Day: March 21, 2024

With the 2024 NCAA Tournament underway, here’s a list of all the former players of the schools in the first round who are currently in the NBA, headlined by Kentucky with 28 and Duke with 24.

The below links are to the ‘Players in the NBA’ page for each school.

EAST REGION

• No. 1 Connecticut (4) vs. No. 16 Stetson (0)

  Connecticut: Andre Drummond, Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson Jr., Adama Sanogo

• No. 8 Florida Atlantic (0) vs. No. 9 Northwestern (2)

  Northwestern: Pete Nance, Pat Spencer

• No. 5 San Diego State (3) vs. No. 12 UAB (1)

  SDSU: Malachi Flynn, Kawhi Leonard, Jalen McDaniels

  UAB: Trey Jemison

• No. 4 Auburn (6) vs. No. 13 Yale (0)

  Auburn: Walker Kessler, Davion Mitchell, Chuma Okeke, Isaac Okoro, Jabari Smith Jr., J.T. Thor

• No. 6 BYU (0) vs. No. 11 Duquesne (1)

  Duquesne: T.J. McConnell

• No. 3 Illinois (3) vs. No. 14 Morehead State (1)

  Illinois: Ayo Dosunmu, Malcolm Hill, Brandin Podziemski

  Morehead State: Xavier Moon

• No. 7 Washington State (3) vs. No. 10 Drake (0)

  Washington State: Malachi Flynn, Mouhamed Gueye, Klay Thompson

• No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 15 South Dakota State (0)

  Iowa State: Tyrese Haliburton, Talen Horton-Tucker, Monte Morris, Georges Niang

SOUTH REGION

• No. 1 Houston (5) vs. No. 16 Longwood

  Houston: Quentin Grimes, Nathaniel Hinton, DeJon Jarreau, Marcus Sasser, Jarace Walker

• No. 8 Nebraska (2) vs. No. 9 Texas A&M (5)

  Nebraska: Dalano Banton, Bryce McGowens

  Texas A&M: Alex Caruso, Quenton Jackson, DeAndre Jordan, Khris Middleton, Robert Williams

• No. 5 Wisconsin (2) vs. No. 12 James Madison (0)
  Wisconsin: Johnny Davis, Micah Potter
• No. 4 Duke (24) vs. No. 13 Vermont (0)

  Duke: Grayson Allen, Marvin Bagley III, Paolo Banchero, R.J. Barrett, Marques Bolden, Wendell Carter Jr., Seth Curry, Harry Giles, A.J. Griffin Jr., Brandon Ingram, Kyrie Irving, Jalen Johnson, Tre Jones, Tyus Jones, Luke Kennard, Dereck Lively II, Wendell Moore Jr., Mason Plumlee, Cam Reddish, Jayson Tatum, Gary Trent Jr., Dariq Whitehead, Mark Williams, Zion Williamson

• No. 6 Texas Tech (1) vs. No. 11 NC State (7)

  Texas Tech: Jahmi’us Ramsey

  NC State: Caleb Martin, Cody Martin, Dereon Seabron, Dennis Smith, Terquavion Smith, T.J. Warren, Omer Yurtseven

• No. 3 Kentucky (28) vs. No. 14 Oakland (1)

  Kentucky: Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, B.J. Boston Jr., Anthony Davis, De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, Isaiah Jackson, Keldon Johnson, Johnny Juzang, Chris Livington, Tyrese Maxey, Malik Monk, Jamal Murray, Immanuel Quickley, Julius Randle, Nick Richards, Olivier Sarr, Shaedon Sharpe, Jacob Toppin, Karl-Anthony Towns, Oscar Tshiebwe, Jarred Vanderbilt, TyTy Washington Jr., P.J. Washington

  Oakland: Jamal Cain

• No. 7 Florida (8) vs. No. 10 Colorado (4)

  Florida: Bradley Beal, Colin Castleton, Dorian Finney-Smith, Alex Fudge, Al Horford, Keyontae Johnson, Tre Mann, Andrew Nembhard

  Colorado: Alec Burks, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jabari Walker, Derrick White

• No. 2 Marquette (7) vs. No. 15 Western Kentucky (2)

  Marquette: Jimmy Butler, Jamal Cain, D.J. Carton, Jae Crowder, Sam Hauser, Wesley Matthews, Olivier-Maxence Prosper

  Western Kentucky: Dalano Banton, Charles Bassey

MIDWEST REGION

• No. 1 Purdue (1) vs. No. 16 Grambling State (0)

  Purdue: Jaden Ivey

• No. 8 Utah State (2) vs. No. 9 TCU (2)

  Utah State: Sam Merrill, Neemias Queta

  TCU: Desmond Bane, Kenrich Williams

• No. 5 Gonzaga (10) vs. No. 12 McNeese (0)

  Gonzaga: Brandon Clarke, Zach Collins, Rui Hachimura, Chet Holmgren, Corey Kispert, Andrew Nembhard, Kelly Olynyk, Domantas Sabonis, Julian Strawther, Jalen Suggs

• No. 4 Kansas (13) vs. No. 13 Samford (0)

