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The 15 Colleges Whose Alumni Made The Most Money In The NBA This Year

Matt Lombardi - CS Editor-in-Chief — Sat, 11 May 2013 19:12:48 +0000

Flickr/401(K) 2012

One of the biggest factors that goes into every major high school basketball recruit’s decision is whether his college of choice will help prepare him to get to the next level – the NBA. In the end, the goal is to reach the league, and the higher he is drafted, the better.

Fans also love to argue about which programs are the best “NBA factories”. Of course, there are a number of methods you can use to derive your results. You can go by the number of draft picks over a certain time period, or the number of players currently in the NBA. We thought we’d try something a bit different. We took the salaries for each player (according to ESPN) in the NBA in 2012-2013 and totalled them up, by college.

Some of the results were surprising. Here’s what we found:

15. Michigan State: $27,504,014 – 5 players

Surprisingly, Michigan State is the lone program from the Big Ten in the top 15. Carrying the load is Zach Randolph, who made $16.5 million this past season. Jason Richardson, Shannon Brown, Alan Anderson and Draymond Green round out the Spartans’ representation in the NBA. If Green keeps playing well for the Warriors, he’ll eventually get a much better payday ($850,000).

14. Marquette: $29,453,621 – 6 players

Marquette’s inclusion is another example of how one superstar, in this case Dwyane Wade, can land you on this list. Wade’s ridiculous salary (over $17 million) combined with modest (I realize how absurd the word sounds given the context) contributions from Wesley Matthews ($6.5 million) and Steve Novak ($4 million) accounts for almost all of the Golden Eagles’ NBA paychecks. Jimmy Butler could be the next to get paid after emerging in the 2013 playoffs.

13. Syracuse: $30,419,156 – 6 players

Carmelo Anthony made over $19 million this season, which makes up more than half the total salary of former Orange stars. Wesley Johnson and Dion Waiters, two players who were both drafted No. 4 overall in different years (2010 and 2012, respectively), both made around $4 million as well. Donte Greene, Fab Melo and Kris Joseph account for the remainder.

12. LSU: $30,519,365 – 7 players

Surprised? I was. The Bayou Bengals have four players in the NBA who made $6 million of more this past season – Tyrus Thomas, Marcus Thornton, Glen Davis and Brandon Bass. For a school that has only made the NCAA Tournament once in the past seven years (2009), the Tigers are certainly well-represented in the NBA.

11. Wake Forest: $36,521,836 – 6 players

Wake Forest has produced two of the biggest stars in the NBA today – Tim Duncan ($9.6 million) and Chris Paul ($17.8 million). Al-Farouq Aminu, James Johnson, Jeff Teague and Ish Smith also contributed to the Demon Deacons’ inclusion.

10. North Carolina: $40,939,193 – 16 players

There are twelve UNC alums who made between $1.5 million and $3.5 million this past season. The only Tar Heel with a higher salary was Marvin Williams, checking in at $8.3 million. The two main reasons UNC isn’t higher? Their stars from the early 2000s are older and playing for league minimums (Stackhouse, Jamison) and their recent alums have mostly turned out to be average NBA players (Zeller, Hansbrough, Ellington).

9. Georgia Tech: $44,870,890 – 7 players

For a school with only seven players in the NBA, Georgia Tech is sure getting a lot of bang for its buck. Chris Bosh ($17.5 million) is the main breadwinner, but Thaddeus Young, Jarrett Jack, Derrick Favors, Anthony Morrow and Will Bynum all made between $3 million and $9 million. Iman Shumpert is the seventh Yellow Jacket on the list, and he’ll eventually earn a higher salary with the way he’s played for the Knicks.

8. Texas: $47,799,825 – 10 players

Texas has two superstars raking in the dough. Kevin Durant made more than $16 million, while LaMarcus Aldridge pulled in over $13 million. Daniel Gibson, Tristan Thompson and D.J. Augustin also made between $3 million and $5 million each. Avery Bradley ($1.6 million) could be in line for a salary boost soon as well.

Next: 7-1 >>>

Photo: Steve Novak Lost A Bet To Carmelo Anthony, Had To Wear Orange Warm-ups

Matt Lombardi - CS Editor-in-Chief — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:33:59 +0000

New York Knicks teammates Carmelo Anthony and Steve Novak apparently put a little wager on the Elite Eight matchup between their alma maters this past weekend. And since Syracuse defeated Marquette to reach the Final Four, Novak had to wear an orange tracksuit on Monday.

Of course, Anthony made sure there were pictures of the occasion, as he posted them to his Instagram account.

On s’amuse chez les Knicks. Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse) a gagné son duel face à Steve Novak (Marquette). twitter.com/Coachkira/stat…

— Arnaud Gelb (@Coachkira) April 1, 2013

Marquette alum, Steve Novak, wearing a Syracuse tracksuit after losing bet with Carmelo (via @therealjrsmith) twitter.com/BeyondTheBuzze…

— Beyond The Buzzer(@BeyondTheBuzzer) April 1, 2013

Photos: Sweet 16 T-Shirts Are Out, And One Design Is Great

Matt Lombardi - CS Editor-in-Chief — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:51:19 +0000

With all of the third round NCAA Tournament games in the books, we officially have our Sweet 16 roster set for next weekend. To celebrate the occasion, of course, the NCAA has approved four T-Shirt designs to be sold at participating schools.

