississippi State '96	12-18 in 1996-97	T3rd in SEC Western
Syracuse '96	19-13 in 1996-97	T4th in Big East 7
Minnesota '97	20-15 in 1997-98	8th in Big Ten
Marquette '03	19-12 in 2003-04	8th in C-USA
Louisville '05	21-13 in 2005-06	T11th in Big East
George Mason '06	18-15 in 2006-07	T5th in CAA
Louisiana State '06	17-15 in 2006-07	6th in SEC Western
Florida '07	24-12 in 2007-08	4th in SEC Eastern
Ohio State '07	24-13 in 2007-08	5th in Big Ten
Connecticut '09	18-16 in 2009-10	T11th in Big East
North Carolina '09	20-17 in 2009-10	T9th in ACC
Butler '11	22-15 in 2011-12	T3rd in Horizon League
Kentucky '12	21-12 in 2012-13	T2nd in SEC
Connecticut '14	20-15 in 2014-15	T5th in AAC
Florida '14	16-17 in 2014-15	T8th in SEC
Oklahoma '16	11-20 in 2016-17	9th in Big 12
Syracuse '16	19-15 in 2016-17	T7th in ACC

NOTES: Kansas and UNLV were on NCAA probation. . . . Duke, Florida '14, George Mason, Indiana State, Louisiana State '07, Louisville '87, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Providence and Seton Hall were eligible schools also failing to participate in the NIT.

The NCAA is not the only organization needing sensitivity to doing what it can to help modify a culture contributing to the glamorization of untested athletes and suspect characters in college sports. ESPN frequently exploits teenagers beyond reason before they graduate from high school and the Worldwide Leader hypes hoops with endless hours of analysis, promotion and games. The know-it-all network, playing the blame game by a different set of layoff rules, pays obscene amounts of cash to power conferences for TV rights and gives outrageous forums to questionable individuals. By any measure, ESPN is as much, or perhaps more, at fault as the NCAA for entirely abdicating any obligation to protecting the interests of academic and moral integrity. Extra Sensitive Pious Network is in dire need of new Skipper to save its sinking ship.

ESPN, replete with hard-core leftists at its helm needing a real Skipper to save its sinking ship, should be forced to replay all the gushing comments on its network about model-citizen athletes subsequently running afoul of the law and then offer a retraction for false advertising. Most observers abhor arrogance and ill-conceived loyalty to image including entitled coaches, academic institutions and media outlets with warped values. The network now will have an information deficit in college basketball after "cutting the cord" with respected Eamonn Brennan, Andy Katz and Dana O'Neil in a recent purge. Brennan and Katz were information-providing icons and O'Neil was superior with her analytical feature writing. Compared to them, Jailin' Rose, Screamin' A. Stiff, the 6 PM (Political Misfit) goofballs, Three Si-tooges and other so-called "experts" can't write a complete sentence when it comes to college hoops knowledge.

Undefeated? ESPN hoops will be winless sans Brennan, Katz and O'Neil, a trio forgetting more about college basketball than most network anchors and hosts know. And Brennan/Katz/O'Neil haven't forgotten very much. If not polluting the airwaves with progressive puke, ESPN execs exhibit liberal-like ineptness handling money by overspending (for programming rights' fees) although venerable Linda Cohn can't admit the obvious while leftist lunatics are supposed to #KneelWithJemele. Many of the upper-brass decision makers were the same folks who previously ran major newspaper sports sections into the ground. In other words, when liberals infest an institution, it no longer functions as designed and inevitably will miserably fail.

Beyond pushing a leftist "Rushin' to Judgment" political perspective shaking in their boots about name of long-deceased Gen. Robert E. Lee, ESPN has sullied its reputation by being Jim Valvano's defense coordinator for an extended span molesting academic integrity (735 average SAT score for his ACC players in mid-1980s). Do any of its holier-than-thou employees have second thoughts cashing their checks from an Extra Sensitive Pious Network persisting fawning over a basketball coach in charge when two schools were forced to vacate their NCAA playoff participation (Iona and North Carolina State)?

The academic progress of Valvano's players at N.C. State was dismal. In an affront to numbers that never lie, there are times when ESPN sycophants shamelessly enhance Valvano's credentials as a strategist, perpetuating a myth he was a late-game genius. Intense slobbering aside, you can't cover-up the cold hard facts about Valvano posting a modest .500 record in close contests decided by fewer than five points, a mark failing to rank among the top 250 DI coaches in such an illuminating category.

