On This Date: Former College Hoopers Generating MLB News on April 3

Extra! Extra! With a new season on the horizon, you have time to read news 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.

Former college hoopers/MLB executives Bill White (Hiram OH) and Chris Young (Princeton) were traded on this date. 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 an April 3 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 3

  • 1B Donn Clendenon (played basketball for Morehouse GA) ended his retirement and reported to the Montreal Expos in 1969.

  • San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-WAC second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) went 4-for-4 against the Chicago Cubs in a 1996 game. He provided three hits in each of his next two outings.

  • 1B Bill White (played two years of hoops with Hiram OH in early 1950s) traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1969.

  • RHP Chris Young (All-Ivy League first-team selection as Princeton's leading scorer and rebounder in 1999-00) traded by the Montreal Expos to the Texas Rangers in 2004.

College Exam: Day #22 For One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge

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

We need something to occupy our minds from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 22 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 player to lead an NCAA Tournament team in season scoring and rebounding before becoming the only NCAA playoff participant to subsequently appear in both the NBA Finals and World Series. Hint: He became his alma mater's athletic director.

2. Name the only championship team to have two guards be its top two scorers for the season. Hint: It's the only school to win an NCAA title the year after losing an NCAA Tournament opener by a double-digit margin.

3. Who is the only individual to play for an NCAA champion, NBA champion and ABA champion? Hint: The 6-2 swingman averaged almost three times as many rebounds per game for back-to-back NCAA titlists as he did points per game in his pro career.

4. Name the only school to lose an NCAA Tournament game in which it connected on at least three-fourths of its field-goal attempts. Hint: The school's leading scorer in that game was a freshman who went on to average at least 22 points per game in four tourneys, including first-round games against No. 3 and No. 4 seeds his last three years.

5. Who is the only player to hit a game-winning basket in an NCAA final one year and become a consensus All-American for another university the next season? Hint: He was a second-team All-American the same season a former teammate was first-team All-American one year after being named Final Four Most Outstanding Player as freshman.

6. Name the only team to defeat three #1 seeds in a single tourney. Hint: The three #1 seeds were three winningest schools in history of major-college basketball. The champion is only team needing at least four games to win NCAA title to have all of its playoff games decided by single-digit margins. It is also the only titlist to finish as low as fifth place in its conference standings.

7. Name the only NCAA championship team to have four freshman starters. Hint: Two of the freshmen were among three starters who also excelled in a sport other than basketball.

8. Who is the only Final Four coach to previously lead the nation in a statistical category as a major-college player? Hint: He coached his alma mater to the NCAA Tournament six years later before guiding another school to Final Four twice in a four-year span.

9. Name the only school to appear in the NCAA Tournament under two coaches who subsequently became NBA coach of the year. Hint: The school participated in NCAA playoffs under these individuals in back-to-back seasons before they earned their NBA awards in a five-year span.

10. Who is the only player to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds for an NIT semifinalist one year and an NCAA semifinalist the next season? Hint: After earning an NIT Most Valuable Player award, he helped his school become the first member of a first-year conference to reach NCAA Final Four.

Answers (Day 22)

Day 21 Questions and Answers

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Center Stage Collapse: Tshiebwe Joins POYs Not Winning NCAA Tourney Game

Despite regal effort (30 points/16 rebounds), Kentucky center Oscar Tshiebwe joined a striking number of standouts who didn't win an NCAA Tournament game in season when they were named national player of year. Tshiebwe and Navy's David Robinson (1987) are the only unanimous POYs to incur an opening-round setback in NCAA playoffs. Following is list of fallen stars although majority of them provided prolific performances when their team was eliminated from postseason play:

Year National Player of Year School Award(s) NCAA Tournament Summary
1957 Chet Forte Columbia UPI DNP
1964 Gary Bradds Ohio State AP/UPI DNP
1970 Pete Maravich Louisiana State AP/UPI/USBWA/Naismith participated in NIT (101-79 loss vs. Marquette in semifinals)
1975 David Thompson North Carolina State AP/UPI/NABC/USBWA/Naismith DNP because Wolfpack was on NCAA probation
1978 Phil Ford North Carolina NABC/USBWA/Wooden 14 points/3 assists/4 steals/7-of-19 FGs in 68-64 loss vs. San Francisco in West Regional
1978 Alfred "Butch" Lee Marquette AP/UPI/Naismith 27 points/3 rebounds/3 steals in 84-81 overtime loss vs. Miami of Ohio in Mideast Regional
1980 Mark Aguirre DePaul AP/UPI/USBWA/Naismith 19 points/9 rebounds/4 assists in 77-71 loss vs. UCLA in West Regional
1980 Michael Brooks La Salle NABC 29 points/12 rebounds in 90-82 loss vs. Purdue in Mideast Regional
1987 David Robinson Navy AP/UPI/NABC/USBWA/Naismith/Wooden 50 points/13 rebounds/3 steals in 97-82 loss vs. Michigan in East Regional
1988 Hersey Hawkins Bradley AP/UPI/USBWA 44 points/10 rebounds/6 assists/3 steals in 90-86 loss vs. Auburn in Southeast Regional)
1991 Shaquille O'Neal Louisiana State AP/UPI 27 points/16 rebounds/5 blocks in 79-62 loss vs. Connecticut in Midwest Regional
1995 Shawn Respert Michigan State NABC 28 points/4 rebounds/3 assists in 79-72 loss vs. Weber State in Southeast Regional
2016 Denzel Valentine Michigan State AP/NABC 13 points/6 rebounds/12 assists in 90-81 loss vs. Middle Tennessee State in Midwest Regional
2022 Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky AP/NABC/USBWA/Naismith/Wooden 30 points/16 rebounds in 85-79 overtime loss vs. Saint Peter's in East Regional)

Giving Voice to Basketball: Singing Praises About Ex-College Hooper Crooners

In 2015-16, Yale's Brandon Sherrod, setting himself apart from anyone who ever played major-college basketball, established an NCAA Division I record by making 30 consecutive field-goal attempts covering five mid-season games. Singing his praises in helping the Bulldogs participate in the NCAA playoffs for the first time since 1962, Sherrod returned to them after taking a year off from school to tour the world as one of only 14 singers with Yale's a-capella group - the Whiffenpoofs.

Sherrod shared college basketball's lead-singer spotlight on center stage with Wisconsin starting forward Vitto Brown, who participated with quartet singing the Star-Spangled Banner at the 2015 Final Four when the Badgers finished national runner-up to Duke.

Brown and Sherrod aren't the only talented singers who also made music as a college basketball player. Acclaimed jazz vocalist Al Jarreau, who passed away shortly before the Grammy Awards several years ago, is among the following alphabetical list of crooners who didn't whiff in the music industry unlike anti-Semite, anti-police performers at previous ceremony:

ISHMAEL BUTLER, Massachusetts
Known as Butterfly with the hip-hop group Digable Planets, which was nominated for a 1994 Grammy Award as the "Best New Artist."

He averaged 3.8 ppg and 2 rpg in John Calipari's first season as UMass coach in 1988-89.

PAT CLELAND, Western Michigan
Going by the stage name Rick Chyme, he entered the Guinness Book of World Records in mid-September 2013 by free-styling rap for 17 hours straight at ArtPrize, a nearly three-week long art festival/competition in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Cleland scored 32 points in his 41-game WMU career from 1999-00 through 2002-03.

TAUHEED EPPS, Alabama State
Rapper know professionally as 2 Chainz (previously Tity Boi) won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 2017 alongside Lil Wayne ("No Problem"). In February 2012, Epps signed a solo record deal with Def Jam Recordings, an imprint of Universal Music Group. Winner of the Soul Train Music Awards' best hip-hop song of the year in 2012 began working with TV network Viceland on a show called Most Expensivest, which debuted in late 2017 and aired for three seasons.

The 6-5 Epps averaged 2.8 ppg and 1.6 rpg for ASU in 1995-96 and 1996-97. In the spring of 2019, 2 Chainz acquired a minority ownership stake in the Atlanta Hawks' NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.

MICHAEL FRANTI, San Francisco
Emerged as one of the most provocative and talented members of the crowded rap/hip-hop universe in the early 1990s. Activist first garnered attention with an avant-garde funk outfit known as the Beatnigs before moving on to the Disposable Heroes. After they disbanded, Franti reinvented his politically-charged sound in 1994 by founding the group Spearhead blending hip-hop with funk, reggae, jazz, folk and rock music.

The 6-6 Franti averaged 2.4 ppg and 1.2 rpg in 17 USF basketball games - starting one - in 1985-86.

JOHN FRED GOURRIER, Southeastern Louisiana
Lead vocalist and harmonica player for the rock-and-roll group John Fred and the Playboy Band boasting a hit single "Judy in Disguise" in 1967 and 1968.

The 6-5, 185-pound forward averaged 8 ppg for Southeastern Louisiana as a junior in 1962-63 before scoring 248 points as a senior. The Baton Rouge native also played two seasons for SLU's baseball team and still shares the school single-game record for most RBI with eight.

TUCKER HALPERN, Brown
Pairs with Sophie Hawley-Weld in EDM (Electronic Dance Music) sensation duo Sofi Tukker. Their dance hits include "Good Time Girl." "Purple Hat," and "Awoo." Their song "Drinkee" was nominated for a Grammy in 2016 and first full album, "Threehouse," was released in 2019 and also nominated for a Grammy. They paid $1.75 million for a Sunshine State residence with a tropical feel.

The 6-8 forward averaged 10 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 2 apg from 2009-10 through 2012-13. All-Ivy League honorable mention selection as a sophomore.

VAUGHN HARPER, Syracuse
New York City disc jockey, the host with the mellow voice on "The Quiet Storm," for more than a quarter century in the New York City area.

One of the Orange's all-time leaders in rebounds per game (11.1). Harper also averaged 13.5 ppg from 1965-66 through 1967-68, leading Syracuse in scoring as a senior (15.8 ppg). Teammate of All-American Dave Bing and all-time winningest coach Jim Boeheim grabbed team-high 10 rebounds in 91-81 loss to Duke in 1966 East Regional final. Ninth-round selection in the 1968 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons.

AL JARREAU, Ripon (Wis.)
Innovative musical expressions made him one of the most exciting and critically-acclaimed performers of our time, winning five Grammys, including best jazz vocalist in 1978 and 1979. He began singing at the age of four, and was soon harmonizing with his brothers and performing solo at a variety of local events in his hometown of Milwaukee. Following an extended stint in Los Angeles, he was spotted by Warner Brothers Records talent scouts and signed to a recording contract in 1975. Two years later, Jarreau embarked on his first world tour. While on a break from touring in 1996, he accepted a three-month stint on Broadway playing the role of the Teen Angel in the hit musical Grease!

Member of Ripon's basketball team from 1958-59 through 1961-62 posted career highs of 5.9 ppg and 4.3 rpg as a sophomore. While attending college, he performed locally with a group called The Indigos on weekends and holidays before graduating with a B.S. in Psychology.

REV. JOHN KILZER, Memphis State
Rock singer and songwriter known for the 1988 Mainstream Rock hit "Red Blue Jeans." His songs would be recorded by notable artists Trace Adkins, Roseanne Cash and Maria Muldaur. Struggling with alcohol addiction, he committed suicide by hanging in a rehab facility in spring of 2019 at the age of 62.

Kilzer averaged 3.2 ppg and 2 rpg from 1975-76 through 1978-79 under coach Wayne Yates.

HARVEY MASON JR., Arizona
Six-time Grammy Award-winning songwriter/music producer (with Beyonce, Chris Brown, Jennifer Hudson and Justin Timberlake) was elected as chairman of The Recording Academy in June of 2019. Mason served as executive producer on the film More Than a Game - a documentary featuring NBA star LeBron James. Son of noted jazz drummer is one-half of the hit-making production team "The Underdogs," whose past work includes films such as Dreamgirls, The Help, Pitch Perfect 2 and blockbuster hit Straight Outta Compton.

The 6-3 Mason averaged 3.9 ppg and connected on 42.4% of his three-point field-goal attempts from 1986-87 through 1989-90 under coach Lute Olson. His Final Four teammates in 1988 included Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr and eventual MLB outfielder Kenny Lofton.

JOE McGOVERN, Penn State
Lead singer on the Encores, a Motown cover group. Subsequently known as Cody Marshall, he went on to have a lounge act in Las Vegas before settling in Atlanta in the early 1970s. Billed as "the new Tom Jones," he had several singles on the Wizdom label in the early 1970s.

The 6-2 McGovern averaged 4.2 ppg and 2.2 rpg from 1964-65 through 1966-67.

MARK MILLER, Central Florida
Front man and principal songwriter for Sawyer Brown, one of the nation's most popular and enduring country music bands. Sawyer Brown, the top grossing country group in 1994, has sold more than 11 million records since getting a jump start in 1984 on Ed McMahon's Star Search and was named the Top Vocal Group in 1997 by the Academy of Country Music. Sawyer Brown's "Six Days on the Road" video, which came out in early 2000, emphasized the bald-headed Miller's shooting ability.

The 5-8 guard was scoreless in a total of 13 minutes in seven games for Central Florida in 1978-79. He had one assist and committed three turnovers. "I play whenever I can," Miller said. "I go at it really hard. I think my greatest strength in basketball is just seeing the floor and having a feel for where everything should go. And maybe that's my strength in music, too."

Miller, who majored in physical education, joined UCF the year after it went to the Final Four in Division II, and coach Torchy Clark was a local legend. "He (Torchy) wanted you to play hard, but he also wanted you to be a good person," Miller said. "If it came between winning and being a good person, he would rather you be a good person. He helped me as a player, and the lessons I learned from him have helped me in my career. Late at night while on tour, I still call him."

PERCY ROMEO MILLER JR., Southern California
Rapper/actor, son of entertainment mogul and entrepreneur Master P, has released multiple studio albums and compilation albums. His debut album titled after his original alias Lil' Romeo contained the hit single "My Baby" that charted #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-hop Singles.

Signed with the Trojans at same time as friend Demar DeRozan, who left for the NBA after only one season. Romeo, a 5-9 point guard, played 19 minutes in nine games in 2008-09 and 2009-10, scoring a total of five points. Brother Hercy Miller played for Tennessee State and Louisville.

EDON MOLLA, St. Francis (N.Y.)
Albanian American singer, songwriter, record producer, guitarist and pianist. His first single "Tears" debuted in early 2019 along with his first music video. Roberta Flack said: "This boy is special and the world will hear him one day."

Scored five points in eight games with the Terriers in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

DAVID PALACIO, Texas Western
Executive vice president of EMI Latin, which is affiliated with Capitol Records in Hollywood, Calif.

Backup guard for Texas Western's 1966 NCAA championship team scored a season-high four points against Loyola (La.). Contributed a second-half field goal when the Miners erased a 16-point halftime deficit to win in overtime at New Mexico, 67-64. In their next outing, he chipped in with another basket in a 69-67 triumph over Arizona State. Palacio averaged 7.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game the next season as a junior.

KENNY PARKER, St. Peter's
Brother of one of the most influential rap and hip-hop artists of the 1980s and early 1990s - KRS-ONE (born Kris Parker). Kenny, who performed as a DJ alongside his brother and in music videos as part of the hard-core hip-hop outfit Boogie Down Productions, was a producer for BDP recordings. He has produced TV commercials for Nike.

Parker was a four-year St. Peter's regular who had his best scoring season as a freshman (8.4 ppg in 1985-86 when he supplied a 26-point, nine-rebound effort against MAAC power La Salle).

DARRYL SHEPHERD, Pittsburgh
Produced two No. 1 hits on the R&B charts. An accomplished keyboard player, he also has worked on movie soundtracks and for numerous artists (including Smokey Robinson).

Participated in the NIT and NCAA playoffs in the mid-1980s with the Panthers. His wife, attorney Renee Henderson, was a former Pitt sprinter who won the 60- and 200-meter dashes in France at the 2008 World Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships (setting two American Records en route to winning gold).

JAREKUS SINGLETON, Southern Mississippi/William Carey (Miss.)
Blues guitarist, singer and songwriter made multiple trips to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. "I look at writing songs like watching film or running a play, putting the pieces of the puzzle together, the X's and O's," he said. "I look at the band members as my teammates. It's the same, but different."

NAIA Player of the Year in 2007 with nearby William Carey (24.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg) after averaging 7.9 ppg and 2.9 rpg for USM from 2003-04 through 2005-06.