I don’t particularly like three of the graphics, but one stands out as wearable – the grey shirt with “Sweet 16″ and each school’s logo positioned diagonally. Do you agree, or like another one better?

You can pick one up at the Oregon Ducks’ online store.

Video: One Butler Fan Danced After Every Bulldog Basket

Annie Dunbar - Kentucky Campus Rep — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:37:16 +0000

In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Butler fell to Marquette in a back-and-forth game with an exciting ending. But one fan in the stands seemed to be just as entertaining as the actual game.

After every basket by the Bulldogs, a die-hard Butler fan jumped out of his seat and made up his own dance on the spot. Fans around Rupp Arena would immediately look at him after every shot attempt to catch a glimpse of his creative dance moves. He made an already-great game even better.

Here’s one example of the guy going nuts.

Video: Marquette Survives Butler In Wild Ending

Matt Lombardi - CS Editor-in-Chief — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 02:41:50 +0000

The rematch between Butler and Marquette lived up to the billing, with the game once again coming down to the final possession. The Golden Eagles survived a wild finish against the Bulldogs despite nearly coughing up a four point lead in the final four seconds. Butler’s last few possessions were very uncharacteristic for a team coached by Brad Stevens.

With under 10 seconds to play, senior Rotnei Clarke air-balled a 3-point attempt with the Bulldogs trailing by two, 72-70, seemingly giving the Golden Eagles a chance to seal the deal at the free throw stripe. Marquette’s Davante Gardner made both shots, making it a two possession game. But it wasn’t over.

With Marquette leading 74-70, Butler’s Emerson Kampen threw a baseball pass the length of the court to Andrew Smith, who was able to score (on a goaltending call) to cut the lead to two. On the ensuing inbounds play, Marquette’s Vander Blue turned the ball over, giving the Bulldogs one last chance at a win. But it wasn’t to be, as Butler’s center, Andrew Smith, lost his balance and threw a wild shot off the backboard as time expired.

Video: Vander Blue’s Game-Winning Layup Completes Marquette’s Comeback Over 14-Seed Davidson

Tyler Moorehead - ND Campus Rep — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:55:33 +0000

These are the types of endings that make the NCAA Tournament special each year. The Marquette Golden Eagles trailed for much of the second half against 14-seed Davidson, and most college basketball fans were anticipating a monster upset.

But in the final 1:49, Marquette came alive draining threes and forcing enough turnovers to give itself a chance. Trailing 58-57 with just over five seconds left to play (after an unbelievable Davidson turnover), Marquette’s Vander Blue drove hard to the hoop and put his team up one with just a second remaining. Davidson had one final chance to go for the win, but turned it over trying to inbound the ball on the last play.

Here’s a video of Davidson’s critical mistake and Vander Blue’s game-winner:

It’s underselling Vander Blue’s to just call it a ‘layup.’ Full speed, off-hand finish… that is not easy, esp w/ defender right there

— Jonathan Reed (@bigskybball) March 21, 2013

Vander Blue needs to quit wasting everybody’s time & just make his name all one word. Like Vanderbilt, or another example I can’t think of.

— Kevin Roché (@kevROSHAY) March 21, 2013

I screamed like a girl when Vander Blue made that game-winning shot. #MarchMadnessBaby

— Matthew Unrue (@MattUnrue) March 21, 2013

Imgur User Makes Awesome College Basketball Brackets For Every Conference Tournament

Tyler Moorehead - ND Campus Rep — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:02:46 +0000

Looking to keep up with all of the conference tournaments in college basketball this week? Fear not, because one user of Imgur, Raidenradio, has created a fantastic set of brackets — one for every single conference, 30 in total — that will help you follow all of the action in style.

These get updated daily, so make sure to check back throughout the week — you just don’t find Big Sky Conference coverage like this elsewhere!

Note: Brackets appear in alphabetical order by conference name.

Notre Dame Edges Marquette, Advances To Big East Semifinal Matchup With Louisville

Tyler Moorehead - ND Campus Rep — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 03:53:54 +0000

Score: Notre Dame 73, Marquette 65

Stars: Notre Dame Pat Connaughton 18 Pts, 2 Reb. Jerian Grant 17 Pts, 6 Ast, 5 Reb. Marquette Junior Cadougan 14 Pts, 3 Reb

Story: This game was extremely sloppy, starting with the Irish walking out of the locker room in their new green postseason jerseys.

It was also very much a game of runs, at least for the first half. The Golden Eagles got off to a red-hot start, cruising to a 17-4 lead over the Irish — they were getting (and making) pretty much any shot they wanted, and looked to be benefiting from their double-bye as they displayed much more energy than Notre Dame. But the Irish displayed some resilience, refusing to let this game get away. Notre Dame tied the game back up 23-23 with over three minutes remaining until halftime.

