Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

[Dice]

Think about the teams that participated in that Final Four and the players on those teams that's playing in the NBA:

- Memphis: Derrick Rose, Joey Doresy, Chris Douglass-Roberts
- UCLA: Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Darin Collison, Luc Mbah a Moute
- Kansas: Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson
- North Carolina: Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green

You got a potential MVP candidate in Derrrick Rose. One of the best PG's in the game in Russell Westbrook. Up-and-coming potential all-star in Kevin Love. Surprise solid PG's in Darrin Collison, Mario Chalmers and Ty Lawson. And a solid defender in Luc Mbah a Moute.

Now what's funny is that I had UCLA to win the National Championship that year. If you look at it NOW, you ask yourself, "How did UCLA not win the championship with all that talent?" I asked myself the same question when they lost.

Thoughts?

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

CDR could've been something decent in the NBA if he stopped worried about how many followers he had on Twitter and actually focused on having an actual game instead of just Iso'ing everytime he got the ball.

I have yet to see anything special or anything that would make me say "Hmm, I may need to pay some attention to Mario Chalmers" and this was before the nWo formed in South Beach.

Wayne Ellington and especially Danny Green in the pros =

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

2001:
Arizona: Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton
Michigan State: Jason Richardson, Zach Randolph, Charlie Bell
Duke: Carlos Boozer, Jay Williams (does he count?), Chris Duhon, Mike Dunleavy, Dahntay Jones, Shane Battier
Maryland: Steve Blake, Chris Wilcox, Juan Dixon

That's a lot of pretty good players right there.

[Taur3asi3]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

Anyone have a link to rosters?

2003 had Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick, Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, TJ Ford, and Wade among others I'm sure

2001 is pretty good though but I'm guessing the best collection will be from the 1980's probably.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

Anyone have a link to rosters?

2003 had Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick, Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, TJ Ford, and Wade among others I'm sure

2001 is pretty good though but I'm guessing the best collection will be from the 1980's probably.

Yeah I would think one of the older final fours would be the best as well. I just posted 2001 because most of my knowledge of college basketball comes from 2000 on.

[Dice]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

My bad! I'm way off base. I just saw the 1982 Final Four teams and look at the NBA talent they had:

North Carolina: Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Sam Perkins
Georgetown: Patrick Ewing, Sleepy Floyd
Louisville: Rodney McCray
Houston: Clyde Drexler, Hakeem Olajuwon

You got 5 Hall of Famers and the rest we're solid ball players through their NBA careers.

[BlueNGold]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

I remember watching that Memphis/UCLA game at a friend's house and instantly falling in love with Derrick Rose's game. In Canada we don't get many college basketball games until March Madness rolls around so that was the first I'd really seen of him.

That whole Memphis team was fun to watch. I'm surprised CDR hasn't been more productive in the NBA, but I guess his laziness is holding him back like Pack mentioned.

[Taur3asi3]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

82 is going to take this in a probable landslide but 90 had

UNLV Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony
GT Dennis Scott, Kenny Anderson, Brian Oliver,
Duke Christian Laettner, Alaa Abdelnaby, Bobby Hurley
Arky Oliver Miller, Todd Day, Lee Mayberry

Not much in the way of high end HOFers but a pretty nice collection with several solid guys who went on to become long lasting vets in the league.

[jfsolo]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

The 1982 Final Four is what made basketball leapfrog football and baseball as my favorite sport to watch and play. Before it was a distant third, but seeing the artistry of MJ, Worthy, Clyde, Dream, et al. converted me from a casual fan to a hardcore bball junkie.

[ehh]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

2004 was pretty good, though no stars.

• Georgia Tech: Jarrett Jack, Will Bynum, Luke Schenscher
• Oklahoma State: Tony Allen, Joey Graham
• Duke: JJ Redick, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Shelden Williams, Shavlik Randolph
• UConn: Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Josh Boone, Charlie Villanueva, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams

[PrettyT11]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

2005 was pretty deed as well with 9 first round draft picks and a few other guys who played in the NBA.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

I still don't understand how Josh Boone and Marcus Williams' game didn't translate into the Pros. Thought for sure they would be the second coming of Kidd and Martin for us. Instead we just got stuck with Dumb and Dumber SMH.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

I still don't understand how Josh Boone and Marcus Williams' game didn't translate into the Pros. Thought for sure they would be the second coming of Kidd and Martin for us. Instead we just got stuck with Dumb and Dumber SMH.

I always thought Boone would be a decent roleplayer, but I thought Marcus Williams was gonna be real nice. Not so much.

[ehh]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

Marcus is slow and lazy. He was a horrific defender in college so that wasn't going to end well at the NBA level. He can pass his arse off though and has amazing vision. I figured he was a coin flip as a pro.

Boone surprised me, he should be able to find a spot as a role player in the league. He had some nice stretches with the Nets but like Marcus I don't know if he has the best work ethic in the world.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Did the 2008 Final Four showcase the best NBA talent?

I think last I heard of Boone was that he was playing in China