Risky Business: Cronin Reversed Postseason Fortunes Upon Hiring By UCLA

Light years removed from legendary John Wooden compiling a 44-1 NCAA tourney record in his last 11 postseason appearances from 1964 through 1975, the Bruins seemed bound for ruins with annual average of seven league setbacks over seven-season span until UCLA coach Mick Cronin had a reversal of fortunes by going from First Four to Final Four last year. In some quarters, the hiring of Cronin was risky insofar as he reached a Sweet 16 only once in his first 11 tourney appearances. He is among the following coaches at least fives games below .500 in NCAA playoff play when they were hired by another university:

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Generating MLB News on April 2

Extra! Extra! Before a new season unfolds, it is 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-WAC 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), 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.

College Exam: Day #21 For One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge

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

We need something to occupy our minds during quarantine from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 21 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 player to post the highest-scoring game in a single tournament the same year he also played major league baseball? Hint: He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

2. Who is the only Final Four player to become AAU national champion in the decathlon in the same year? Hint: The Final Four team's third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder finished third in decathlon the previous year.

3. Who is the only Final Four player to finish among the top two high jumpers in four NCAA national track meets? Hint: The starting center for a national championship team is first athlete to place in the NCAA high jump four consecutive years.

4. Name the only coach in NCAA history to reach an NCAA Division I Tournament regional final in back-to-back years with different schools. Hint: He also reached a regional final in his first season at next coaching outpost.

5. Name the only top-ranked team entering the tournament to be eliminated by an opponent it defeated by more than 40 points during the regular season. Hint: The school avenging the embarrassing defeat upended nation's second-ranked team in its next playoff game.

6. Who is the only individual to play in the NCAA Tournament before setting several major league fielding records for a second baseman? Hint: He was the second-leading scorer for his school's playoff team and one of his teammates was a prominent college basketball coach for more than 20 years.

7. Who is the only member of the College Football Hall of Fame to participate in back-to-back Final Fours? Hint: He is one of the few athletes to earn consensus football All-American honors at two positions.

8. Who is the only individual to lead a school in scoring in an NCAA Tournament before pacing a major league in doubles as a player and manage a team in a World Series? Hint: The outfielder drove in six runs in one inning of an American League game.

9. Name the only university to win a minimum of two games in four different postseason national tournaments - NAIA, NCAA Division II, NIT and NCAA Division I. Hint: Of the schools to win at least one game in all four national tourneys, it is only one with an overall losing record in postseason competition.

10. Name the only school to win back-to-back basketball championships the same academic school years it participated in New Year's Day football bowl games. Hint: One of the two basketball title teams is the only school to have as many as 26 different players appear in its games in a season winning an NCAA crown. The two titlists helped school become only university to reach NCAA championship game in its first three playoff appearances.

Answers (Day 21)

Day 20 Questions and Answers

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Close Encounters: Self Boasts Top Tight-Game Tussle Mark Among F4 Coaches

Close likely will determine who gets to smoke the victory cigar. Ask Arizona fans if close doesn't count after the Wildcats lost five regional finals from 2003 through 2015 by a total of 14 points. Following is how the 2022 Final Four mentors have fared at the major-college level in games decided by fewer than six points:

Final Four Coach Current School DI Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 Total Pct.
Hubert Davis North Carolina 2022 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 1-1 .500
Mike Krzyzewski Duke 1976-2022 48-35 51-45 36-23 29-45 39-30 203-178 .533
Bill Self Kansas 1994-2022 22-18 24-14 27-23 32-20 32-11 137-86 .614
Jay Wright Villanova 1995-2022 14-22 28-22 28-23 22-16 23-17 115-100 .535

Atop Pedestal: Tshiebwe Joins Anthony Davis as UK National Players of Year

Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe became Kentucky's second national player of the year. Excluding specialty publications, there are five nationally-recognized Player of the Year awards. None of them, however, comes anywhere close to being the equivalent to college football's undisputed most prestigious honor, the Heisman Trophy. The basketball stalemate stems from essentially the same people voting on the major awards (writers or coaches or a combination) and the announcements usually coming one after another right around the Final Four when the playoff games dominate the sports page.

United Press International, which was a sixth venue for major awards through 1996, got all of this back slapping started in 1955. Four years later, the United States Basketball Writers Association, having chosen All-American teams in each of the two previous seasons, added a Player of the Year award to its postseason honors. In recent years, the USBWA award was sponsored by Mercedes and then RCA.

The third oldest of the awards comes from the most dominant wire service, the Associated Press. Perhaps because of its vast network of media outlets, the AP award gets more print and broadcast attention than the other honors. The AP award started in 1961 before affiliating in 1972 with the Commonwealth Athletic Club of Lexington, Ky., which was looking for a way to honor Hall of Fame Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp. The result of their merger is the Rupp Trophy.

The Atlanta Tipoff Club initially was associated with UPI before starting its own Naismith Award in 1969. Six years later, the National Association of Basketball Coaches initiated its award, which was sponsored from the outset by the Eastman Kodak Company. In 1977, the Los Angeles Athletic Club began honoring Hall of Fame UCLA coach John Wooden with the Wooden Award sponsored by Wendy's.

Duke has nine different national player of the year winners, including seven of them in a 21-year span from 1986 through 2006. UCLA is runner-up with six individuals earning POY acclaim. Incredibly, perennial power Kentucky never had a representative win one of the six principal national player of the year awards until freshman center Anthony Davis achieved the feat in 2012.

In 2015, Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky became the fourth Big Ten Conference player to capture national POY honors in a six-year span. The Big East, Pac-10 and SEC combined to go 15 straight seasons from 1996-97 through 2010-11 without a national POY. Following is a look at the seven conferences with at least three different individuals capturing one of the six principal national player of the year awards since UPI's initial winner in 1955:

ACC (17) - Shane Battier (Duke), Elton Brand (Duke), Johnny Dawkins (Duke), Tim Duncan (Wake Forest), Danny Ferry (Duke), Phil Ford (North Carolina), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), Art Heyman (Duke), Antawn Jamison (North Carolina), Michael Jordan (North Carolina), Christian Laettner (Duke), J.J. Redick (Duke), Ralph Sampson (Virginia), Joe Smith (Maryland), David Thompson (North Carolina State), Jason Williams (Duke), Zion Williamson (Duke).

Big Ten (15) - Gary Bradds (Ohio State), Trey Burke (Michigan State), Dee Brown (Illinois), Calbert Cheaney (Indiana), Luka Garza (Iowa), Draymond Green (Michigan State), Jim Jackson (Ohio State), Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin), Jerry Lucas (Ohio State), Scott May (Indiana), Shawn Respert (Michigan State), Glenn Robinson Jr. (Purdue), Cazzie Russell (Michigan), Evan Turner (Ohio State), Denzel Valentine (Michigan State).

Pacific-12 (7) - Lew Alcindor (UCLA), Sean Elliott (Arizona), Walt Hazzard (UCLA), Marques Johnson (UCLA), Ed O'Bannon (UCLA), Bill Walton (UCLA), Sidney Wicks (UCLA).

Big 12 (6) - Nick Collison (Kansas), Kevin Durant (Texas), T.J. Ford (Texas), Blake Griffin (Oklahoma), Buddy Hield (Oklahoma), Frank Mason III (Kansas).

Big East (6) - Ray Allen (Connecticut), Walter Berry (St. John's), Jalen Brunson (Villanova), Patrick Ewing (Georgetown), Doug McDermott (Creighton), Chris Mullin (St. John's).

Missouri Valley (3) - Larry Bird (Indiana State), Hersey Hawkins (Bradley), Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati).

SEC (4) - Anthony Davis (Kentucky), Pete Maravich (Louisiana State), Shaquille O'Neal (Louisiana State), Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky).

Happy Birthday! April Celebration Dates For All-Americans and HOF Coaches

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. This month marks the 100th anniversary of birth of A-As Lew Beck (Oregon State) and George Senesky (Saint Joseph's). 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), 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) 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

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Generate MLB Headlines on April 1

Extra! Extra! This is no April Fool's prank. Since a new season was delayed due to CBA negotiations, you have 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.

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

APRIL 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

College Exam: Day #20 For One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge

Unless you're still busy hoarding toilet paper for next pandemic, seeking translator to try to understand Plagiarist Bidumb/Cacklin' Kamala administration or donning face-masks while cowering in fetal position from college basketball version of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds, it's your opportunity to take 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 20 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 athlete to rank among the top five in scoring average in an NCAA Tournament and later start for an NFL champion? Hint: He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection who played in back-to-back Super Bowls. His brother was the first black player for major leagues' last integrated team.

2. Who is the only player to lead an NCAA championship game in scoring while playing for his father? Hint: The son has the lowest game-high point total in NCAA final history.

3. Who comprise the only father/son combination to twice reach the Final Four together as coach and player? Hint: The son was a starter for team undefeated entering Final Four.

4. Who is the only active coach to have played in the NCAA Tournament and College World Series in the same year? Hint: He served as captain on the baseball and basketball teams as a college senior. After graduation, he played minor league baseball before becoming an outstanding fast-pitch softball player named to a couple of national All-Star teams.

5. Name the only school to have a single coach guide the same group of players to victories in the NAIA Tournament, NIT and NCAA Tournament. Hint: It's the only school in last 60-plus years entering the NIT with an undefeated record. One of the five regulars from the three national postseason tournament winners was one of NBA's premier rebounders before becoming an assistant coach in the league and head coach of his alma mater.

6. Who is the only coach to guide teams to the championship game in both the Division I and Division II Tournaments? Hint: He is the only coach to have a career NCAA Division I Tournament record as many as eight games below the .500 mark, only title-team coach compiling a non-winning career playoff mark and only coach to lose three consecutive regional final games.

7. Who is the only player to score more than 60% of his team's points in an NCAA Tournament game and be on the losing end of the score? Hint: It was a first-round contest and the individual was national player of the year.

8. Who is the only player to score more than two-thirds of his team's points in an NCAA Tournament game? Hint: He scored more than 50% of his squad's points over three playoff outings.

9. Name the only school to win a small college national postseason tournament before capturing at least one NCAA Division I title. Hint: The school opposed same coach in championship game of small-college tournament and NCAA Final Four. The school also supplied only team to win an NCAA crown after setting or tying an existing school record for most defeats previous season.

10. Who is the only individual to participate in the Final Four before playing and coaching in the NFL at least five seasons apiece? Hint: He was a member of an NFL team moving to another city the year after capturing league title.

Answers (Day 20)

Day 19 Questions and Answers

Day 18 Questions and Answers

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

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Day 4 Questions and Answers

Day 3 Questions and Answers

Day 2 Questions and Answers

Day 1 Questions and Answers

False Start: NIT Championship Won't Mean Much to Xavier Next Season

Don't mean to hurt "wittle" feelings of safe-space snowflakes sympathetic to roof-top dancing bartender #AOC (Always Outlandish Commentary), Jussie Smollett supporters believing fictional tale about #MAGA caps/bleach/noose/nutritional white face, Mayor Pete pundits accepting "All Lives Matters" whether you're the husband or wife and Emory students terrified by Trump chalk talk. But if history means anything, a National Invitation Tournament crown earned in a poorly-attended game won't serve as a springboard to NCAA playoff success for Xavier. Defending NIT champions combined for a 13-19 NCAA Tournament record from 1986 through 2021.

The NIT titlists from 1985 through 2004 combined for a losing national postseason tournament record (15-17) the year after capturing an NIT championship - NCAA (8-13) and NIT (7-4) - with three of them not reaching national postseason play. Four more NIT champions in the last 12 years - South Carolina '06, Penn State '09, Minnesota '14 and Stanford '16 - also failed to appear in NCAA playoffs or NIT the next season when there was competition. West Virginia '08, Ohio State '09, Wichita State '12 and TCU '17 combined for a 2-4 NCAA playoff mark the years after winning an NIT title.

Only three schools in the last 38 years reached an NCAA regional semifinal the year after capturing an NIT title - Virginia '93, West Virginia '08 and Baylor '14. Following is a breakdown of how the NIT champions fared the next season since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985:

Year NIT Champion Season Summary the Following Campaign
1985 UCLA 15-14 record in 1985-86; 9-9 in Pacific-10 (4th place); no postseason
1986 Ohio State 20-13 in 1986-87; 9-9 in Big Ten (6th); lost in NCAA 2nd round
1987 Southern Mississippi 19-11 in 1987-88; 5-7 in Metro (7th); lost in NIT 2nd round
1988 Connecticut 18-13 in 1988-89; 6-10 in Big East (T7th); lost in NIT 3rd round
1989 St. John's 24-10 in 1989-90; 10-6 in Big East (4th); lost in NCAA 2nd round
1990 Vanderbilt 17-13 in 1990-91; 11-7 in SEC (4th); lost in NCAA 1st round
1991 Stanford 18-11 in 1991-92; 10-8 in Pacific-10 (4th); lost in NCAA 1st round
1992 Virginia 21-10 in 1992-93; 9-7 in ACC (5th); lost in NCAA regional semifinal
1993 Minnesota 21-12 in 1993-94; 10-8 in Big Ten (T4th); lost in NCAA 2nd round
1994 Villanova 25-8 in 1994-95; 14-4 in Big East (2nd); lost in NCAA 1st round
1995 Virginia Tech 23-6 in 1995-96; 13-3 in Atlantic 10 (T1st/W); lost in NCAA 2nd round
1996 Nebraska 19-14 in 1996-97; 7-9 in Big 12 (4th/N); lost in NIT 3rd round
1997 Michigan 25-9 in 1997-98; 11-5 in Big Ten (4th); lost in NCAA 2nd round
1998 Minnesota 17-11 in 1998-99; 8-8 in Big Ten (6th); lost in NCAA 1st round
1999 California 18-15 in 1999-00; 7-11 in Pacific-10 (7th); lost in NIT 3rd round
2000 Wake Forest 19-11 in 2000-01; 8-8 in ACC (T5th); lost in NCAA 1st round
2001 Tulsa 27-7 in 2001-02; 15-3 in WAC (T1st); lost in NCAA 2nd round
2002 Memphis 23-7 in 2002-03; 13-3 in C-USA (1st/National); lost in NCAA 1st round
2003 St. John's 6-21 in 2003-04; 1-15 in Big East (14th); no postseason
2004 Michigan 13-18 in 2004-05; 4-12 in Big Ten (9th); no postseason
2005 South Carolina 23-15 in 2005-06; 6-10 in SEC (5th/East); won NIT championship
2006 South Carolina 14-16 in 2006-07; 4-12 in SEC (6th/Eastern); no postseason
2007 West Virginia 26-11 in 2007-08; 11-7 in Big East (T5th); lost in NCAA regional semifinals
2008 Ohio State 22-11 in 2008-09; 10-8 in Big Ten (T4th); lost in NCAA 1st round
2009 Penn State 11-20 in 2009-10; 3-15 in Big Ten (11th); no postseason
2010 Dayton 22-14 in 2010-11; 7-9 in Atlantic 10 (T8th); lost in NIT 1st round
2011 Wichita State 27-6 in 2011-12; 16-2 in Missouri Valley (1st); lost in NCAA 1st round
2012 Stanford 19-15 in 2012-13; 9-9 in Pac-12 (T6th); lost in NIT 2nd round
2013 Baylor 26-12 in 2013-14; 9-9 in Big 12 (T6th); lost in NCAA regional semifinals
2014 Minnesota 18-15; 6-12 in Big Ten (T10th); no postseason
2015 Stanford 15-15; 8-10 in Pac-12 (9th); no postseason
2016 George Washington 20-15; 10-8 in Atlantic 10 (6th); lost in CBI 2nd round
2017 Texas Christian 21-12; 9-9 in Big 12 (5th); lost in NCAA 1st round
2018 Penn State 14-18; 7-13 in Big Ten (T10th); no postseason
2019 Texas 19-12; 9-9 in Big 12 (T3rd); national postseason play cancelled because of pandemic
2021 Memphis 22-11; 13-5 in American Athletic (3rd); lost in NCAA 2nd round
2022 Xavier 27-10; 15-5 in Big East (2nd); lost in NCAA Sweet 16

Buyer's Remorse: Will White and/or Willard Succeed At Their New Outposts?

