Star Light: Duke Thrives Despite Losing Numerous Undergrads to NBA Draft
For the 15th straight tourney, at least one team reached the Final Four after losing at least one vital player who could have still been eligible if not defecting the previous year to make himself available for the NBA draft or turn pro overseas. Duke is favorite this campaign despite losing guard Jared McCain (after freshman year) and center Kyle Filipowski (sophomore) to the 2024 NBA draft. Conceptually, the Blue Devils' roster could also have included forward Paolo Banchero (freshman in 2022), forward AJ Griffin (freshman in 2022), guard Trevor Keels (freshman in 2022), center Dereck Lively II (freshman in 2023) and forward Dariq Whitehead (freshman in 2023). Keels and Whitehead have been spare parts in the NBA while Griffin departed to pursue full-time ministry for Christianity.
On paper, Auburn (Jabari Smith in 2022) and Houston (Jarace Walker in 2023) also lost prize freshmen who could have still been eligible. Smith has been a double-digit scorer each season with the Houston Rockets while Walker has been a backup for the Indiana Pacers.
Among schools losing a prominent undergraduate early, UConn a couple of years ago (after losing guard James Bouknight) joined Kentucky '98) (Ron Mercer), Duke '10 (Gerald Henderson) and UK '12 (Brandon Knight) as the only teams still capturing a crown sans such a standout early departure. In a once-in-a-lifetime achievement, UK returned to the national semifinals in 2011 after losing five undergraduates who became NBA first-round draft choices.
The Final Four has had at least one team arrive after losing a prominent undergraduate to the NBA draft 22 times in the last 23 tourneys. Following is a list of the 45 squads unfazed by the early loss of key player(s) who left college the previous year with eligibility still remaining:
Final Four Team Prominent Undergraduate Defection in Previous Year Marquette '74 Larry McNeill, F (25th pick overall in 1973 NBA draft) Louisiana State '81 DeWayne Scales, F (36th pick in 1980 draft) Georgia '83 Dominique Wilkins, F (3rd pick in 1982 draft) Houston '83 Rob Williams, G (19th pick in 1982 draft) Houston '84 Clyde Drexler, G-F (14th pick in 1983 draft) Louisiana State '86 Jerry "Ice" Reynolds, G-F (22nd pick in 1985 draft) Syracuse '87 Pearl Washington, G (13th pick in 1986 draft) Kentucky '97 Antoine Walker, F-G (6th pick in 1996 draft) North Carolina '97 Jeff McInnis, G (37th pick in 1996 draft) Kentucky '98 Ron Mercer, G-F (6th pick in 1997 draft) Indiana '02 Kirk Haston, F (16th pick in 2001 draft) Kansas '03 Drew Gooden, F (4th pick in 2002 draft) Georgia Tech '04 Chris Bosh, F (4th pick in 2003 draft) Louisiana State '06 Brandon Bass, F (33rd pick in 2005 draft) UCLA '07 Jordan Farmar, G (26th pick in 2006 draft) North Carolina '08 Brandan Wright, F (8th pick in 2007 draft) Kansas '08 Julian Wright, F (13th pick in 2007 draft) UCLA '08 Arron Afflalo, G (27th pick in 2007 draft) Duke '10 Gerald Henderson, G (12th pick in 2009 draft) Kentucky '11 John Wall, G (1st pick in 2010 draft) Kentucky '11 DeMarcus Cousins, F (5th pick in 2010 draft) Butler '11 Gordon Hayward, F (9th pick in 2010 draft) Kentucky '11 Patrick Patterson, F (14th pick in 2010 draft) Virginia Commonwealth '11 Larry Sanders, F (15th pick in 2010 draft) Kentucky '11 Eric Bledsoe, G (18th pick in 2010 draft) Kentucky '11 Daniel Orton, C-F (29th pick in 2010 draft) Kentucky '12 Brandon Knight, G (8th pick in 2011 draft) Kansas '12 Markieff Morris, F (13th pick in 2011 draft) Kansas '12 Marcus Morris, F (14th pick in 2011 draft) Kansas '12 Josh Selby, G (49th pick in 2011 draft) Syracuse '13 Dion Waiters, G (4th pick in 2012 draft) Syracuse '13 Fab Melo, C (22nd pick in 2012 draft) Kentucky '14 Nerlens Noel, C (6th pick in 2013 draft) Kentucky '14 Archie Goodwin, G-F (29th pick in 2013 draft) Michigan State '15 Gary Harris, G (19th pick in 2014 draft) Duke '15 Rodney Hood, G-F (23rd pick in 2014 draft) Duke '15 Jabari Parker, F (2nd pick in 2014 draft) Kentucky '15 Julius Randle, F (7th pick in 2014 draft) Kentucky '15 James Young, G (17th pick in 2014 draft) North Carolina '16 J.P. Tokoto, F-G (58th pick in 2015 draft) Syracuse '16 Chris McCullough, G (29th pick in 2015 draft) Gonzaga '17 Domantas Sabonis, F-C (11th pick in 2016 draft) Kansas '18 Josh Jackson, G-F (4th pick in 2017 draft) Michigan '18 D.J. Wilson, F (17th pick in 2017 draft) Michigan State '19 Miles Bridges, F (12th pick in 2018 draft) Michigan State '19 Jaren Jackson, F (4th pick in 2018 draft) Texas Tech '19 Zhaire Smith, F (16th pick in 2018 draft) Gonzaga '21 Filip Petrusev, C (withdrew from draft and returned to native Serbia) Houston '21 Nate Hinton, G-F (played in NBA G League after going undrafted) Duke '22 Matthew Hurt, F (undrafted before playing in NBA G League until incurring season-ending injury) Duke '22 Jalen Johnson, F (20th pick in 2021 draft) Duke '22 D.J. Steward, G (undrafted before playing in G League for Sacramento Kings) North Carolina '22 Day'Ron Sharpe, F (29th pick in 2021 draft) Villanova '22 Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, F (32nd pick in 2021 draft) Connecticut '23 James Bouknight, G (11th pick in 2021 draft) Alabama '24 Noah Clowney, F (21st pick in 2023 draft) Connecticut '24 Jordan Hawkins, G (14th pick in 2023 draft) Connecticut '24 Andre Jackson, G (36th pick in 2023 draft) Alabama '24 Brandon Miller, F (2nd pick in 2023 draft) Duke '25 Kyle Filipowski, C (32nd pick in 2024 draft) Duke '25 Jared McCain, G (16th pick in 2024 draft)