ESPN will have zero credibility in regard to "success with honor" until it takes down its basketball "statue." But ESPN is an outside-the-lines enabler seemingly accountable to no one. It claims to have a legacy but failed its constituency in regard to providing genuine journalists by jettisoning jewels such as Brennan, Katz and O'Neil. Perhaps upper management is making room to hire contemptible Keith Countdown (to Disaster) again or Trump hater Seth Davis after leftist lunatic was canned by SI. Free from conflict of interest, Davis can join his sycophant father, Lanny, in promoting #ShrillaryRotten or her daughter, Chelsea, as SI swimsuit-model cover material while taking another shot at career as stand-up comedian.

Pardon the interruption, but ESPN's sanctimonious indifference to eroding values was further exhibited when they previously hired disgraced ex-Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl as a full-time analyst and part-time interior decorator. Before returning to the SEC at Auburn, how could a viewer trust anything the former Boston College mascot says while winging it after failing to remember what his home looked like inside? ESPN, rather than finding someone with less baggage, felt compelled to "force" Pearl and his highly questionable wisdom and ethics into the homes of SportsNation. Portraying Seth Greenberg as an expert despite a grand total of one NCAA playoff victory in more than 20 years is "one" thing. Accepting Bruce-On-the-Loose's pearls of wisdom as the next Valvano variation was quite another even before his chief assistant (Chuck Person) was arrested by the FBI for allegedly accepting $91,000 in middlemen bribes after earning $23 million in 14-year NBA career. But Pearl probably doesn't recognize such a prominent Person although he was school's all-time leading scorer. Was this any surprise? What percentage of Tennessee players during Pearl's reign there were on the Volunteers' squad for four years without being thrown in jail or out of school for grades, drugs or some other misdeed?

Rose's masquerading as a journalist, making observers throw up during Get Up, surfaced when he seemed overly protective of Michigan's 20-year-old moniker when saying he's not a fan of the gold-medal winning U.S. women's gymnastics squad being known as the "Fab Five."

"To use the nickname just points and screams of lazy journalism by the national media," Rose said. Is this the vast expertise we can continue to look forward to from him? It seems Rose's amateurish historical knowledge doesn't include him acknowledging "Fabulous Five" basketball squads at Kentucky in the late 1940s and Iowa in the mid-1950s. Best guess is the only individuals previously affiliated with Bristol who did know about UK and Iowa were Brennan, Katz and O'Neil. But according to journalistic jewel Jemelle Hill, they must have been white supremacists because they knew supremely more about college hoops than their former colleague, a "Winless" contributor who probably "feels" her alma mater (Michigan State) has premier #MAGA starting lineup in NCAA history after recent run-ins with the law by Spartan scholars Keith Appling, Mateen Cleaves, Branden Dawson, Draymond Green and Zach Randolph. Rather than ramming race-baiting routine down our throats, she should have exhibited better credentials at her job when covering MSU and unearthed sordid shenanigans long before they exploded on the national scene.

Historically, the first 15 NFL drafts from 1936 through 1950 had a former college basketball regular selected among the top 10 picks. Four of the top six choices and five of the top 11 in the 1957 draft were ex-college hoopers. To our knowledge, none of them featured the excess baggage of Jameis "Crab Legs" Winston, the #1 selection several years ago who was also a versatile athlete but in baseball. VCU's Mo Alie-Cox signed as free agent with Indianapolis Colts, but the premier tight end prospect among former hoopers this year probably was Adam Shaheen, a second-round selection from Ashland (Ohio) by the Chicago Bears after playing basketball his freshman season with Pitt-Johnstown.

Back in 1963 when men were men before all of the ESPC-contrived Sam Who I Am draft-day crying/kissing and diversity sensitivity training (#BringBackOurMen), five of the top 22 picks, including four from schools that have always been or subsequently became members of the Big Ten Conference, were in the same category. Following is an alphabetical list of NFL first-round draft choices who played varsity college basketball for a current NCAA Division I university:

*Bechtol played in the AAFC, where he was a second-round pick (9th overall).

Wichita State, headed for the AAC as a new member next season, bowed out of the Missouri Valley Conference in style by capturing the league tournament championship. Amid all of the conference musical chairs, this feat has been achieved 14 times thus far in the 21st Century, including five years ago in the MVC by Creighton.

Four teams slammed the door shut on their way out of conferences in 2005 with success in this category. La Salle (1983 and 1992 and Louisville (2005 and 2014) did it twice in a 10-year span. Louisville's title in 2014 occurred in the Cardinals' lone campaign as an AAC member.

Following is a chronological look at league tournament champions in their final season as a member of a non-disbanding alliance before bidding adieu and promptly joining another league:

NOTE: South Carolina, coached by Frank McGuire, captured the 1971 ACC Tournament and Southwestern Louisiana, coached by Bobby Paschal, won the 1982 Southland Tournament before they left their leagues to become independents.