It isn't "just a knife fight (according to social scholars)" and doesn't always pan out for a big-time university after hiring a coach from a fellow power league member. Naturally, it's too early to judge whether Mike White (Florida to Georgia) and Kevin Willard (Seton Hall to Maryland) will thrive at their new outposts. If not, they'll "fall" in line with the following alphabetical list of prominent coaches who struggled at their new digs after bolting one power conference member for another?

Coach Summary of Career After Switching Jobs Between Current Power-League Members
Tom Davis 58-59 record with Stanford from 1982-83 through 1985-86 after leaving Boston College
Bill E. Foster 54-141 with Northwestern from 1986-87 through 1992-93 after leaving South Carolina
Pat Kennedy 67-85 with DePaul from 1997-98 through 2001-02 after leaving Florida State
Dave Leitao 63-60 with Virginia from 2005-06 through 2008-09 after leaving DePaul
Kevin O'Neill 36-47 with Tennessee from 1994-95 through 1996-97 after leaving Marquette
Oliver Purnell 54-105 with DePaul from 2010-11 through 2014-15 after leaving Clemson
George Raveling 115-118 with Southern California from 1986-87 through 1993-94 after leaving Iowa
Tubby Smith 46-50 with Texas Tech from 2013-14 through 2015-16 after leaving Minnesota
Kevin Stallings 24-41 with Pittsburgh in 2016-17 and 2017-18 after leaving Vanderbilt
Bob Weltlich 77-98 with Texas from 1982-83 through 1987-88 after leaving Mississippi

College Exam: Day #19 For One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge

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

We need something to occupy our minds during quarantine from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 19 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 Final Four team to have a trio all average more than 20 points per game in the same season. Hint: The school won its conference tournament that year although none of threesome shot better than 50% from floor over the three games.

2. Name the only duo to twice reach the Final Four and both players average more than 20 points per game each season. Hint: Their team lost each year at the Final Four by same score. One of the pair is only player to score more than 25 points in Final Four defeats in back-to-back years.

3. Who is the only one of UCLA's eight first-team All-Americans from 1964 through 1975 to fail to earn a spot on an All-NCAA Tournament team when the Bruins won 10 national titles? Hint: He averaged more than 15 points per game in two of his three varsity seasons and went on to coach the Bruins' crosstown rival to a regional final.

4. Who is the only NCAA baseball championship coach to direct a basketball team from the same school to the Final Four? Hint: He is the school's all-time winningest basketball coach.

5. Who is the only championship team senior to average seven points per game or less entering the national semifinals before seizing the moment and averaging double digits in scoring in his last two games with an increase of at least six points per game from his pre-Final Four scoring mark? Hint: He was the seventh-leading scorer for the season on a team with only two seniors among its top eight point producers.

6. Who is the only player to score more than half of a championship team's points in a single NCAA Tournament? Hint: He was the team's only player to compile a double-digit season scoring average and no teammate scored more than seven points in either of two Final Four games.

7. Name the only school to lose three national championship games in a city where it enjoyed a distinct homecourt advantage. Hint: The school lost two of the three title games by one point before capturing title there in a season it became the only NCAA champion to lose four consecutive conference contests.

8. Name the only team to fail to have at least one player score in double figures in the championship game. Hint: It was the school's only NCAA Tournament appearance until university started appearing regularly in tourney since 1975.

9. Name the only Division II school to have three of its former head coaches go on to direct major-college teams to the NCAA Division I Tournament championship game. Hint: None of the three coaches compiled a losing record in any of the total of 11 seasons they coached at small school, which won Division II Tournament in 1984 and captured first two NAIA Tournament titles.

10. Who is the only one of the individuals named NBA Most Valuable Player, score more than 20,000 pro points or be selected to at least five All-NBA teams after participating in more than six NCAA Division I Tournament games and not compile a winning tourney record? Hint: He left college with eligibility remaining, but was involved in two NCAA playoff defeats when the tournament conducted regional third-place games.

Answers (Day 19)

Day 18 Questions and Answers

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

Final Deplore: Pristine Sister Jean Doesn't Offset Many Final Four Suspects

Beyond permanent residents of Pollyannaville, the Final Four isn't nearly as clean as Loyola of Chicago's high-flying nun Sister Jean several years ago. Celebrated coaches, occasionally recruiting anyone with a pulse if they exhibit hoop skills, expect us to believe all of their prize prospects arrive on campus as authentic student-athletes knowing precisely how to assemble class schedule without silver-platter input citing no-risk-to-eligibility courses. The academic anemia is as disgusting as much as myopic Meghan Markle's "your truth" and new version of KKK (Known Kneeling Knuckleheads) barked about #TheDonald's presidency. Any "stable genius" or "beautiful" con artist such as hideous Hunter Bidumb knows nothing could be further from the truth amid the institutional self-interest. What was the average SAT score differential between majority of suspect individuals acknowledged in list below such as Michigan State's "communal train" majors and the everyday student attending same institutions?

For decades, this scholastic sham has been stacking up as a farce devaluing many diplomas and denigrating the mission of a free higher-education racket such as Patrick Ewing receiving gratis gratification from Atlanta's Gold Club racketeering owners. This year's blueblood participants have each previously had a least one Final Four All-American run afoul of the law. Last fall, it shouldn't have come as any surprise when six former F4 players were among 19 individuals (combining to earn around $363 million in their on-court NBA salaries) charged with defrauding the NBA's health and welfare benefit plan out of approximately $5 million (defendants received about $2.5 million). The scholars were caught because of grammatical errors and other obvious red flags on their phony paperwork. Just exactly what classes did they take at their institutions of lowering learning; especially during spring semester when attending national semifinals? Yes, the NCAA Tournament is gold-plated, but has blemishes including a striking number of the following former Final Four players who plummeted from their lofty All-American pedestal:

Lew Alcindor, UCLA (coached by John Wooden) - Two-time national player of the year and three-time Final Four MOP in late 1960s ran into trouble with law over marijuana twice in two years at the turn of 21st Century (paid fine after surrendering small amount to officers at Toronto airport and arrested on suspicion of driving under influence). Islamic convert Kareem Abdul-Jabbar offended majority of patriotic Americans by comparing national anthem to slaves singing songs during manual labor. To that bitter end depicted in book Showtime describing disdain for white people, doubt that Kareem "feels" differently in morning than Barack Obama about Arabic call to prayer. Jabbar's son, Adam, was sentenced to six months in jail for stabbing a 60-year-old neighbor several times with hunting knife (nearly bleeding to death) during argument over trash cans.

Kenny Anderson, Georgia Tech (Bobby Cremins) - Despite earning close to $63 million in his NBA career, the second-leading scorer and leader in assists for 1990 Final Four squad declared bankruptcy shortly after retiring in 2005. "When you're an athlete, there is always someone holding your hand, helping you get it done, guiding your every step," said Anderson, who had seven children from five different women. "But that NBA lifestyle isn't real. It can gobble you up. And it did me." Anderson was fired from his coaching job at a small Jewish high school in south Florida following his arrest in Pembroke Pines, Fla., at about 4:30 a.m. in late April 2013 after police allegedly saw him driving in and out of his lane. He also was arrested in Miranar, Fla., in mid-December 2011 after leaving the scene following crashing his vehicle into two trees along a swale. In a documentary (Mr. Chibbs), Anderson said he was sexually molested by a Queens neighbor during his childhood.

Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse (Jim Boeheim) - Leading scorer and rebounder for 2003 NCAA titlist was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving at 4 a.m. in mid-April 2008 after one of his worst games of the NBA season in Denver. He was suspended for 25 contests during the 2006-07 campaign for punching New York Knicks guard Mardy Collins in the face during one of the NBA's worst brawls. Took up the mantle of the "stop snitchin'" movement, appearing in an underground DVD circulated in his hometown of Baltimore in 2004 encouraging those who are questioned by the police to refuse to "snitch" on drug dealers, murderers and other criminals. Suspended for one game without pay midway through the 2012-13 campaign for confronting an opposing player (Boston's Kevin Garnett) multiple times (in the arena tunnel, near the players' locker rooms and in the parking garage) following a loss against the Celtics.

Marvin Barnes, Providence (Dave Gavitt) - Unanimous first-team All-American in 1973-74 was arrested for a variety of things - trespassing, being under the influence of narcotics, burglary of a locked vehicle. Homeless in San Diego, he stole X-rated videos to sell for drug money. Leading rebounder and second-leading scorer for 1973 Final Four team claimed his cocaine addiction escalated to the point where he snorted the drug on the Boston Celtics' bench during a game. Barnes contends he hit rock bottom during one of his drug-related prison stints when he almost killed a fellow inmate. Barnes attended the John Lucas Treatment Center in Houston and worked as a director at a halfway house before encountering liver problems. In mid-May 2007, he was arrested by state police on a felony charge of cocaine possession. In mid-January 2012, Barnes, 59, was arraigned in Rhode Island on a charge of soliciting a 17-year-old minor for sex after they met through his Rebound Foundation for at-risk youths. In 1972, he was charged with assault after allegedly hitting PC teammate Larry Ketvirtis with a tire iron following a scrimmage. Barnes once asked Providence Journal columnist Bill Reynolds if cocaine kills brain cells before saying: "I must have been a genius when I started out." While incarcerated, Barnes also told Reynolds: "Here I am trying to get myself straightened out and they come out with a brand-new drug (crystal meth)."

William Bedford, Memphis State (Dana Kirk) - All-American as a junior in 1985-86 was arrested in February 2001 after Taylor, Mich., police said they found 25 pounds of marijuana in his car. Second-leading scorer and rebounder for 1985 Final Four squad subsequently served time in a Fort Worth, Tex., prison on drug-related charges. In 1987, he was subpoenaed by a Maricopa County (Ariz.) grand jury investigating drug use among Phoenix Suns players and testified against his teammates after receiving immunity. In March 1988, Bedford admitted he was addicted to cocaine and marijuana and was committed to the NBA's treatment facility in Van Nuys, Calif. Known as "Willie B" - as in "Will he be at practice?" - Bedford relapsed the following October and was readmitted to the clinic. When he returned, his behavior on and off the court grew more erratic. He received a dozen traffic tickets and 10 license suspensions in less than four years. In September 1997, Bedford, who was on three years probation at the time, tested positive for cocaine and was sent to a Texas state jail for one year. Also arrested in Texas for failing to pay more than $300,000 in child support.

Charlie Bell, Michigan State (Tom Izzo) - Third arrest of 2011 came in December when the three-time Final Four participant showed up drunk to the court hearing regarding his previous arrest, an October 2011 DUI. All-American point guard as senior in 2000-01 was also arrested for DUI in February of same year. His estranged wife, a former Miss Michigan USA, was arrested in spring of 2011 for allegedly stabbing Bell with a box cutter.

Mike Bibby, Arizona (Lute Olson) - Police investigated sexual-abuse harassment accusations in late February 2019 but filed no charges against second-leading scorer as freshman of 1997 NCAA titlist while coaching his high school alma mater (winning five titles in six years this decade). Bibby exited his position following the allegations.

Daron "Mookie" Blaylock, Oklahoma (Billy Tubbs) - Leader in assists and steals for 1988 NCAA Tournament runner-up was busted in 1997 when drug sniffing dogs uncovered marijuana on him in a Vancouver, Canada airport. Second-team All-American was arrested around 4 a.m. in early March 1989 and charged with public drunkenness following a report of an argument at a convenience store. He was charged with vehicular homicide arising from a head-on crash killing a mother of five in suburban Atlanta in late May 2013. Blaylock, accused of driving on a suspended license and failure to maintain his lane in the crash, was also wanted on charges of failure to appear in court, DUI and drug possession. Bond was set at $250,000 stemming from a criminal record including six DUIs in a six-year span from late 2007 to late 2013 (one when blood alcohol content was 4 1/2 times legal limit) before he pleaded guilty (term reduced to seven years - suspended after three - and eight years' probation according to a plea deal). Prior to the crash, a doctor had ordered Blaylock (treated for seizures) not to drive, prosecutors said. A former Hawks ball-boy told SI that Blaylock was stoned a large part of the time he played for Atlanta after spending many game days at a strip club.

Tom Burleson, North Carolina State (Norm Sloan) - Leading rebounder and second-leading scorer for 1974 NCAA titlist was greeted by Duke's pep band with chorus of "Pinball Wizard" after two-time All-American center admitted to taking $117 in change from three pinball machines in dormitory lobby.

Marcus Camby, Massachusetts (John Calipari) - National POY in 1996 as leading scorer and rebounder with Final Four team was arrested for possession of marijuana in mid-June 1997. Also arrested by Pearland, Tex., police in mid-September 2011 in black Porsche and charged with marijuana possession. Admitted accepting thousands of dollars in cash, jewelry, rental cars and prostitutes from agents while in college.

Howard Carter, Louisiana State (Dale Brown) - Charged in the spring of 1995 with buying and using drugs after French police arrested him and seized a dose of heroin. He was arrested with five suspected drug dealers in the stairwell of a building shortly before his team was slated to play. Carter, a two-time All-American who averaged 15.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg for LSU from 1979-80 through 1982-83 and appeared in the 1981 Final Four, took out French citizenship and played for the country's national team.

Lorenzo Charles, North Carolina State (Jim Valvano) - All-American as junior in 1983-84 stole two pizzas from delivery boy while in summer session in 1982. Brooklyn native was handed a 10-year suspended sentence for larceny, made to perform 300 hours of community service, do some custodial work for police department and undergo psychiatric counseling. Charles went from doghouse at start of 1982-83 campaign to penthouse in NCAA Tournament title game with decisive dunk vs. heavily-favored Houston.

Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State (Tom Izzo) - Two-time Big Ten Conference MVP and 2000 Final Four MOP arrested in mid-March 2010 on suspicion of drunken driving but ended up leading to careless driving. Acquitted of sexual assault charges in late summer 2019 after accused of false imprisonment by intoxicated woman who said she was driven in his Cadillac SUV to a Knights Inn and attacked four years earlier following a Flint-area charity golf outing and trip to local bar for drinks. A surveillance video showed Cleaves, clad only in socks, pulling the near-naked woman back to a motel room twice. He faced misdemeanor charges of stealing beer while in college but that case eventually was dropped.

Derrick Coleman, Syracuse (Jim Boeheim) - The Big East Conference's 1990 MVP was stopped in Farmington Hills, Mich., at 3:30 a.m. in late July 2002 for speeding (120 mph in a 70 mph zone) and taken into custody after refusing a breathalyzer test. Arrested in late October 1999 in Charlotte for driving while under the influence after the vehicle he was driving collided with a tractor-trailer. A couple of months earlier, he was accused of urinating in front of patrons at a downtown Detroit Chinese restaurant and charged with disorderly conduct. Leading rebounder for 1987 national runner-up also faced a civil lawsuit in Michigan in which he was accused of trespassing and battery at a Detroit woman's home in 1997. In summer of 1995, he was arrested and charged with refusing to move his truck and swearing at a police officer in Detroit. Despite earning an estimated $87 million in his NBA career, he owed creditors $4.7 million after a series of poor real estate investments in Detroit. In college, Coleman was sentenced to 50 hours of community service and ordered to make restitution for damage after pleading guilty to charges of harassment and disorderly conduct at a campus dance.

Sherron Collins, Kansas (Bill Self) - In June 2008, months after KU won the NCAA title, a judge ruled in favor of a woman he allegedly sexually assaulted in an elevator the previous year, granting damages in excess of $75,000 in a civil suit. A 35-year-old woman said she was unable to continue working at the Jayhawker Towers because of an incident where Collins was accused of exposing himself and rubbing against her despite being told repeatedly to stop. Collins, a two-time All-American in subsequent seasons, denied the assault but was a no-show at the hearing. The accuser later dropped the lawsuit for mental and physical problems when Collins agreed to drop his counterclaim of defamation.

Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Louisiana State (John Brady) - Leading scorer and rebounder for 2006 Final Four team as SEC Player of the Year was arrested at a Hampton Inn in Baltimore suburb in early February 2018 with a quarter of a pound of marijuana and $92,000 in cash. Arrested a couple of months later for felony assault with intent to cause great bodily injury. When confronted by a man he apparently almost struck with his vehicle outside a West Hollywood nightclub, Davis allegedly picked up the victim and slammed him on the concrete (facial fractures, broken tooth and broken ribs).

Raymond Felton, North Carolina (Roy Williams) - All-American in 2004-05 as leader in assists and steals for NCAA titlist was sentenced to 500 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. He admitted knowingly having a large-capacity ammunition magazine and a pistol without a license in his Manhattan apartment. The attorney for his estranged wife turned a semiautomatic firearm into police in late February 2014 after alleging Felton used gun to "intimidate" her during domestic disputes.