  Kansas: Ochai Agbaji, Udoka Azubuike, Christian Braun, Gradey Dick, Joel Embiid, Devonte’ Graham, Quentin Grimes, Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Svi Mykhailiuk, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andrew Wiggins, Jalen Wilson

• No. 6 South Carolina (4) vs. No. 11 Oregon (7)

  South Carolina: Anthony Gill, G.G. Jackson, A.J. Lawson, Justin Minaya

  Oregon: Bol Bol, Chris Boucher, Dillon Brooks, Troy Brown Jr., Chris Duarte, Eugene Omoruyi, Payton Pritchard

• No. 3 Creighton (1) vs. No. 14 Akron (0)

  Creighton: Doug McDermott

• No. 7 Texas (10) vs. No. 10 Colorado State (1)

  Texas: Jarrett Allen, Mohamed Bamba, Greg Brown III, Kevin Durant, Jaxson Hayes, Kai Jones, Jericho Sims, Tristan Thompson, P.J. Tucker, Myles Turner

  Colorado State: David Roddy

• No. 2 Tennessee (7) vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s (0)

  Tennessee: Tobias Harris, Keon Johnson, Julian Phillips, Josh Richardson, Admiral Schofield, Jaden Springer, Grant Williams

WEST REGION

• No. 1 North Carolina (10) vs. No. 16 Wagner (0)

  North Carolina: Cole Anthony, Harrison Barnes, Leaky Black, Reggie Bullock, Cameron Johnson, Walker Kessler, Nassir Little, Pete Nance, Day’Ron Sharpe, Coby White

• No. 8 Mississippi State (0) vs. No. 9 Michigan State (6)

  Michigan State: Miles Bridges, Max Christie, Draymond Green, Gary Harris, Jaren Jackson Jr., Xavier Tillman Sr.

• No. 5 Saint Mary’s (3) vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon (0)

  Saint Mary’s: Jordan Ford, Jock Landale, Patty Mills

• No. 4 Alabama (9) vs. No. 13 Charleston (0)

  Alabama: Noah Clowney, J.D. Davison, Keon Ellis, Herb Jones, Braxton Key, Kira Lewis Jr., Brandon Miller, Joshua Primo, Collin Sexton

• No. 6 Clemson (3) vs. No. 11 New Mexico (0)

  Clemson: Trey Jemison, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Hunter Tyson

• No. 3 Baylor (9) vs. No. 14 Colgate (0)

  Baylor: Kendall Brown, Jared Butler, Adam Flagler, Keyonte George, Davion Mitchell, Royce O’Neale, Taurean Prince, Jeremy Sochan, Ish Wainright

• No. 7 Dayton (2) vs. No. 10 Nevada (3)

  Dayton: Toumani Camara, Obi Toppin

  Nevada: Caleb Martin, Cody Martin, JaVale McGee

• No. 2 Arizona (9) vs. No. 15 Long Beach State (0)

  Arizona: Deandre Ayton, Aaron Gordon, Josh Green, Lauri Markkanen, Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell, Zeke Nnaji, Dalen Terry, Brandon Williams

Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra became the latest NBA personnel to speak out against sports betting. After Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said he feels like a “prop” because some gamblers complain about his stat-lines, Bickerstaff shared that things have gone further for him and his family.

“I have had my own instances with some of the sports gamblers,” Bickerstaff said Wednesday night. “They got my telephone number and were sending me crazy messages about where I live and my kids and all that stuff. It is a dangerous game and a fine like that we’re walking for sure.”

Bickerstaff said those instances were reported to NBA security and were handled appropriately. However, Bickerstaff noted he’s hearing it in person during games too.

“No doubt it’s crossed the line,” Bickerstaff said. “I’m standing up there and we may have a 10-point lead and the spread is 11 and people are yelling at me to leave the guys in so that we can cover the spread. It’s ridiculous. I understand the business side of it and the nature of the business of it. But it’s something I believe has gone too far.”

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra relayed a story from a game where security had to intervene with a sports bettor.

“I do think it’s somewhat contradictory,” Spoelstra said Wednesday night. “I think it treads on a weird line. We had an incident behind our bench last year with (Victor) Oladipo. Somebody was screaming. Security had to take him away. The game was already over, and evidently, he didn’t shoot an open 3 at the end of the game. The game was already decided, and this fan was totally beside himself, and he was a gambler. He had money on whatever the score was. There’s just a lot of unintended consequences with that from a security standpoint that I’m not sure everybody totally understood.”

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse was cautious when asked about where Joel Embiid is at with his rehab from meniscus surgery. Nurse said Embiid is in the “ramp up” phase of his rehab, without giving a much detail on exactly where Embiid is in that phase.

“He’s kind of in the ramp up phase right now. What can he handle? When can he start having contact? When can he start playing 1-on-1, 5-on-5? When can he go through a practice with contact?”, Nurse said about the reigning MVP’s status.

Nurse said Embiid has return to the court on a near-daily basis, but was careful to not put any sort of timeline on Embiid’s return.

Embiid underwent surgery on his left lateral meniscus on February 6. The 76ers haven’t put out a timeline for Embiid to return to play. Nurse has said he’s hopeful that his start center will return before the playoffs start on April 20.