The Irish fought back into the game with three-point shooting, led by sophomore Pat Connaughton, the hero from the Rutgers game the night before. That, combined with Garrick Sherman, proved too much to handle for Marquette down the stretch.

The second half was a back and forth affair, although the Irish began to pull away with about four minutes to go. There was a late scare as Jack Cooley fouled out with 1:26 to play and Marquette cut the lead to six on a Davante Gardner layup, but the Irish managed to hang on and close out the game at the charity stripe.

Notre Dame advances to a semifinal matchup against rival Louisville for the third time this season. The Irish won an epic five-overtime game in Purcell Pavilion earlier this year, but Louisville got revenge on Senior Day in the KFC Yum! Center.

I can’t take #NotreDame seriously in the #BigEast tourney wearing those jerseys. I swear I saw this guy running point twitter.com/GameOnBrixy/st…

— Pierce Brix (@GameOnBrixy) March 15, 2013

The Irish cheerleaders and @ndtheleprechaun with President Bill Clinton. twitter.com/FightingIrish/…

— The Fighting Irish (@FightingIrish) March 15, 2013

Marquette Sends Pittsburgh Packing

Tim Fontenault - UConn Campus Rep — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 02:43:44 +0000

Score: No. 10 Marquette 66, No. 15 Pittsburgh 43

Stars: Marquette: Katie Young 11 Pts, 7 Reb, 3 Ast. Katherine Plouffe 10 Pts, 9 Reb. Pittsburgh: Brianna Kiesel 12 Pts, 4 Reb, 3 Ast.

Story: Earlier this season, Marquette coach Terri Mitchell complained about the Big East schedule pitting her team against UConn twice, saying that it was unfair to her team.

Of course, UConn won both matchups in blowouts. But on Friday, it was Marquette blowing out the competition.

The Golden Eagles routed ACC-bound Pittsburgh 66-43 in the first round of the Big East Championship, advancing to play No. 7 DePaul in the second round on Saturday.

The game started out closer than expected, but Marquette hit its stride midway through the first half and never looked back.

Marquette took a 34-22 lead into the half, thanks in part to a dominant inside game. At halftime, the Golden Eagles held a 26-16 rebounding advantage and outscored Pittsburgh 24-12 in the paint.

Katherine Plouffe got big for Marquette in the paint, leading the way with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Marquette rotated and had an incredible balance of scoring, meaning Katie Young needed only 11 points to become the Golden Eagle’s leading scorer. It is the first time Young has been in double figures since Jan. 22 against Louisville.

“I thought [rotating] was extremely important,” Mitchell said. “You’re going to do what you need to do in a game to win, but I thought the way we played, it was getting people in and out, we had good rhythm, we’re used to playing each other. In any given game there’s going to be people to step up. Our scoring was very balanced. I don’t think we’re a team of superstars. I think we’re a team of hard-working individuals that find each other very extremely unselfish and do what we need to do. So I was really happy with that in looking at our minutes and how we distributed them tonight.”

Pittsburgh’s time in the Big East has come to an end, and the Panthers will begin play in the ACC next season. Coach Agnus Berenato and sophomore guard Brianna Kiesel praised the Big East as the best conference in college basketball, but that it is time for both the Big East and Pittsburgh to move on.

“In the Big East there’s been a lot of good players that I’ve seen…I’ve learned a lot from the players that I’ve played against,” Kiesel said. “Although we didn’t do as well as we’d have liked to, I think, us as a team, we grew in the last two years we’ve been here, and I’m looking forward to next year. Now I have two years in the Big East and I know what the Big East is like. Now I have two years in the ACC to see what that’s gonna be like.”

Tomorrow’s matchup against DePaul will be the third matchup of Catholic 7 schools at the Big East Tournament. Georgetown and Providence played in the first round while Seton Hall will meet St. John’s on Saturday.

This Is The Only Graphic You Need To See During March Madness

Matt Lombardi - CS Editor-in-Chief — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 02:59:04 +0000

The running theme of this year’s college basketball season is that no team is safe. With 19 upsets by unranked squads over those ranked in the top 5 this season, it’s easy to see why the 2013 NCAA Tournament is going to be one of the most wide-open in history.

Other sites have often made “parity charts” to illustrate the theory that any one team really can beat any other team. With the NFL and the NBA, it’s pretty easy to throw together a graphic that shows teams beating each other in a circle. But I wanted a bigger challenge. At the beginning of the season, I told myself that once every team had won and lost a game each, I’d set out to create a parity chart of every NCAA basketball team. But I ran into a problem.

You see, Grambling State never won a game (0-28). Every other team in the NCAA won a game – they didn’t. So while I can’t create a true parity chart, I figured I’d create one that ended on the Tigers.

The chart starts on the bottom left with Wichita State and ends (as you guessed) with Grambling State. Some of the logos are probably tough to read, but it was pretty difficult to fit them all onto something viewable.

It answers the question: Which teams should you bet on this March?…with the answer being a giant question mark.