Eric "Sleepy" Floyd, Georgetown (John Thompson Jr.) - Leading scorer for 1982 NCAA Tournament runner-up was arrested in early January 1996 in a Houston suburb on charge of misdemeanor assault after a fight with his wife.

Phil Ford, North Carolina (Dean Smith) - Four-time All-American from 1974-75 through 1977-78 was arrested in fall of 1999 and charged with drunken driving for the second time in 25 months. Leader in scoring and assists for 1977 national runner-up pleaded guilty to driving while impaired and entered a treatment center for the second time.

Joseph Forte, North Carolina (Bill Guthridge and Matt Doherty) - Maryland state police arrested leading scorer for 2000 Final Four team in early May, 2003, after finding marijuana and a handgun in his car on a trip back from New York, where he met his idol, rapper Jay-Z. Two-time All-ACC guard (1999-00 and 2000-01) also faced an assault charge when he allegedly punched a man in the face during a pickup game. Questions linger about his mother being hired by the sports agency he subsequently affiliated with upon leaving school early.

Jason Gardner, Arizona (Lute Olsen) - Leader in assists and runner-up in steals for 2001 national runner-up was dismissed after five seasons as IUPUI head coach in late August 2019 after being apprehended intoxicated at 4:30 a.m. asleep behind the wheel of his Nissan.

Jack "Goose" Givens, Kentucky (Joe B. Hall) - Final Four MVP in 1978 found not guilty following arrest during summer of 2004 on charges of sexual battery and lewd molestation of 14-year-old girl after giving her a private basketball lesson at her home while parents were away. Givens acknowledged "bad judgment" via instant-message conversations with the girl, some involving sexual topics, and apologized for "whatever she assumed I did" during a taped phone call with her. A police affidavit said the girl's grandmother was at the home, called the girl's mother twice at her work to report what she thought was inappropriate behavior in the swimming pool and later called the girl out of her bedroom out of concern for her well-being. After first 14 years of the franchise, Givens' contract as a color analyst for the Orlando Magic was not renewed.

Ben Gordon, Connecticut (Jim Calhoun) - Scoring leader for 2004 NCAA titlist was arrested during 2002-03 season for allegedly slapping a female student. Fiancee Sascha Smith was involved in an early-morning brawl at a Charlotte nightclub in mid-December 2012 that landed Tyrus Thomas' wife in jail. Four run-ins with the law in six-month span in 2017 (arrested in early June after allegedly pulling multiple fire alarms at his L.A. apartment complex, hospitalized for a psych evaluation in his hometown of Mount Vernon, N.Y., in October after cops responded to a confrontation he had with a woman at his sports rehab center-owned business, arrested in mid-November in New York City for driving with forged license plate and arrested in late November for felony robbery of apartment manager over his security deposit).

Luther Head, Illinois (Bill Self and Bruce Weber) - Leading scorer for 2005 national runner-up was suspended four games with a couple of teammates for being among individuals in a fall 2003 burglary entering an apartment and pilfering as much as $3,000 worth of goods. He also sat out Big Ten Conference opener in 2003-04 following arrest on charges of driving on a suspended license.

Juwan Howard, Michigan (Steve Fisher) - Starter for back-to-back NCAA runners-up (1992 and 1993) was sued on two separate occasions by women claiming he gave them herpes, an infection lasting a lifetime. He was arrested at 3:45 a.m. in mid-November 1996 on a DWI charge after his 1995 Mercedes was spotted speeding. A paternity suit was filed in spring of 1996 by a Detroit-area woman claiming Howard was father of her toddler (contending she became pregnant at Pontchartrain Hotel in Detroit in spring of 1991 before Chicago native enrolled at UM). She initially rejected an anemic offer of $175/week in child support.

Mark Jackson, St. John's (Lou Carnesecca) - In the summer of 2012, a salacious story unfolded as a stripper and co-conspirator were busted for a purported $200,000 extortion plot against Jackson, who moonlighted as a minister at a LA suburb-based non-denominational church, for sending compromising nude photographs during a 2006 affair. The NCAA assists average leader in 1985-86 after participating in Final Four the previous season "shimmied off" being called "a Bible-pounding phony" by ESPN colleague Bob Ryan although the network suspended the venerable ex-Boston Globe columnist, not "Action" Jackson, for a couple of weeks.

Marques Johnson, UCLA (John Wooden and Gene Bartow) - Three-time Final Four participant in mid-1970s was arrested in late July 1988 on suspicion of beating his wife during an argument. Nine months after Johnson was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in fall of 1984, they filed suit in federal court to nullify the transaction because the Milwaukee Bucks had not told them about him undergoing treatment at a drug rehabilitation center.

Christian Laettner, Duke (Mike Krzyzewski) - NCAA national player of the year in 1991-92 was suspended for five NBA games in 2003-04 after violating the league's drug policy. Four-time Final Four participant (MOP in 1991) was sued multiple times for failure to repay loans, including $671,309 owed to former teammate Johnny Dawkins. In 2010, Laettner's attorney said his client had $10 million in assets and $40 million in debt. His $3.65 million mansion outside Jacksonville, Fla., was foreclosed on in 2015. In the fall of 2016, a federal judge dismissed an involuntary bankruptcy case against him (five creditors claimed they were among those owed $14.05 million) after he reached a repayment deal his lawyer said should bring a decade of financial woes to a close. He earned $61 million as an NBA player.

Ty Lawson, North Carolina (Roy Williams) - All-American in 2008-09 when reaching Final Four for second season in a row was arrested in an alleged domestic violence incident at his home in mid-August 2013. In mid-July 2015, he was arrested for DUI for the fourth time in an eight-year span and subsequently served two DUI-related suspensions during the first half of the 2015-16 NBA campaign. After ending up banned from the Chinese Basketball Association, he was arrested in Spain in early 2022 following two altercations.

Ron Mercer, Kentucky (Rick Pitino) - Leading scorer as All-American for 1997 NCAA Tournament runner-up faced misdemeanor assault charge stemming from a scuffle in a Nashville strip club in April 2007. Police said Mercer punched a bouncer in the face. He was sued along with Chauncey Billups for attempted rape at Antoine Walker's residence in November 1997 in a case settled out of court (Walker sued for failing to stop alleged incident after socializing at Boston comedy club before also settling). In August 2013, a jury sided with Mercer in a lawsuit brought by an ex-girlfriend over the ownership of a $45,000 Range Rover.

Joakim Noah, Florida (Billy Donovan) - Final Four MOP in 2006 before becoming an A-A the next season was arrested for possession of marijuana in late May 2008 (also cited hours later for driving with suspended license and not wearing seat belt). Suspended 20 games late in 2016-17 NBA season for violating the league's anti-drug policy. Annoyed about playing time, he got into an altercation with coach Jeff Hornacek during a practice that ultimately triggered his exile from the New York Knicks.

Greg Oden, Ohio State (Thad Matta) - All-American center as freshman in 2006-07 was formally charged with battery for allegedly punching his ex-girlfriend in the face around 3:30 a.m. on August 7, 2014, at his mother's home in Lawrence, Ind. In a plea agreement, the leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker for 2007 NCAA Tournament runner-up was found guilty of felony battery with moderate bodily injury.

Howard Porter, Villanova (Jack Kraft) - Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 1971 served six months in jail for probation violation on a previous drug conviction. "I was a junkie like any other junkie," Porter told the Tampa Tribune. He 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, according to murder charges filed several months later.

Jason Richardson, Michigan State (Tom Izzo) - Leading scorer for 2001 Final Four team was found guilty of domestic violence in early summer of 2003 stemming from a dispute with an ex-girlfriend at her home in Saginaw, Mich., resulting in a three-game suspension by the NBA and a one-year probation sentence. Fresh off a DUI arrest, he was pulled over in late 2008 for going 90 mph in a 35-mph zone with his three-year-old son in the back of vehicle (although not in car seat).

Rumeal Robinson, Michigan (Bill Frieder and Steve Fisher) - Best remembered for converting the game-winning free throws in the 1989 NCAA title game against Seton Hall, he was sentenced in early 2011 to 6 1/2 years in jail for financial fraud. The charges against Robinson were bank bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. The two-time All-Big Ten Conference selection borrowed more than $700,000 from a bank in Iowa in 2004, claiming it was for a business. He used the money for personal purposes instead (buying a condominium, cars, furniture and investing in an energy company). He's a bankrupted "strip club addict," according to his adoptive brother. Sparked outrage in his Cambridge, Mass., hometown when he reportedly caused his adoptive mother to be forcibly removed from her home after being tricked into signing a deed that sold a house to Robinson's business associate while receiving no money.

Thomas Robinson, Kansas (Bill Self) - Big 12 Conference Player of the Year in 2011-12 for NCAA tourney runner-up was cited with misdemeanor battery in spring of 2011 following an incident at a nightclub. The city prosecutor dismissed charge involving spitting on a bouncer, who did not want the prosecution to go forward. Robinson completed 20 hours of community service and agreed to write a letter of apology to the victim.

Derrick Rose, Memphis (John Calipari) - Assists leader and second-leading scorer for 2008 tourney runner-up was cleared with a couple of friends of all charges stemming from a civil rape lawsuit in a Los Angeles court. Rose and his co-defendants maintained the sex was consensual. His fraudulent SAT score resulted in the Tigers' vacating their runner-up finish.

Jalen Rose, Michigan (Steve Fisher) - The Wolverines' leader in assists for back-to-back Final Four teams in 1992 and 1993 was arrested around 2 a.m. in March 2011 on suspicion of drunken driving. Accused of operating a vehicle (Cadillac Escalade) while impaired (said he drank six martinis), he declined to take a Breathalyzer. Rose, who put the unbecoming "Uncle Tom" tag on Duke, was pulled from the air briefly by ESPN for failing to disclose his DUI arrest shortly after the release of a controversial documentary about his time with the Fab Five. Given a speeding ticket only hours after being ordered to serve 93 days in jail (all but 20 of them suspended; served 16 days).

Curtis Rowe, UCLA (John Wooden) - Two-time All-American while playing for three straight NCAA champions from 1969 through 1971 was charged in mid-October 1989 with possession of cocaine after Detroit police said they saw him and a companion throw packets of drugs on the ground. Arrested in late February 2008 in a drug raid in a building on Detroit's west side as officers found him with a baggie containing a substance believed to be heroin on his person.

Clifford Rozier, North Carolina (Dean Smith)/Louisville (Denny Crum) - After years of personal and legal trouble (five arrests and bankruptcy), the 1994 first-team All-American was incarcerated in his hometown of Bradenton, Fla., in May 2001, after being charged with grand theft auto. Rozier, jailed after an accusation of stealing a Manatee County sheriff deputy's personal car, was on the run for about a month before police apprehended him in Orlando. His ex-wife had him committed various times to a psychiatric care facility under Florida's Baker Act. Drug panhandler after participating in 1991 Final Four for UNC had three vehicles repossessed and his liabilities included child support to three women. After spending time in jail cells and psychiatric wards, Rozier lived in a halfway house following a 2006 arrest on an assault charge. Arrested in summer of 1998 on charges of assaulting his mother but the case was dropped. According to a 2010 Sarasota Herald-Tribune story, Rozier was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Brandon Rush, Kansas (Bill Self) - Leading scorer for 2008 NCAA titlist was suspended five games for violating NBA drug policy in late August 2010. Arrested while in college for not appearing in court to settle multiple traffic incidents. Faced family court date in spring of 2008 related to a child-support case.

Ralph Sampson, Virginia (Terry Holland) - Three-time national player of the year from 1981 through 1983 was accused of lying to federal authorities about his finances in a child-support case. Sampson pleaded guilty in 2005 in Richmond to failing to pay about $300,000 in court-ordered child support for two children who live in northern Virginia and have different mothers. Sentencing was postponed after leading rebounder and second-leading rebounder for 1981 Final Four team was indicted on perjury and false claim charges before mail fraud and false-statement allegations were added. In a plea agreement, he was slated to serve two months in jail for mail fraud.

Damon Stoudamire, Arizona (Lute Olson) - Co-Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year in 1994-95 after appearing in Final Four the previous campaign was busted three times on marijuana-related charges in 2002 and 2003. "You live and you learn," Stoudamire said. "Guys are human and guys make mistakes."

Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas (Bill Self) - In the spring of 2015, the assists leader for 2012 NCAA Tournament runner-up allegedly cashed a fake money order for $1,000 cash at a food store in his hometown of Hoboken, N.J. Sustained a dislocated thumb in fall of 2009 in an altercation involving several football and basketball players outside of the student union building. Late in 2010-11 campaign, KU suspended Taylor and a women's hooper for reportedly getting frisky playing unauthorized one-on-one inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Isiah Thomas, Indiana (Bob Knight) - A Detroit TV reporter filed an assault and battery complaint against 1981 Final Four MOP during his NBA playing days with the Detroit Pistons, claiming Thomas choked him and threw him against a car. A jury decided in the fall of 2007 that Thomas sexually harassed a former Knicks team executive, subjecting the former Northwestern basketball player to unwanted advances and a barrage of vulgarity (Madison Square Garden eventually settled for $11.5 million). The CBA almost disbanded after Thomas purchased the minor league before selling his interest in 2000. Multiple CBA executives said Thomas was "rude. . . . very poor business person. . . . doesn't listen to people. . . . makes poor decisions."

David Thompson, North Carolina State (Norm Sloan) - National player of the year in 1973-74 and 1974-75 had well-publicized involvement with cocaine. Final Four MOP in 1974 was accused of assaulting his wife while free-basing cocaine (received 180-day sentence in minimum security prison in 1987), filed for bankruptcy and suffered a severe knee injury in a dispute at Studio 54 in New York.

Bernard Toone, Marquette (Al McGuire and Hank Raymonds) - All-American in 1978-79 was charged with attempted grand larceny, criminal possession of burglar's tools and criminal mischief in April 1988 in White Plains, N.Y., after allegedly attempting to steal a car stereo system from a new Porsche. Member of 1977 NCAA titlist had been arrested twice in less than a year in 1985 - charged with third-degree grand larceny for allegedly stealing a car radio and pleading guilty to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle after he was arrested at a fast-food restaurant in a rental car that had been reported stolen.

Kenny Walker, Kentucky (Joe B. Hall and Eddie Sutton) - Two-time NCAA consensus All-American after helping UK reach 1984 Final Four received seven-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to menacing his wife. He had been arrested in early January 1996 and charged with assault for allegedly choking his spouse.

John Wallace, Syracuse (Jim Boeheim) - A little over a year after becoming an All-American in 1995-96, his girlfriend withdrew a harassment charge alleging he punched her in the face and choked her during a quarrel over their son. Arrested in Brooklyn for driving with a suspended license in late February 2016. Leading scorer and rebounder for 1996 tourney runner-up also charged in summer of 1996 for failing to follow officers' instructions after issuance of a ticket.

Rasheed Wallace, North Carolina (Dean Smith) - Second-leading scorer and rebounder for 1995 Final Four team apologized in court and agreed to perform 50 hours of community service plus seek counseling following accusation of choking the mother of his child while visiting her and the infant over Easter weekend in 1996. Arrested with Portland "Jail Blazers" teammate in late November 2002 in a speeding car in which officers smelled pot.

Chris Webber, Michigan (Steve Fisher) - Leading rebounder for back-to-back NCAA Tournament runner-up teams in 1992 and 1993 was charged with marijuana possession and assaulting a police officer in 1998. He was pulled over and resisted the officer. The vehicle was impounded and traces of marijuana were found inside. Also that year, he was arrested by customs officials for possession of marijuana as he returned from a promotional trip to Puerto Rico. Indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit in September, 2002, on four felony counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to federal investigators (regarding money laundering tied to a shady UM booster, a bookmaker who was convicted of tax evasion and robbery before dying of a heart attack before he testified against Webber, who subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of criminal intent for lying about his role in the scandal). Suspended in mid-February, 2004, for five games by the NBA for violating the league's anti-drug program. Sued over the closing of his Sacramento restaurant after signing a 20-year lease in 2005.

