The NCAA player pool is back. Eight of NBADraft.net’s contributors got together over chat to conduct the pool on Wednesday Evening. As always, the order of picks were randomized and a 8 team, 8 player a piece, 64 overall pick draft took place. Total points scored is the only statistic used. We will update the pool as the tournament progresses.
1st pick – Matt Harvey
1. (1) Lonzo Ball – UCLA – 14.6 PPG
2. (16) Bonzie Colson – Notre Dame – 17.5
3. (17) Semi Ojeleye – SMU – 18.9
4. (32)Melo Trimble – Maryland – 17.0
5. (33) Monte Morris – Iowa State – 16.3
6. (48) Jevon Carter – West Virginia – 13.1
7. (49) Derrick Walton Jr. – Michigan – 15.2
8. (64) Marcus Marshall – Nevada – 19.8
Total PPG – 132.4 (1st)
Chalk Score (Each player’s PPG x # of games played if higher seed wins every game in the tournament or “went chalk”; i.e. Lonzo Ball is averaging 14.6 PPG and would play 3 games if UCLA won every game they were the higher seed, so 3 x 14.6 = 43.8, so you would add 43.8 to the team’s total Chalk Score) – 272.1 points (8th)
Breakdown – A newcomer to the longstanding NBADraft.net tradition of the player pool, our mid-major blogger took a bold approach to his draft, taking 0 players from teams on 1 or 2 seeded teams. In a world without upsets, his team would be down to 2 players after the first weekend and 0 after the Sweet Sixteen, but he believes in freshman phenom Lonzo Ball’s ability to lead his team to the title game, so he snapped him up with first overall pick, buying into the “the tournament is a guard’s event” philosophy and taking Ball over UCLA’s leading scorer, TJ Leaf, or players such as Frank Mason for that matter. There are a lot of big-time scorers on this team, so if a few of them go on a deep run, he could come out looking like the genius here. Even so, there’s a lot of potential for his team to get decimated in the first two rounds. His chalk score was the lowest by a big margin, though his team has the highest total PPG.
2nd Pick – Clayton Crowe
1. (2) Frank Mason – Kansas – 20.8
2. (15) Joel Berry II – North Carolina – 14.8
3. (18) Donovan Mitchell – Louisville – 15.7
4. (31) Frank Jackson – Duke – 10.7
5. (34) Quentin Snider – Louisville – 12.7
6. (47) Landen Lucas – Kansas – 7.9
7. (50) Trevon Bluiett – Xavier – 18.1
8. (63) Kelan Martin – Butler – 16.1
Total PPG – 116.8 (4th)
Chalk Score – 469 points (3rd)
Breakdown – Our ACC blogger, Power 16 author and long time site contributor chose to focus his efforts on the Midwest region, drawing half of his team from that region’s top two seeds. It’s an interesting strategy, as only one of these teams can play more than 4 games since they would meet in the Final Four, but if they do both get that far, and the winner makes the championship, Crowe will be in good shape. His boldest pick was probably Trevon Bluiett from the 11th-seeded Xavier Musketeers, but they are in a pod full of inconsistent teams, so there is certainly promise there for them to reach the Sweet Sixteen as a double-digit seed.
3rd Pick – Michael Visenberg
1. (3) Josh Jackson – Kansas – 16.4
2. (14) TJ Leaf – UCLA – 16.2
3. (19) Devonte Graham – Kansas – 13.1
4. (30) Jordan Mathews – Gonzaga -10.4
5. (35) Amile Jefferson – Duke – 10.9
6. (46) LaGerald Vick – Kansas – 7.4
7. (51) Jonathan Isaac – Florida State – 11.9
8. (62) KeVaughn Allen – Florida – 13.9
Total PPG – 100.2 (8th)
Chalk Score – 443 points (4th)
Breakdown – Another familiar NBADraft.net face, and defending champ of the player pool, Mikey V returns to retake the title. The Kansas Jayhawks provide 3 of his 8 players, so a deep run by them is a necessity. All 8 of Mike’s players come from teams seeded 4 or higher, so he definitely took the opposite approach of Matt Harvey, sacrificing points per game in favor of potential longevity. He knows what he’s doing, and it would be little surprise to see his team pull it out again. The low total PPG, however, raises the question of whether this team has enough firepower to stay in contention.
4th Pick – Aran Smith
1. (4) Luke Kennard – Duke- 20.1
2. (13) Jalen Brunson – Villanova – 14.8
3. (20) Grayson Allen – Duke – 14.1
4. (29) Bam Adebayo – Kentucky – 13.3
5. (36) Kennedy Meeks – North Carolina – 12.6
6. (45) Svi Mykhailiuk – Kansas – 9.6
7. (52) Rawle Alkins – Arizona – 11.0
8. (61) Aaron Holiday – UCLA – 12.6
Total PPG – 108.1 (6th)
Chalk Score – 481.2 points (1st)
Breakdown – Our fearless leader, and another former player pool champ, spread his team across the bracket this year, drawing his 8 players from 7 teams. At the start, however, he doubled down on Duke, taking the Duke backcourt with picks 1 and 3. On a team jam-packed with blue bloods, the defending champ Villanova Wildcats are probably the least storied program represented on Aran’s team, so you have to think it will have some staying power. His prediction of a Kansas-Duke final would give him 3 players playing all the way up to the final. And that chalk score makes his team look real solid.