Bob "Zeke" Zawoluk, St. John's (Frank McGuire) - All-American in 1950-51 and 1951-52 after scoring school-record 65 points against St. Peter's in 1949-50 had turbulent life including vast emotional instability, an arson rap, crack addiction, grand larceny conviction and prison. After getting fired by one of a series of auto dealers for which he worked, leading scorer and rebounder for 1952 NCAA Tournament runner-up got even in an alcohol-fueled rage in Queens and Nassau County in 1986, dousing two luxury cars with gasoline, torching them, then ramming into 17 other cars, before being apprehended after a high-speed chase. Following another transgression, he was paroled on Christmas Eve, 1993, after serving nearly two years at Clinton Correctional Facility on robbery and grand larceny charges. A subsequent positive drug test violated his parole and sent him to Rikers Island in the mid-1990s.

DISHONORABLE MENTION

Dispensing with politically-correct niceties, many extra-baggage players simply have difficulty comprehending the difference between right and wrong. Heaven only knows how many other Final Four performers have run afoul of the law except for schools protecting them like their Praetorian Guard. Wichita State reached a $495,000 settlement with a former university vice president who sued WSU for retaliation. The ex-VP said he was demoted and his employment subsequently terminated after trying to investigate two student athletes, including one member of the 2013 Final Four squad. By no means comprehensive (example: Joe Hillman of 1987 titlist Indiana reportedly was one of seven agents in an underground bookmaking operation), following is an alphabetical list of non-All-Americans who didn't generate a prison bus break but might be of sufficient number for some concerned citizen to organize a "Mothers Against Final Four" group:

Player School Summary of Off-the-Court Shenanigans
Tony Allen Oklahoma State Leader in scoring and steals plus runner-up in rebounding and assists for 2004 Final Four club was charged in late November 2021 with domestic assault, domestic vandalism and interference with emergency calls in connection with an incident at his wife's apartment. Previously, he was found not guilty after indicted on three counts of aggravated battery escalating into an August 2005 shooting in his native Chicago. Juco recruit was arrested in late summer 2002 for obstruction and resisting a police officer after 25 cops were summoned at 2:30 a.m. to break up riot of about 300 people linked to rival groups from OSU and Langston University at a Whataburger restaurant.
Darrell Allums UCLA Center for the Bruins' NCAA Tournament runner-up in 1980 was sentenced to nine years in state prison for armed robbery. According to a probation report, Allums became dependent on cocaine and turned to robbing Target stores and Domino's Pizza deliverymen to get cash.
Benny Anders Houston Flamboyant dunker with Phi Slama Jama had his college career end in the summer of 1985 when he was sentenced to three years' probation for possession of a gun on campus after a pick-up game dispute. Boasting a personalized license plate called "Outlaw" on his new Camaro, he arrived at the 1984 Final Four donning a pink tux.
Greg Anthony UNLV Assists and steals leader for 1990 national champion and 1991 Final Four squad was arrested in a prostitution-solicitation sting in early 2015. Charges dropped if he did 32 hours of community service and stayed out of trouble for four months.
Gilbert Arenas Arizona Leading scorer for 2001 tourney runner-up was suspended for most of 2009-10 NBA season stemming from a felony gun possession in locker room and subsequent actions appearing to make light of the episode. Arrested in May 2006 in Miami after allegedly ignoring a police officer's command to return to his car (charges later dropped). Pleaded no contest to misdemeanor weapon charges resulting from an incident in San Mateo County (Calif.) in 2003 after becoming an All-Pacific-10 Conference selection as a sophomore. Arrested in California in late June 2013 for possession of illegal fireworks in the back of his pickup truck. In the spring of 2014, Arenas took a cinder block and smashed a Mercedes his longtime flame had been driving, claiming the incident was revenge for her allegedly breaking numerous windows in his house and ruining his Netflix account by throwing his computer into the pool. In late January 2016, Arenas bragged on social media how he committed credit-card fraud at strip clubs.
Vincent Askew Memphis State Freshman starter for the Tigers' 1985 Final Four team was arrested in mid-August 2008, accused of unlawfully having sex with a minor (16-year-old girl) in a Miami hotel room. He pleaded guilty to a charge of child abuse with no great bodily harm and was placed on probation for three years. Briefly coached Elliston Baptist Academy in Memphis before leaving the job under a cloud. Attended summer school at Kansas under coach Larry Brown before returning to Memphis. KU was placed on probation stemming from wrongdoing in connection with improper inducements to Askew.
Lonny Baxter Maryland Leading rebounder for the Terrapins' 2002 NCAA champion was sentenced to two months in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges, including carrying a handgun without a license a few blocks from the White House, in mid-August, 2006. Uniformed Secret Service agents responded after shots were fired from a white SUV. Two summers earlier, Baxter was arrested at his Washington condominium after a shotgun went off and bullet shattered a neighbor's window across the street. In July, 2007, he pleaded guilty to illegally shipping guns through Federal Express and was sentenced to 60 days in prison.
Corey Beck Arkansas Arrested at 2:00 a.m. midway through 1992-93 season for allegedly driving while intoxicated before pacing the NCAA champion Hogs in assists and steals the next campaign. In early November 2004, he was jailed for the third time in two years for failure to pay child support and violating his probation. According to court documents, Beck flunked multiple drug tests for cocaine, admitted to marijuana use and lied to his probation officer about where he lived. In the fall of 2007, he was shot in the hand and face defending himself during an attempted auto theft in Memphis. Arrested in summer of 2008 for contempt of court stemming from failure to pay child support for four daughters. In summer of 2010, he was booked into jail at almost 3:00 a.m. following an arrest for driving while intoxicated. Arrested in late January 2013 for failure to pay fines and costs in connection with his conviction for driving while intoxicated and other traffic offenses in 2011.
Chane Behanan Louisville Member of 2013 All-NCAA Tournament team dismissed from U of L squad midway through the next season for a violation of university policy. Suspended that preseason for a similar disciplinary infraction. In an interview with Bleacher Report's Jason King, Behanan said he "began smoking weed regularly (at Louisville), often after a long practice or a tough, physical game - and almost always when he was alone." After the Cardinals captured the NCAA title, Behanan told King "there were parties every night. People were inviting us places all the time and trying to give us stuff. It was a good feeling. I got caught up in it. Everywhere you went, there was something to get into. It was so easy." Cited for marijuana possession in early April 2014 in Louisville. "Guys like Chane, they think they're living a pro life," said John Lucas, ....... "But it's really a $200 life. You have friends who send you a couple of dollars from time to time, you get free shoes from AAU teams. You have just enough money to make you think you have money, but you really don't have any." In early August 2018, he was arrested and accused of being a backseat passenger in a car with "marijuana residue" and was sitting next to a stolen AK-47-style rifle (marijuana charge dropped after completing education program; possession of stolen firearm charge also dropped after another person in auto took responsibility for weapon). Two months later, Behanan was indicted by a grand jury after allegedly failing to pay child support.
Winston Bennett Kentucky In UK's regular rotation for 1984 Final Four, he was terminated as a Boston Celtics assistant coach after violating the team's contractual agreement for practicing at Brandeis by having a sexual relationship with a female student enrolled there. All-SEC second-team selection as a junior in 1985-86 was fired as coach at Kentucky State in 2003 after striking a player in the face. Despite being the ultimate backup pro player, Bennett said he "slept with 90 women a month." After only 10 weeks on the job, he was fired in fall of 2017 from his state government position after sending inappropriate emails (including subordinates).
Corie Blount Cincinnati Center for 1992 Final Four team served a one-year prison sentence for possession of marijuana. He was charged with felony drug possession in early December 2008 after Butler County (Ohio) authorities saw him pick up a package from California they knew contained marijuana and then found more weed at his home. Deputies confiscated a total of 29 pounds of marijuana, several vehicles, three guns and $34,400 in cash. Blount, who avoided trafficking charges as part of his plea agreement, also was ordered to pay $10,000 in fines, serve 250 hours of community service and lose his driver's license for three years.
Delray Brooks Providence Head coach in mid-May 2000 when he pleaded no contest to stealing $25,000 from Texas-Pan American and was sentenced to 10 years probation. He had been dismissed the previous August for depositing a check from a tournament hosted by Southwest Missouri State into his personal account, then frittering away the money. After transferring from IU, Brooks was the second-leading scorer for PC's 1987 Final Four squad. In 2006, he was arrested for a probation violation stemming from his first run-in with the law (failure to pay restitution in the case).
Derek Brower Syracuse Member of the Orangemen's 1987 NCAA Tournament runner-up pleaded guilty in a Cincinnati courtroom to interstate travel for drug dealing. Served six months of a five-year sentence in federal prison.
Lewis Brown UNLV Beset by an arrest history including charges for drugs, the third-leading rebounder and sixth-leading scorer for the Rebels' 1977 national third-place team 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 he was using cocaine at UNLV. "Drugs were his downfall," said his sister.
Anthony Buford Cincinnati Second-leading scorer for the Bearcats' 1992 Final Four team and his girlfriend were sentenced in February 2012 to 41 months in federal prison for mortgage fraud conspiracy and ordered to pay nearly $2.8 million in restitution to lending institutions they defrauded.
Marcus Bullard Mississippi State Starting point guard for 1996 Final Four team was sentenced to three years in prison for violating his probation on drug charges. He was accused of pistol-whipping another student on MSU's campus in 1996, violating terms of his probation by possessing a weapon and failing to report to his probation officer. He had pleaded guilty in 1994 and was put on probation after being charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute the previous year. His older brother served time in the same penitentiary for manslaughter. He pleaded guilty in 1998 to crack cocaine possession and received three years of probation. While on probation, he was accused of hitting a rival fraternity member in the head with a gun. The incident led to revocation of his probation, and he served a short prison term. He went to prison again after pleading guilty to cocaine and ecstasy charges in 2004. Bullard was sent to prison in summer of 2013 on a parole violation following a drive-by shooting in late 2012. In 2016, he was in trouble with the law multiple times.
Norm Cook Kansas After several run-ins with the law, he was diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia in 1996 and was incarcerated or confined to his home in Lincoln, Ill., for 30 years until slipping into a diabetic coma and dying in late 2008 at the age of 53. He was KU's second-leading rebounder as a freshman for 1974 national fourth-place team.
Deshawn Corprew Texas Tech Juco recruit in regular rotation left program following suspension from 2019 NCAA tourney finalist after allegations of Title IX allegations.
Ed Cota North Carolina Assists leader and teammate Terrence Newby, the only seniors on UNC's 1999-00 Final Four squad, were arrested on misdemeanor charges stemming from an early-morning, Halloween-related altercation. Despite claiming they were trying to break up a fight, the duo subsequently agreed to a last-minute deal (community service and sharing cost of medical bills generated by melee).
Brian Domalik Georgia Tech Backup guard for 1990 Final Four squad was convicted in early 2019 in bribery case. Sentenced to one year and eight months in prison, a $25,000 fine and $45,408 in restitution.
Teddy Dupay Florida Guard for the Gators' 2000 NCAA Tournament runner-up was bound over for trial on charges of rape, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping of a woman in mid-June 2008 at a Utah ski resort. The woman, who had been in a relationship with him for two years, said the telemarketer hit and kicked her 150 times before the rape. More than a year later, he accepted reduced charges, went to jail for 30 days and was placed on a lengthy probation. Previously, evidence surfaced that Dupay, dismissed from UF's team before his senior season, asked another student to place bets for him on the Gators' program. The first UF recruit by Billy Donovan after setting the state's high school career scoring mark (3,744 points) was never charged criminally with gambling violations but state attorney Bill Cervone said there is "no doubt in my mind" Dupay bet on college sports. Dupay subsequently launched a website endorsing the legalization of marijuana.
Devin Ebanks West Virginia Suspended at start of 2009-10 Final Four season, New York City product was also suspended for two games at beginning of 2013-14 NBA campaign (pleaded no contest to DUI charge) and for five contests in spring of 2014 for violation of NBA D-League drug policy.
Billy Edelin Syracuse Suspended for the 2001-02 season following a female student's claim of sexual harassment (no charges filed but he was booted him school prior to reinstatement). Career was riddled with off-court issues leading to multiple suspensions as he spent portions of four seasons with the Orange but never played an entire campaign (including 2003 NCAA titlist). Starter suddenly disappeared from squad midway through 2003-04.
Khalid El-Amin Connecticut Minnesota product, an All-NCAA Tournament selection for 1999 national champion, was detained in spring of 2019 for failure to pay nearly $126,000 in delinquent child support (judge ordered him to pay $780 per month).
Rakym Felder South Carolina Brooklyn native arrested in mid-October 2016 at 1:30 a.m. outside a bar after knocking one victim unconscious and fighting police upon confronted by a taser. Regular for USC's 2017 Final Four team was arrested around 2:45 a.m. in mid-July 2017 and charged with third-degree assault and battery stemming from a brawl reportedly precipitated by him spitting on a woman (charges subsequently dismissed). Dropped from Gamecocks' squad in April 2018 after failing to meet guidelines he faced upon him allowed to re-enroll in spring semester.
Bryn Forbes Michigan State Fourth-leading scorer for the Spartans' 2015 Final Four team following transfer from Cleveland State was arrested at 5 a.m. on family violence charge in mid-February 2023 after verbal argument with female companion turned physical.
Manuel Forrest Louisville Prize prospect hampered by a knee ailment (averaged 8.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg from 1981-82 through 1984-85 during which Cardinals made back-to-back Final Four appearances) was arrested in September 2013 after police, stopping vehicle for weaving from lane to lane, discovered marijuana and crack cocaine.
Reggie Garrett Arkansas Regular rotation member of the Razorbacks' 1995 national runner-up was arrested 11 times in Rankin County (Miss.) from 1996 to fall of 2003, including DUI and assault.
Glen Gondrezick UNLV The third-leading scorer for the Rebels' 1977 Final Four team attempted suicide in Boulder, Colo., in the summer of 1986 following an incident where he was charged with third-degree assault on his wife. Immersed in marital problems, he shot himself with a .22-caliber rifle. The bullet punctured his lung and passed through his body. He went on to become a UNLV radio/TV color commentator for 17 years before passing away in late April 2009 due to complications from a heart transplant he received the previous September.
Michael Graham Georgetown Freshman enforcer and member of 1984 All-NCAA Tournament Team for the Hoyas' national champion was dropped from roster of CBA's Tulsa Fast Breakers in 1989 after testing positive for cocaine.
Steve Gray Duke Member of the Blue Devils' 1978 NCAA Tournament runner-up pleaded guilty in fall of 2014 to insider trading and was sentenced to 46 months in prison along with a $7,500 fine and forfeiture of his illegitimate profits ($326,159). Gray, as CEO of a Houston firm, had access to press releases and confidential information used to prepare releases for his clients prior to their issuance to the investing public.
Keith Harris Kansas Member of the Jayhawks' 1988 NCAA playoff champion was charged in February 1989 with assault after choking and biting a female student in her apartment. In the spring of 1993, Harris was jailed on a warrant containing felony counts of selling marijuana and cocaine to an undercover informant and not affixing a state drug-tax stamp to illegal narcotics.
Dametri Hill Florida The Gators' second-leading rebounder for 1994 Final Four squad was arrested in fall of 2011 for failing to pay child support. He was also charged with violating probation for two previous charges of marijuana possession. Hill was suspended from the Gators' 1994-95 season opener for disciplinary reasons.
Baskerville Holmes Memphis State A starting forward who averaged 9.6 ppg and 5.9 rpg for the Tigers' 1985 Final Four team, he was arrested twice for domestic violence. Later, Holmes, an out-of-work truck driver, and his girlfriend were found shot to death in an apparent murder-suicide in Memphis on March 18, 1997, when he was 32.
Ron Huery Arkansas Received a five-year prison sentence in mid-2008 for violating his probation and attempting to break into his ex-girlfriend's home. Arrested in mid-July 2005 on charges of rape, first-degree false imprisonment and third-degree domestic battery, plus a misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental operations stemming from an incident involving an ex-girlfriend. In 1994, All-SWC first-team selection in 1987-88 was put on probation for eight years after a cocaine conviction in his hometown of Memphis, where he was also charged with drunken driving and driving on a revoked license. In 2002, Huery, who scored 1,550 points for the Razorbacks, sold his ring from the 1990 Final Four to help pay off fines and interest on 1991 traffic charges.
Anderson Hunt UNLV The second-leading scorer for the Rebels' 1990 NCAA champion pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in connection with marijuana found in his possession during a traffic stop in October, 1993. In September, 2002, Final Four Most Outstanding Player was sentenced to probation and fined more than $1,300 for attempted embezzlement after acknowledging he kept a Las Vegas rental car beyond its due date. In May 1991, the local newspaper published photos of him with teammates David Butler and Moses Scurry in a hot tub drinking beer with known sports fixer Richard Perry. Hunt never married and is the father of five.
Sam Jacobson Minnesota Second-leading scorer for 1997 Final Four squad pleaded guilty to residential mortgage fraud over $35,000 stemming from the "short sale" (worth less than what was owed forcing lender to eat loss) to his then-girlfriend and subsequent wife of his house in August 2011.
Courtney James Minnesota After helping the Gophers reach the Final Four earlier in the year, he was sentenced in mid-November 1997 to two years of probation and suspended for the entire 1997-98 campaign for a misdemeanor domestic-assault conviction for intending to cause fear by hitting his former girlfriend in the face with an address book.
Dontae' Jones Mississippi State The most serious charges were dismissed but he faced up to 14 years in prison if convicted on all charges stemming from a shooting where seven people were wounded in late April, 1999, outside a Nashville, Tenn., nightclub after an argument between a Memphis rap group and an entertainment promoter. Jones, the NJCAA player of the year in 1994-95 before helping lead the Bulldogs to the 1996 Final Four, was accused of simple assault with bodily injury, reckless endangerment and felony vandalism. Midway through the 1996-97 NBA season, he was suspended two games by the New York Knicks for repeated team violations even while on the injured list.
Terrence Jones Kentucky Only UK player other than All-American Anthony Davis to average more than 12 ppg and 7 rpg for 2012 NCAA titlist was arrested in late July 2013 for stomping on a homeless man's leg in Portland. Charges were dropped in civil compromise after agreement to pay $10,000 to a charity organization benefitting the homeless.
Chad Kinch UNC Charlotte Third-leading scorer for 1977 Final Four team as a freshman died at his parents' home in Cartaret, N.J., from complications of drug habit eventually leading to him contracting AIDS. He passed away on April 3, 1994, the day between the Final Four semifinals and final in Charlotte. The host school happened to be UNCC.
Jimmy King Michigan "Fab Five" member was arrested in Pontiac, Mich., in August 2011 on accusations he failed to pay $17,000 in child support and ignored repeated warnings to get back on schedule. Authorities had been working for three years to get King to get up to date with the payments.
Tom Kivisto Kansas Oilman in Tulsa, founder of the fifth-largest privately held company in the U.S. in 2007, promised to donate $12 million to renovate his alma mater's football stadium. He was fired as president and CEO in 2008 from SemGroup LP, the energy company based primarily on the delivery of crude oil he founded eight years previously. The firm filed for bankruptcy earlier that year because of $2.4 billion in debt stemming from bad gambles in the oil futures market. Former FBI director Louis J. Freeh was appointed by a bankruptcy court to sort out petition documents claiming Kivisto owed the company $290 million in trading losses through his personal trading company. Kivisto, a starting playmaker for the Jayhawks' 1974 national fourth-place team, agreed to pay $225,000 in fines and give up $1.2 million in stock to settle a SEC civil lawsuit alleging he misled investors while the energy company was collapsing financially. Kivisto, whose business-career roots began at Koch Industries before striking out on his own, does not admit wrongdoing.
Todd Leary Indiana Handed a two-year home detention sentence after pleading guilty in mid-July 2010 to charges stemming from an ex-business partner's multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Prosecutors say Leary, who was an analyst for IU's radio broadcasts when he was arrested, worked for a title insurance broker who pleaded guilty in a $2.7 million fraud case. Leary, who averaged 3.8 ppg for the Hoosiers' 1992 Final Four squad, also faced charges connected to the theft of high-end appliances from foreclosed homes and served one year in prison. Leary said he and his fellow IU seniors each raked in $56,000 cash for a 19-game, 21-day barnstorming tour filling gyms across the state.
Sidney Lowe Sr. North Carolina State Playmaker for 1983 NCAA championship team pleaded guilty after being arrested in mid-February 2013 and charged with failing to file his state income tax returns the last three years he coached his alma mater (2009 through 2011). Lowe, earning about $900,000 annually, was one of the state's highest-paid employees. In the summer of 2008, his son was sentenced to 15 months at a prison farm after pleading guilty to possession of marijuana and the drug Ecstasy, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, and six counts each of robbery with a dangerous weapon and second-degree kidnapping stemming from a home invasion.
Korie Lucious Michigan State Suspended a game for missing class during 2009-10 NCAA championship season before being charged with drunk driving in late summer 2010. Dismissed for violation of MSU team policy (smoking weed) midway through 2010-11 campaign before transferring to Iowa State.
Elmer Martin Jr. Arkansas Memphis product was backup forward for the Razorbacks' 1994 NCAA titlist and starter at the end of the next season before receiving a 15-year prison term in late July 2008 after pleading guilty to drug charges. A county deputy prosecutor said that delivery of a controlled substance charges involved cocaine, and that intent to deliver charges involved cocaine and Ecstasy. During two weeks earlier in the year, detectives made two controlled cocaine purchases from Martin.
Walter McCarty Kentucky Second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for 1996 champion was fired as Evansville's coach midway through 2019-20 season amidst a Title IX investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. McCarty, who previously participated in a training program about unacceptable behavior, reportedly attempted to improperly influence witnesses.
Mitch McGary Michigan Leading rebounder for NCAA Tournament runner-up as freshman in 2012-13 left UM before his junior year after testing positive for marijuana, avoiding a one-year ban by the NCAA. Failed a drug test before start of 2016-17 NBA season. He was slated to sit out first five games of year before suspension turned into 15 contests upon failing to live up to procedural guidelines. Missed the end of 2015-16 D-League campaign for undisclosed "personal reasons."
Gary McLain Villanova Assists leader for 1985 NCAA titlist confessed in a 1987 first-person SI article that he used cocaine throughout his college career including before national semifinal victory against Memphis State. "I lost my way," he said of mistakes leaving him briefly homeless and needing stint in a PA treatment center dealing with addiction. McLain wrote that he snorted coke with teammates although none ever acknowledged using drugs.
Makhtar N'Diaye North Carolina Tar Heels captain was found guilty of simple assault and communicating a threat during an argument. He was sentenced to 12 months unsupervised probation, a $200 fine and mandatory anger management classes. Several months earlier, he attracted national attention at 1998 Final Four, where he fouled out after only 14 minutes against Utah and eventually retracted accusation that a Utes player directed a racial slur at him.
Major Parker Florida Staff assistant under Billy Donovan after averaging 4.6 ppg and 2.6 rpg from 1997-98 through 2000-01 (including 2000 Final Four club) was arrested for selling half a kilogram of cocaine to an undercover officer in December 2004. Pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. Completed a six-month sentence under house arrest and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years of probation and more than 200 hours of community service.
Frank Peters Oregon State Third-leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer for fourth-place team in 1963 NCAA playoffs served 2 1/2 years in prison of a 10-year sentence following a 1989 conviction for statutory rape and drug offenses (busted for possession of 800 marijuana plants worth a reported $1 million). Affiliated for more than 20 years with a bar/dancehall in Southeast Portland, where he served everything from reindeer to rodent while presiding over events such as strip karaoke and lesbian dance party. He played a supporting role in a Netflix film The Battered Bastards of Baseball, which is purportedly about a minor-league baseball franchise that thrived in the 1970s during a time when it was the nation's only professional club not owned by a MLB team. While managing the Mavericks, Peters was also the maestro of several of Portland's most notorious nightspots, including Satan's Disco.
Brandon Powell Florida Freshman member of school's second straight NCAA titlist was arrested in mid-June 2007 with UF's kick return specialist as part of a reverse sting drug operation. Disciplined internally during season after videotape showed Memphis product sucker punched a Vanderbilt fan when Commodore fans stormed the court following an upset of the top-ranked Gators. Transferred to Marshall, where he was dismissed from Thundering Herd squad early in 2008-09 campaign.
Zach Price Louisville Backup frontcourter who appeared in tourney opener for 2013 NCAA titlist was dismissed from Missouri's team following an arrest in early April 2014 in the wee hours of the morning on suspicion of assaulting his Adonis-looking Tigers roommate (Earnest Ross) and a female friend. Unbelievably, Price was arrested and booked again later the same day for allegedly ramming his vehicle into a car containing the same two people. Ross filed a restraining order petition against Price the day before the twin incidents, alleging he stalked them in his vehicle and tried to drive their auto off the road. Price received two years of probation along with 80 hours of community service upon pleading guilty to one count of misdemeanor careless driving and two counts of misdemeanor disturbing the peace. Was assistant coach Tim Fuller, who joined Mizzou's staff from Louisville, totally in the dark about Price's volatility before Price was charged with first-degree tampering?
Zach Randolph Michigan State Starting center for 2001 Final Four team was implicated in the spring of 2010 after Indianapolis police found a cooler filled with marijuana in a Cadillac Escalade registered to him plus gun ammunition stowed inside a hidden compartment. Cops raided storage space rented by Randolph, where weed and "(four) cars with secret compartments" were found. Randolph's previous problems when he was a member of the Portland "Jail" Blazers included underage drinking, sucker-punching a teammate in practice, reportedly being spotted at a strip club while on bereavement leave and getting sued by an exotic dancer for sexual assault although police never filed criminal charges. Randolph, who chose "I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)" as his pregame warm-up song in Portland, was questioned but not charged in an August 2004 nightclub dance-floor shooting in Indiana leaving three people wounded. His brother, Roger, was sentenced to three years in prison in a plea deal. Zach was convicted of battery in 1997, and spent time in a juvenile detention center in 1999 for receiving stolen guns. He also had a DUI in Los Angeles in 2009 and police claimed Randolph invited a drug dealer to his party gone awry at his Oregon home in August 2011. Following a chartered cruise, the expectation was that the invitee would sell marijuana to the guests but his asking price apparently was too high and he was beat with pool cues by multiple individuals. In the fall of 2017, he had a felony marijuana-distribution charge in Sacramento reduced to a misdemeanor (resisting arrest). In summer of 2018, his brother was shot and killed outside a bar in their hometown around 5 a.m.
Reggie Redding Villanova Runner-up in assists for 2009 Final Four team was arrested in late summer that year for possession of marijuana. He was stripped of team captaincy and suspended 10 games at start of senior season.
Andre Riddick Kentucky In early August 2018, the Wildcats' leader in blocked shots for 1993 Final Four team faced charges of alcohol intoxication in a public place, fourth-degree assault, disorderly conduct in the second degree and resisting arrest. After leaving a bar, Riddick allegedly picked up his girlfriend and pushed or tossed her down stairs before punching her in the chest.
Cody Riley UCLA Principal big man for the Bruins' First Four to Final Four run in 2021 was arrested with two freshman teammates for shoplifting in early November 2017 during a team trip to China after they pilfered designer and throwaway sunglasses in addition to cheap beaded bracelets from three stores. "I don't wave the Bible around, but somebody knows the truth about all of us," Coach Mick Cronin said. " I don't think any of us walk the earth without making a mistake; theirs just happened to be really bad timing and really public."
Chianti Roberts Oklahoma State Sixth man for 1995 Final Four squad was arrested in mid-June 2003 about 2:45 a.m. on suspicion of driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.
Delco Rowley Michigan State Member of 2005 Final Four squad was arrested in late October 2007 as a YMCA behavior specialist on charges of sending nude pictures of himself to a 15-year-old girl.
Randy Rutherford Oklahoma State Still in spring of 1995 after reaching Final Four as the Cowboys' second-leading scorer and rebounder, he was accused of threatening to blow up a city block after becoming upset his electricity had been disconnected.
Casey Sanders Duke Starting center for 2001 national champion was arrested and charged with assaulting his girlfriend in spring of 2002, grabbing her arm and pushing her into a wall during a breakfast dispute. Arrested in Tampa in early 2012 and charged with DUI.
Melvin Scott North Carolina Point guard who averaged 6.8 ppg from 2001-02 through 2004-05 had rape charges dropped after an arrest in fall of 2014 involving a female acquaintance who according to police was "mentally incapacitated and physically helpless." Previously, Scott was arrested in spring of 2002 and charged with assaulting a female student at 1:30 a.m. at a local night club. Member of 2005 NCAA champion was apprehended again in 2010 for assault on a law enforcement officer after being approached for being drunk and disorderly. Before he was a teen, Scott reportedly was arrested for burglary and carrying drugs and expelled from multiple Baltimore-area schools.
Moses Scurry UNLV A key backup player on the Runnin' Rebels' 1990 NCAA champion was sentenced to two years in prison in December 1994 for his role in a carjacking that left the driver shot in the thigh in the parking lot of a Las Vegas lounge. In May 1991, the local newspaper published photos of him with teammates David Butler and Anderson Hunt drinking beer in a hot tub with known sports fixer Richard Perry.
Lazarus Sims Syracuse Big East Conference leader in assists for NCAA tourney runner-up in 1996 resigned as Syracuse parks commissioner in spring of 2018 before pleading guilty to stealing $5,400 from city taxpayers (pocketed cash payments from park rentals and city fees).
Ervin Small Illinois Member of 1989 Final Four team faced a 51-month prison sentence after pleading guilty in June, 1999, to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. His term was reduced after high school and college teammate of Nick Anderson and Deon Thomas assisted authorities in prosecuting other drug traffickers. Small, who worked as a correctional officer, reportedly had prior convictions for battery and theft.
"Sudden" Sam Smith UNLV J.C. recruit, the Rebels' second-leading scorer for 1977 Final Four team, was arrested and charged with two counts of selling crack cocaine in mid-February 1997.
Elmore Spencer UNLV Backup center on 1991 Final Four team was hospitalized for 36 days in 1987 for symptoms of manic depression. Married to a woman 10 years his senior while in college, he was picked up in late summer 1987 for pre-dawn reckless driving. During 1988-89 at Georgia before transferring, he got into a fight with a student in dormitory and drew probation for an incident in which he bullied the same student out of his groceries.
Dave Taynor Kansas Hoopszone.net claims captain of 1974 Final Four team pleaded guilty to money laundering in February 1996 and was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined following indictment in summer of 1994 for his part in the operation of a fraudulent insurance program.
Sean Tunstall Kansas Reserve guard for the Jayhawks' 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. He had received a prison sentence in 1993 after pleading guilty to one count of selling cocaine. "He was one of the few kids I never thought I completely reached," coach Roy Williams said.
Wayne Turner Kentucky Starting playmaker for 1998 NCAA titlist was arrested in summer of 2003 in hometown Boston after police found a Glock 9mm handgun loaded with 12 rounds in his rental car (pleaded innocent to charges of illegal possession of firearm and weapon with high-capacity magazine). His brother, Tiny, was arrested for armed robbery and spent time in and out of prison for a decade. Their parents were absent from their lives, leaving the two boys to mostly fend for themselves in a toxic environment.
Robbie Valentine Louisville Backup senior forward for 1986 titlist and 1983 Final Four participant as freshman was charged in February 2023 with strangulation of his girlfriend at their home (reportedly because she sought to move out).
Lagerald Vick Kansas Although never charged with criminal conduct, a KU probe resulted in recommendation of two years probation after determining Memphis product likely committed domestic violence in late 2015. At the time, coach Bill Self selflessly said Vick was sidelined two games due to "illness." There was no description for ailment the season after reaching 2018 Final Four when Vick took a leave of absence midway through the 2018-19 campaign to return to his hometown "to help out with family issues."
Jay Vincent Michigan State Third-leading scorer and rebounder for 1979 NCAA champion was indicted in mid-August 2010 for an internet employment scam bilking more than 10,000 job-seekers out of nearly $2 million. He faced charges of mail fraud and an income tax violation. According to the U.S. Attorney's office in Detroit, he and an associate concocted a scheme to defraud people seeking work through their Foreclosure Bank Inspection Company. The company claimed to test, certify and employ people to inspect bank foreclosed homes, and advertised that the company had contracts and received large checks from major banks to do the work. In reality, the copies of contracts and checks used in the ads were altered or counterfeit. The company also did not hire contractors to perform inspections. What it did do was charge $149 to provide liability insurance for each job applicant and $89 for background checks. False insurance policies were prepared in the company's offices and no background checks were made. Tests, completed and returned by applicants, were stored in boxes without reviews. Vincent was ordered to pay the government $110,000. In the income tax charge, Vincent was accused of reporting a business income of $62,438 on his 2008 tax return. Authorities said the actual amount he earned was $330,269. Sent to jail in late July 2011 five weeks before he was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison in the federal case after he was accused of writing, or causing others to write, bad checks in a different scheme.
Mark Wade UNLV All-PCAA first-team selection, who dished out an NCAA playoff record 18 assists in 1987 national semifinals, pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $15,000 during 2006-07 in his former job as an assistant coach with UC Riverside. He was accused of depositing into his personal bank account the proceeds from two university checks and one electronic fund transfer. Some of the money was supposed to cover team expenses during road games over the Christmas break.
Antoine Walker Kentucky Leading rebounder and second-leading scorer for 1996 NCAA Tournament champion was arrested in mid-July 2009 at a Harrah's cabaret bar on Lake Tahoe's south shore on criminal charges stemming from $822,500 in gambling debts in Las Vegas. Walker pleaded guilty to one count of passing a bad check. If his massive gambling debt wasn't enough, he had to deal with the city of Chicago calling him a slumlord. Walker's hometown levied fines totaling nearly $1 million against his two real estate investment companies and residents of those properties were filing lawsuits for a number of problems existing in the buildings. In early January 2009, Walker was arrested for DUI in Miami Beach. His combined career salary of approximately $110 million was depleted when he resorted to playing in the D-League with the Idaho Stampede before retiring in early April 2012. Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in spring of 2010, a distant memory were his extravagant "wiggle" days with the Boston Celtics when his condominium complex was a virtual luxury car lot - two Bentleys, a Cadillac Escalade, a bright red Hummer, two Mercedes and a Range Rover.
Travis Walton Michigan State Big Ten Conference defensive player of the year in 2008-09 was allowed to continue duties as student-assistant coach after criminally charged for punching a female student at a bar in January 2010. The victim said she was knocked unconscious by the blow and that bouncers removed Walton from the bar. Walton pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and his assault and battery charges were dropped. He pleaded guilty to a civil infraction for littering. Accused of sexually assaulting a different female with two other MSU players in a separate incident three months later after the Spartans reached the 2010 Final Four. In the spring of 2018, school officials provided more information ab out how the university dealt with the sordid situation, telling ESPN's Outside the Lines that administrators would "handle it differently" if such an allegation were made today.
Ed Warner CCNY Second-leading scorer for team winning NIT and NCAA tourney titles in 1950 had his career shattered by a six-month sentence stemming from point-shaving scandal engulfing the sport. In the 1960s, Warner was imprisoned after pleading guilty to attempting to sell heroin. "I had a problem," he said. "I was trying to play Superfly."
Kenyan Weaks Florida Swingman averaging 10 ppg for the Gators' 2000 NCAA Tournament runner-up and eventual Chowan College/Florida Southern/Marshall assistant coach was charged in spring of 2017 with series of disturbing felonies as a North Carolina high school coach (felony breaking and entering to terrorize or injure, misdemeanor stalking and simple assault). In summer of 1998, he was placed on conduct probation following a dormitory altercation with a woman after previously being suspended for the first three regular-season games for violating unspecified team rules.
Rob Williams Houston Leading scorer for 1982 Final Four team died of congestive heart failure at the age of 52 in March 2014 after suffering a stroke 15 years earlier leaving him blind in his left eye and partially paralyzed on his left side. Williams denied rumors he was too high to play 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."
Othell Wilson Virginia All-ACC first-team selection as a sophomore in 1981-82 and leading scorer for 1984 Final Four squad was indicted by a grand jury in November 1999 on charges of kidnapping and raping his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend. He had just been appointed coach at St. Mary's College (Md.).
Rick Wilson Louisville In August, 1993, the All-Metro Conference first-team selection in 1977-78 was sentenced to 10 years in prison for violations of the terms of his probation. Wilson, who had joined the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department in 1986, was convicted in July 1990 of cocaine trafficking and possession, but was put on probation for five years after serving a month in a work-release center. In 1991, member of 1975 national third-place club was allowed to remain on probation and undergo addiction treatment despite five urine tests finding evidence of cocaine use.
Jeff Withey Kansas L.A. District Attorney's Office chose not to move forward with case after 2014 Playboy Playmate of the Year accused her ex-fiancee of domestic violence, stemming from a physical altercation between them in 2016. The blonde bombshell reportedly broke things off with Withey the previous fall after learning leader in rebounding and blocked shots for 2012 NCAA runner-up may have cheated with another woman while couple was engaged.
Orlando Woolridge Notre Dame Irish's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer in 1980-81 when he finished third in the nation in field-goal shooting (65%) was arrested for theft of aluminum lines (valued at $2,000 and sold for scrap) used to transfer water to natural gas drilling sites in DeSoto Parish (LA) only three months before his death at the age of 52 in late May 2012 because of a chronic heart condition. Member of 1978 Final Four squad as freshman in UND's regular rotation entered an NBA drug treatment program for cocaine use in the middle of the 1987-88 season while playing for the New Jersey Nets.