5th Pick – Jacob Stallard
1. (5) Nigel Williams-Goss – Gonzaga – 16.9
2. (12) De’Aaron Fox – Kentucky – 16.1
3. (21) Dillon Brooks – Oregon – 16.3
4. (28) Przemek Karnowski – Gonzaga – 12.6
5. (37) Isaiah Briscoe – Kentucky – 12.6
6. (44) Jonathan Williams – Gonzaga – 10.2
7. (53) Jock Landale – St. Mary’s – 16.8
8. (60) Jordan Bell – Oregon – 10.7
Total PPG – 112.2 (5th)
Chalk Score – 430.9 points (5th)
Breakdown – In an unprecedented move, I, your resident Big Ten expert, built HALF of my team from the West Coast Conference, the same conference that contains the likes of Pacific and San Diego and Santa Clara. Now this stems primarily from my reliance on 3 Gonzaga players, as I think the Zags are going all the way this year, but I also took big man Jock Landale who I think will lead the Gaels to a surprise Elite Eight run. Overall, I took 8 players from just 4 teams, so if any one of Gonzaga, Kentucky, or Oregon (all teams I have in my Final Four) fall in the first weekend, it could be crippling for my team.
6th Pick – Eric Guilleminault
1. (6) Justin Jackson – North Carolina – 18.1
2. (11) Lauri Markkanen – Arizona – 15.6
3. (22) Tyler Dorsey – Oregon – 13.3
4. (27) Caleb Swanigan – Purdue – 18.5
5. (38) Isaac Hamilton – UCLA – 14.1
6. (43) Zack Collins – Gonzaga – 10.2
7. (54) Mikal Bridges – Villanova – 9.9
8. (59) Marcus Foster – Creighton – 18.3
Total PPG – 106 (7th)
Chalk Score – 386 points (6th)
Breakdown – Eric Guilleminault chose 8 guys from 8 teams, and most every single one is likely to stick around til the second weekend. He’s got a mix of big time scorers from less likely Final Four teams (Caleb Swanigan, Marcus Foster) and complementary scorers on the title contenders (Zack Collins, Mikal Bridges). And at the top, he is building around North Carolina star Justin Jackson. But only two teams can make the finals. Will he spread himself too thin with this varied roster? It’s anybody’s guess.
7th Pick – Dave Ray
1. (7) Josh Hart – Villanova – 18.9
2. (10) Allonzo Trier – Arizona – 17.3
3. (23) Kris Jenkins – Villanova – 13.4
4. (26) Bryce Alford – UCLA – 15.8
5. (39) Sindarius Thornwell – South Carolina – 21.0
6. (42) VJ Beachem – Notre Dame – 15.0
7. (55) Matt Farrell – Notre Dame – 14.2
8. (58) Isaiah Hicks – North Carolina – 12.3
Total PPG – 127.9 (3rd)
Chalk Score – 472.3 points (2nd)
Breakdown – Dave Ray wasn’t present for our draft, but he pre-made his autodraft and gave him an intriguing squad. He doubled up on two teams: the defending champs and number one overall seed…and 5 seed Notre Dame. A run by the Irish will make him look very, very smart. Another nice pick here was Bryce Alford, who is averaging more points per game than teammate Lonzo Ball, even though Ball was our first pick and Alford was our 26th. Finally, Ray picked up Sindarius Thornwell, the highest-scoring player in our pool this season, who, while he may only be good for one or two games, is a near-guarantee for 20+ game in and game out. A miracle deep run by South Carolina would give Ray a huge edge. There’s an excellent balance here of a good chalk score and a high total PPG.
8th Pick – Jonathan Sauber
1. (8) Malik Monk – Kentucky – 20.4
2. (9) Jayson Tatum – Duke – 16.9
3. (24) Dwayne Bacon – Florida State – 16.9
4. (25) Jonathan Motley – Baylor – 17.3
5. (40) Deng Adel – Louisville – 11.9
6. (41) Naz Mitrou-Long – Iowa State – 15.5
7. (56) Matt Thomas – Iowa State – 12.0
8. (57) JaCorey Williams – Middle Tennessee State – 17.3
Total PPG – 128.2 (2nd)
Chalk Score – 343.7 points (7th)
Breakdown – Our Big 12 blogger picked 3 of his own guys. One was expected, in imposing Baylor big, Jonathan Motley. The other two were complementary scorers on 5 seed Iowa State, so a surprise upset over Purdue and then Kansas would be huge. But ultimately, the main points here will come from Malik Monk and Jayson Tatum, stud freshman looking to lead their 2-seeded teams to Final Fours in regions containing tough 2 seeds. Sauber rounded things out with JaCorey Williams, the leading scorer and C-USA Player of the Year for Middle Tennessee State, the trendiest 12 seed I have ever seen. But I’m on the MTSU Sweet Sixteen bandwagon, and I really like the pick.