College Exam: Day #18 For One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge

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

We need something to occupy our minds during quarantine from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 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

Final Four Curse: Bevy of National Semifinalists Pass Away By Age of 60

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

College Exam: Day #17 For One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge

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

We need something to occupy our minds during quarantine from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 17 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. Which school had the only trio to each score at least 20 points in two Final Four games? Hint: All three players finished their college careers with more than 2,000 points and were on roster the next year when school lost its playoff opener. The school is only national runner-up to score more than 85 points in an NCAA final.

2. Name the only school to have three players score more than 20 points in a Final Four game. Hint: The school lost championship game that year by more than 20 points although score was tied at halftime.

3. Who is the only player to score 40 or more points in a Final Four game and not eventually play in the NBA? Hint: He was held under 10 points in his other Final Four game that year.

4. Who is the only coach to go more than 40 years from his first to his last appearance in the playoffs? Hint: He and his son, who succeeded him, both compiled a losing tourney record.

5. Who is the only player to compile an NBA playoff scoring average more than 15 points per game higher than his NCAA Tournament average? Hint: He scored just six points in his NCAA playoff debut against a school participating in the tourney for just second time.

6. Who is the only player to lead an NCAA tournament in scoring with more than 120 points and not eventually play in the NBA? Hint: He averaged 32.3 points per game in his three-year college career.

7. Who is the only player from 1957 through 1996 to lead a tournament in rebounding and not eventually play in the NBA? Hint: His school was making just its second tourney appearance the year he led in rebounding.

8. Who is the only non-guard to be the undisputed leading scorer of an NCAA Tournament and not participate in the Final Four? Hint: He never played in the NBA.

9. Who is the first coach to make more than a dozen NCAA playoff appearances before reaching the Final Four? Hint: He was coach of the first team to win national championship in its first Final Four appearance since Texas Western in 1966.

10. Who is the only player to take more than 40 field-goal attempts in a playoff game his team lost? Hint: The guard was the nation's leading scorer with more than 36 points per game for only school to reach national semifinals of a small-college tournament one year and participate in NCAA Tournament the next season.

Answers (Day 17)

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

Change of Address: Final Four Full of Impact Transfers Last Five Seasons

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2015 - Michigan State G Bryn Forbes (Cleveland State)

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

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

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

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

2010 - None

2009 - None

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

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

2006 - None

2005 - Illinois F-C Jack Ingram (Tulsa)

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

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

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

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

2000 - Michigan State F Mike Chappell (Duke)

1999 - Ohio State G Scoonie Penn (Boston College)

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

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

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

1995 - Oklahoma State F Scott Pierce (Illinois)

1994 - None

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

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

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

1990 - UNLV G Greg Anthony (Portland)

1989 - Illinois F Kenny Battle (Northern Illinois)

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

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

1986 - Kansas C Greg Dreiling (Wichita State)

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

1984 - Virginia G Rick Carlisle (Maine)

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

We Shall Return: Bluebloods Been Away From Final Four Total of 16 Tourneys

Try, try again! History repeats itself but can take longer than anyone wants or expects. Last season, 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). Bluebloods Duke (six), North Carolina (four), Kansas (three) and Villanova (three) returned to the Final Four after absence of collective 16 tourneys. The following 13 institutions went more than 35 years before returning to the Promised Land:

Final Four School Famine Years Coaches Between Final Fours NCAA Tournament Appearances During Lapse
Oregon 78 Howard Hobson (1939) to Dana Altman (2017) 13: 1945-60-61-95-00-02-03-07-08-13-14-15-16
Baylor 71 Bill Henderson (1950) to Scott Drew (2021) nine: 1988-08-10-12-14-15-16-17-19
Wisconsin 59 Bud Foster (1941) to Dick Bennett (2000) four: 1947-94-97-99
Stanford 56 Everett Dean (1942) to Mike Montgomery (1998) five: 1989-92-95-96-97
Texas 56 Jack Gray (1947) to Rick Barnes (2003) 17: 1960-63-72-74-79-89-90-91-92-94-95-96-97-99-00-01-02
Loyola of Chicago 54 George Ireland (1963-64) to Porter Moser (2016-17) four: 1964-66-68-85
Wichita State 48 Gary Thompson (1965) to Gregg Marshall (2013) seven: 1976-81-85-87-88-06-12
Oklahoma State 44 Hank Iba (1951) to Eddie Sutton (1995) nine: 1953-54-58-65-83-91-92-93-94
Oklahoma 41 Bruce Drake (1947) to Billy Tubbs (1988) six: 1979-83-84-85-86-87
Georgetown 39 Elmer Ripley (1943) to John Thompson Jr. (1982) five: 1975-76-79-80-81
Houston 37 Guy Lewis (1984) to Kelvin Sampson (2021) six: 1987-90-92-10-18-19
Illinois 37 Harry Combes (1952) to Lou Henson (1989) eight: 1963-81-83-84-85-86-87-88
DePaul 36 Ray Meyer (1943) to Ray Meyer (1979) seven: 1953-56-59-60-65-76-78

College Exam: Day #16 For One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answers (Day 16)

Day 15 Questions and Answers

Day 14 Questions and Answers

Day 13 Questions and Answers

Day 12 Questions and Answers

Day 11 Questions and Answers

Day 10 Questions and Answers

Day 9 Questions and Answers

Day 8 Questions and Answers

Day 7 Questions and Answers

Day 6 Questions and Answers

Day 5 Questions and Answers

Day 4 Questions and Answers

Day 3 Questions and Answers

Day 2 Questions and Answers

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They Had Game: "Oscar" Ali Dubbed One of 25 Greatest Actors of Century

At least LeBron James didn't win Will Smith slap-happy woke award for vilifying law enforcement. Recently-deceased Kobe Bryant, who didn't study film making in college because he went straight to the NBA from high school, won an Oscar four years ago for "best animated short" (Dear Basketball). Five years ago, former Saint Mary's guard Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar and also won an Academy Award for his best supporting actor role as a Miami drug dealer named Juan in Moonlight. Among his credits was role as Remy Danton in House of Cards. Ali, named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019, secured his second Academy Award for Supporting Actor stemming from his portrayal of Dr. Don Shirley in Green Book.

Ali, previously known as Hershal Gilmore, averaged 3.6 points and 1.1 rebounds per game from 1992-93 through 1995-96 under coach Ernie Kent including 7 ppg as a senior. Said one of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century according to New York Times: "When I graduated, I no longer thought of myself as an athlete. Honestly, I kind of resented basketball by the end of my time there. I'd see guys on the team get chewed up, spat out, and I was personally threatened with being shipped off to the University of Denver. All in the name of wins and productivity."

While Plagiarist Bidumb tries to remain cogent as "windy" presidential actor by sniffing hair trying to ascend Stair Farce One, no one including Chris Rock seems to boast the credentials satisfying everyone to host the overtly-political Oscars these days although Dr. Fraudci probably craves the visibility. Nonetheless, legendary Oscar Robertson would definitely be accurate in a rambling, self-absorbed speech to describe their game as inferior to his era. In deference to woke-inundated Oscar Awards, following is an alphabetical list of movie actors/directors nominees who "had game" as well-rehearsed college basketball players before becoming famous entertainers:

DAVID ADKINS, Denver
Comedian known as Sinbad had a show by that name on the Fox Network and was a lead actor in the movie Houseguest. He vaulted to TV prominence as a co-star on the hit series A Different World and later briefly hosted Vibe, a late-night talk show.

Adkins averaged 4.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg for Denver in his varsity career from 1974-75 through 1977-78 when the Pioneers were classified as a major-college independent. He shot at least 50% from the floor all four seasons.

LLOYD VERNET "BEAU" BRIDGES, UCLA
Actor with the hit movie Fabulous Baker Boys among his credits. He is the son of Lloyd Bridges and brother of Jeff Bridges.

The 5-9 guard averaged 0.6 ppg and 1.4 rpg for UCLA's 1960-61 freshman team compiling a 20-2 record. He was a frosh teammate of Fred Slaughter, the starting center for the Bruins' first NCAA championship team in 1964.

DONNIE BURKS, St. John's
Boyish-appearing Burks was known for his performances in Broadway musicals (Hair, The American Clock and The Tap Dance Kid). His roles in several movies earned favorable reviews - The Pawnbroker, Shaft and Without a Trace. He had an American soul album (The Swingin' Sound of Soul) released in Europe and was manager of a band called Entourage.

Playmaker averaged 7.6 ppg and 1.9 rpg from 1960-61 through 1962-63 under coach Joe Lapchick after playing in high school under Lou Carnesecca. Burks appeared in 1961 NCAA Tournament against Wake Forest squad featuring All-American Len Chappell and eventual network analyst Billy Packer.

JIM CAVIEZEL, Bellevue (Wash.) Community College
Former Gap model played Jesus in Mel Gibson-directed The Passion of the Christ (2004) and was in Bobby Jones Stroke of Genius the same year. Also played the part of Slovnik in GI Jane (1997) with Demi Moore, Private Wit in Thin Red Line (1998), Catch in Angel Eyes (2001) with Jennifer Lopez, and Ashley Judd's husband in High Crimes (2002) with Morgan Freeman. In the TV drama Person of Interest on CBS, he played the role of Reese, a former member of the elite Special Forces who is now drinking heavily and at the end of his rope in New York City.

Bellevue coach Ernie Woods called Caviezel the hardest worker he had in 30 years. Caviezel's younger brother, Tim, played for the University of Washington, averaging 3.6 ppg in 1990-91 as a freshman and 4.2 ppg in 1991-92 as a sophomore before transferring to Long Beach State. Tim, a 6-7 swingman, subsequently transferred again to Western Washington, where Jim's wife, Kerri, ranks among the career leaders in five statistical categories for the women's basketball squad.

"Basketball taught me to train for every possible situation but always stay in the moment," Caviezel said.

CHEVY CHASE, Haverford (Pa.)
After a one-year stint on Saturday Night Live, Chevy quit to move to Los Angeles. Following mixed success in a variety of films, he became one of the biggest box-office draws in the U.S. in the 1980s with hits such as Caddyshack and National Lampoon's Vacation. One of his popular movie roles was as "Fletch" when he played for the Los Angeles Lakers in a dream sequence.

Chase was a JV basketball and soccer player as a freshman in 1962-63 before transferring to Bard (N.Y.).

MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN, Kankakee (Ill.) Community College/Alcorn State
Former bodyguard appeared in four films with Bruce Willis: Armageddon (1998; cast as Bear), Breakfast of Champions (1999), The Whole Nine Yards (2000) and Sin City (2005; cast as Manute, a powerful mobster). Breakout role occurred when he earned an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination in The Green Mile. Voiced a dog Sam in Cats & Dogs (2001) and played Colonel Attar, a gorilla, in Planet of the Apes (2001). Starred alongside his friend, The Rock, in The Scorpion King (2002) and was the criminal mastermind behemoth Kingpin in Daredevil (2003).

The 6-5 Duncan was a teammate of eventual Chicago State coach Kevin Jones with Kankakee's 31-4 squad in 1980-81 before enrolling at Alcorn State under coach Davey Whitney. An excerpt in the Braves' 1983-84 media guide said: "He adds size, speed and excellent jumping ability to the roster. A very hard worker, he'll add tremendous depth to the bench." After dropping out of college because of family problems, he spent several years digging ditches for a gas company in his hometown of Chicago. "He was a tough, physical player," Whitney told CBSSports.com. "He was undersized and didn't weigh much back then, but he was very strong and powerful. He was just tough. He'd knock guys around."

TRAVON FREE, Long Beach State
After trying stand-up comedy, he commenced a comedy-writing career that saw him write for The Daily Show and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. For a while, he was the only black writer on staff at the Daily Show, eventually winning two Emmys. He worked on movie called "Two Distant Strangers," earning him an Oscar for "Best Live Action Short Film," at the 2021 Academy Awards. An untitled action feature he wrote (romantic spy thriller set in Africa) starring Idris Elba was purchased at auction by Apple TV+.

The 6-7 Free averaged 2.9 ppg and 2.3 rpg from 2003-04 through 2006-07 (medical redshirt in 2005-06). He made both of his field-goal attempts in four minutes of action in 2007 NCAA playoff setback against Tennessee. Free is one of the first bisexual players in NCAA history to come out of the closet.

DON GIBB, New Mexico/San Diego
Best known for his roles as the hulking, dimwitted outrageous fraternity brother "Ogre" in several installments of the Revenge of the Nerds film series, as Kumite fighter Ray Jackson in Bloodsport and as Leslie "Dr. Death" Krunchner on the HBO sitcom 1st & Ten. He left acting and went into the brewing business as co-owner of "Trader Todd's Adventure Beer. "

The 6-4 Gibb scored five points in two UNM basketball games in 1972-73 before transferring to USD and averaging 5 ppg plus 2.9 rpg with the Toreros in 1975-76 and 1976-77.

LOUIS GOSSETT JR., New York University
The son of a porter and maid, he turned to acting in high school after a leg injury temporarily impeded his hopes for a basketball career. Following his Broadway debut at 17, he attended NYU on an athletic scholarship while continuing to perform on TV and the stage. He won an Emmy in 1977 for his role in the TV miniseries Roots-Part I before winning an Oscar in 1982 as supporting actor in the box-office hit An Officer and a Gentleman.

Gossett played for NYU's freshman squad in the late 1950s.

JEROD HAYNES, Idaho
Actor and producer known for Project Blue Book (2019), The Village (2019) and Native Son (2019).

Chicago native was starter much of 2004-05 season when he finished runner-up for the Vandals in assists with 3 apg.

JASON JANEGO, Bucknell
Cofounder and co-president of RADiUS-TWC, the boutique arm of the Weinstein Company that was the first studio division dedicated to both multi-platform video on demand (VOD) and theatrical distribution. In February 2014, its film 20 Feet From Stardom won the Oscar for best documentary (feature). The company's first hit was 2012's Bachelorette.

Janego averaged 1.3 ppg from 1991-92 through 1993-94 under coach Charlie Woollum.

DENNY MILLER, UCLA
Miller became the first blond Tarzan in Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959), which lifted most of its footage from earlier Johnny Weissmuller movies. "Playing Tarzan is like being in a circus," says the 6-4 Miller on his web site. "Go ride that elephant, play with that chimp, swing on that vine. It's a terrific job for a guy who grew up to be a kid." Miller was a regular on Wagon Train in the early 1960s as Duke Shannon (his name was then Scott Miller) and played Juliet Prowse's husband in the TV series Meet Mona McClusky in 1965. For years, he was the "Gorton Fisherman," appearing in numerous commercials in his yellow rain gear.

Denny (7.4 ppg and 5.3 rpg in only eight games) and his brother Kent (7.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg) Miller were on the same Bruins squad in 1958-59 (16-9 record under coach John Wooden) as teammates of decathlete Rafer Johnson and eventual Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum. Denny Miller spent three years in the U.S. Army between averaging 4 ppg in 1954-55 and 3.1 ppg and 2.3 rpg in 1957-58.

NYAMBI NYAMBI, Bucknell
His most prominent acting role has been Samuel (Senegalese waiter) as original cast member of CBS sitcom "Mike and Molly." Played law firm investigator Jay DiPersia in the CBS All Access legal drama The Good Fight since 2017.

Played for Bucknell from 1997-98 through 2000-01. His most productive season was as a freshman when he collected 12 points and 7 assists in 17 games.

PAUL ROBESON, Rutgers
World renowned orator and baritone was a 6-3, 215-pound two-way end who finally was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. Valedictorian when he graduated in 1919, learned to speak 15 languages and forge a glorious international career as a singer and actor. Earned law degree from Columbia, financing way through school by playing pro football with the Akron Pros and Milwaukee Badgers (scored two touchdowns). Robeson, son of a runaway slave, was an outspoken antifascist and champion of racial equality and socialist causes who remained enough of a supporter of the Soviet Union to get him blacklisted on Broadway. Founder of the Progressive Party played roles in 11 films and established works such as The Emperor Jones and Show Boat and became the first black to play Othello with a white cast.

Robeson was a center for Rutgers' basketball team.

LEON ROBINSON, Loyola Marymount
Goes by the stage name "Leon." He was a lover-boy idol in Waiting to Exhale, and played a similar character in Tim Reid's acclaimed Once Upon a Time ... When We Were Colored. Robinson was the ruthless killer, Kinette, in Cliffhanger and was Derice, the sweet and charming captain of the Jamaican bobsled team, in the surprise comedy hit, Cool Runnings. Leon appeared as a football teammate of Tom Cruise in All the Right Moves, and was the leading man as New York high school hoop sensation Earl (The Goat) Manigault in Above the Rim. Leon starred opposite Robin Givens in the TV mini-series, The Women of Brewster Place and was cast as Jesus in Madonna's controversial 1989 music video Like a Prayer. Received critical acclaim for his portrayal of two legendary singers in made-for-TV movies: David Ruffin in the 1998 NBC miniseries The Temptations and Little Richard in the self-titled 2000 NBC production based on the life of the rock-and-roll pioneer.

Robinson lettered for the Lions in 1978-79 when he averaged 2.9 ppg and 1.4 rpg. The Bronx native also attended Orange Coast Community College (Calif.).

NED ROLSMA, Iona/Tennessee-Martin
In CBS' "How I met Your Mother," he played the recurring bit role of Marcus Eriksen, brother of Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), one of the lead characters.

Seven-footer averaged 2.6 ppg and 1.8 rpg from 1997-98 through 2001-02.

RaMELL ROSS, Georgetown
Oscar-nominated cinematographer and director for his first movie, a 2018 documentary called Hale County This Morning, This Evening.

The 6-5 Ross averaged 1.7 ppg for the Hoyas from 2000-01 through 2004-05. Participated in 2001 NCAA playoffs (vs. Hampton as teammate of eventual players Mike Sweetney and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje) and 2005 NIT.

LAMMAN RUCKER, Duquesne
Began his career on daytime soap operas As the World Turns and All My Children before roles in Tyler Perry films Why Did I Get Married? (2007), Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010) and Meet the Browns (2008), plus its TV adaptation. In 2016, Rucker began starring as Jacob Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf. He also had a recurring guest spot on the fourth and final season of the hit UPN sitcom, Half & Half.

The 6-3 Rucker grabbed four rebounds in eight games in 1993-94.

TOM SELLECK, Southern California
Television and movie star won an Emmy in 1984 for his work in Magnum, P.I. He had a two-year stint (1974-75) on The Young and the Restless. His big-screen career got a major boost with the box-office hit Three Men and a Baby in 1987.

Selleck was a 6-4, 200-pound forward for Southern California. After serving as captain of the basketball team at Los Angeles Valley Community College, he scored four points in seven games for the Trojans in 1965-66 and was scoreless in three games in 1966-67. Excerpt from USC's school guide: "Agile and quick performer who adds depth on front line. Business administration major is good jumper with fine mobility. Rapidly improving shooter has impressed coaches with his hustle in practice. Needs to work on defense."

RON SHELTON, Westmont (Calif.)
Writer-director is synonymous with sports movies such as The Best of Times (high school football/1986), Bull Durham (minor league baseball/1988), White Men Can't Jump (street basketball/1992), Cobb (major league baseball/1994), Blue Chips (college basketball/1994), Tin Cup (golf/1996) and Play It to the Bone (boxing/1999). One of his non-sports films, Blaze, became a personal milestone for him as he went on to marry one of the stars, Toronto-born Lolita Davidovich. In Blue Chips, actor Nick Nolte was coach Pete Bell, who broke the rules in order to get the players he needed to remain competitive. "I played pickup into my 40s, right up until the time I made White Men Can't Jump," Shelton said. "I knew the game. I just loved that world."

Shelton scored 1,420 points in the mid-1960s, finishing the 20th Century among his alma mater's top 10 career scorers. He went on to play five seasons of Organized Baseball as a second baseman in the Baltimore Orioles' minor league system.

RON TAYLOR, Southern California
Best known for his roles as Lothar in The Rocketeer (1991) and Roc in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994). He also played Al, the tall police detective whose face is never seen, in The Naked Gun (1988) and on the TV series Police Squad. Nicknamed "Tiny Ron," the seven-footer also appeared on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the role of the Hupyrian alien Maihar'du.

Three-year USC letterman in the late 1960s was a second-round choice by Seattle in the 1969 NBA draft (18th pick overall). He played three seasons in the ABA before competing professionally in Austria in the 1970s before starting his film career.

SINQUA WALLS, San Francisco
Breakthrough role in 2012 as Sir Lancelot in ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time. He played the role of Shawn in the TV series Power and was cast in Clint Eastwood's biopic The 15:17 to Paris about the thwarted 2015 Thalys train attack. Walls has portrayed Don Cornelius in BET's American Soul, a fictionalized drama series based on long-running TV dance show Soul Train. Previously, he was known for appearing in Friday Night Lights and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Played in five games for USF in 2005-06.

MIKE WARREN, UCLA
Television star portrayed Officer Bobby Hill on hit series Hill Street Blues. Also appeared in the following movies: The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990), Heaven is a Playground (1991), Buffalo Soldiers (1997) and After All (1999).

The 5-11, 160-pound guard averaged 16.6 ppg in 1965-66 as a sophomore, 12.7 in 1966-67 as junior and 12.1 in 1967-68 as senior under coach John Wooden. He was an All-NCAA Tournament selection in 1967 and 1968 when the Bruins won national titles by combining for a 59-1 record. Warren was named to Converse and Helms All-American squads as a junior. In his senior season, he was named to the 10-man United States Basketball Writers Association All-American team and was a third five selection on the Associated Press and United Press International All-American squads. Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 14th round of 1968 NBA draft. Excerpt from school guide: "Named on the Academic All-American first team. One of UCLA's all-time great ballhandlers as well as being an outstanding driver and jump shooter."

DENZEL WASHINGTON, Fordham
Oscar award-winning actor Denzel Washington earned rave reviews for his performance as a high school football coach in Remembering the Titans. Most Hollywood buffs remember Washington's performances as a regular on the TV drama series St. Elsewhere while becoming a critically-acclaimed screen actor and major box-office draw in the 1990s with his performances in hit films Malcolm X, The Pelican Brief, and The Preacher's Wife. The hits continued with Man on Fire (2004).

But what the most ardent moviegoer doesn't know, let alone remember, is that Washington was a walk-on freshman basketball player for Fordham under coach P.J. Carlesimo. Washington probably was acting when he said "he had game" in describing his basketball ability in an interview about his movie role as the father of the nation's No. 1 player in director Spike Lee's 1998 release He Got Game.

SEAN WHITESELL, Northern Iowa
The "Oz" producer and co-executive producer of "The Killing" is a brother of talent agent/WME co-CEO Patrick Whitesell and former Loyola of Chicago coach and current Buffalo mentor Jim Whitesell. Sean began his career acting with notable roles including a recurring character on HBO's Oz (portrayed cannibalistic inmate Donald Groves until character's execution) and appearances on Homicide: Life On the Street.

Walk-on with nickname "S" collected two points and three rebounds with UNI in six games in 1982-83.

KEEDAR WHITTLE, Norfolk State
Comedian and cast member of the hit BET comedy, "Hell Date." Actor known for Inglorious Kill Dogs (2014), Future Man (2017) and Life After Beth (2014). Portrayed Sean in AMC's The Walking Dead and Nino in four episodes of the CW's One Tree Hill.

J.C. product collected 14 points and 10 rebounds in nine games as a 6-8 forward in 2000-01.

IAN WHYTE, Iona/Clarion (Pa.)
Carved out a career as film baddie (including playing part of iconic Predator in Sci Fi action film Alien vs. Predator). In 2010, Whyte played Sheikh Sulieman in Clash of the Titans. Portrayed various characters in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones.

The 7-1 Whyte collected 9 points and 10 rebounds in 17 games for Iona in 1990-91 and 1991-92 before transferring to Clarion, where he averaged 6 ppg and 5.3 rpg in 1992-93 and 1993-94.

Great to See You Again: ACC Rivals Duke and Carolina Meet in National Semis

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

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

Year Conference Playoff Round NCAA Tourney Result Between Members of Same League
1976 Big Ten national championship Indiana 86 (May scored team-high 26 points), Michigan 68 (Green 18)
1980 Big Ten regional semifinals Purdue 76 (Edmonson/Morris 20), Indiana 69 (I. Thomas 30)
1980 Big Ten national third-place Purdue 75 (Carroll 35), Iowa 58 (Arnold 19)
1981 ACC national semifinals North Carolina 78 (Wood 39), Virginia 65 (Lamp 18)
1983 ACC regional final North Carolina State 63 (Whittenburg 24), Virginia 62 (Sampson 23)
1985 Big East national semifinals Georgetown 77 (Williams 20), St. John's 59 (Glass 13)
1985 Big East national championship Villanova 66 (McClain 17), Georgetown 64 (Wingate 16)
1986 SEC regional semifinals Kentucky 68 (Walker 22), Alabama 63 (Coner 20)
1986 SEC regional final Louisiana State 59 (Williams 16), Kentucky 57 (Walker 20)
1987 Big East regional final Providence 88 (Donovan/D. Wright 20), Georgetown 73 (Williams 25)
1987 Big East national semifinals Syracuse 77 (Monroe 17), Providence 63 (Screen 18)
1988 Big Eight regional final Kansas 71 (Manning 20), Kansas State 58 (Scott 18)
1988 Big Eight national championship Kansas 83 (Manning 31), Oklahoma 79 (Sieger 22)
1989 Big Ten national semifinals Michigan 83 (Rice 28), Illinois 81 (Battle 29)
1992 Big Ten regional final Michigan 75 (Webber 23), Ohio State 71 (Jackson 20)
1992 Great Midwest regional final Cincinnati 88 (Jones 23), Memphis State 57 (Hardaway 12)
2000 Big Ten regional final Wisconsin 64 (Bryant 18), Purdue 60 (Cardinal/Cunningham 13)
2000 Big Ten national semifinals Michigan State 53 (Peterson 20), Wisconsin 41 (Boone 18)
2001 ACC national semifinals Duke 95 (Battier 25), Maryland 84 (Dixon 19)
2002 Big 12 regional final Oklahoma 81 (Price 18), Missouri 75 (Paulding 22)
2009 Big East regional final Villanova 78 (Anderson 17), Pittsburgh 76 (Young 28)
2013 Big East regional final Syracuse 55 (Southerland 16), Marquette 39 (Blue 14)
2015 ACC regional semifinals Louisville 75 (Harrell 24), North Carolina State 65 (Lacey 18)
2016 ACC regional final North Carolina 88 (Johnson 25), Notre Dame 74 (Jackson 26)
2016 ACC regional final Syracuse 68 (Richardson 23), Virginia 62 (Perrantes 18)
2016 ACC national semifinals North Carolina 83 (Jackson/Johnson 16), Syracuse 66 (Cooney 22)
2017 SEC regional final South Carolina 77 (Thornwell 26), Florida 70 (Leon 18)
2018 ACC regional semifinals Duke 69 (Bagley 22), Syracuse 65 (Battle 19)
2019 Big Ten second round Michigan State 70 (Tillman 14), Minnesota 50 (Coffey 27)
2019 ACC regional semifinals Duke 75 (Williamson 23), Virginia Tech 73 (Blackshear 18)
2019 SEC regional final Auburn 77 (Harper 26), Kentucky 71 (Washington 28)
2021 Pac-12 regional semifinals Southern California 82 (White 22), Oregon 68 (Omoruyi 28)
2022 ACC national semifinals North Carolina 81 (Love 28), Duke 77 (Banchero 20)

Melting Pot: NCAA Final Fours Normally Boast International Representation

At least they're not illegal aliens taking American positions/jobs. Plagiarist Bidumb can't control the nation's borders this year but the Final Four apparently can.

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 18 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 look at Final Four regulars in the last 29 tourneys coming from 39 different foreign nations (in reverse order):

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)

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