It’s that time of the year again for every college hoops fan. It’s March Madness season and the games are now in full swing. However, with every new hero or heroes in all the madness that’s happening or has happened before, there are quite a number of NBA stars who have never experienced the craziness and the feeling of playing on NCAA’s grandest stage.
In today’s list, we will top 10 NBA players who never played in the NCAA Tournament. To make this list much more interesting, we will exclude stars like LeBron, Kobe and Garnett who all skipped college hoops and went directly to the NBA straight from high school. Instead, we’ll take a deep dive into several surprising stars who have not logged a single minute at March Madness due to the poor performance of their team, injury woes and other valid reasons.
Damian Lillard (Weber State Wildcats)
It’s hard to believe that a superstar like Damian Lillard never got a chance to play in March Madness despite all the accolades he gathered for the Weber State Wildcats during his entire four-year campaign. His best chance was in 2012 when he led the Wildcats to a 25-7 season but due to several factors in the selection committee, the team still wasn’t invited to the Big Dance.
Despite having a year left on his college eligibility, Lillard, with nothing left to prove at the collegiate level, decided to take his act in the NBA. He was then selected as the 6th overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2012 NBA Draft and the rest is history.
Paul George (Fresno State)
Despite being named as one of the most exciting college players to watch by Sports Illustrated in 2009, it’s surprising that a high-caliber player like Paul George never got to experience March Madness. He was a stud during his two years donning a Fresno State Bulldogs uniform, averaging 15.5 ppg and 6.7 rpg per game.
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But one look at their record during Paul George’s time there and it’s easy to understand why – they were pretty bad from 2008 to 2010. With NBA teams already salivating at PG’s potential at the next level, leaving the NCAA was a no-brainer for George. He subsequently became a star in the NBA and raked a handful of personal accolades wherever he went.
Jamal Crawford (Michigan Wolverines)
The details were muddy, but Crawford’s failure to play at the NCAA tournament was full of unnecessary bumps. During his 17-game stint with the Michigan Wolverines in the 1999-2000 season, Crawford received two suspensions due to off-the-court dilemmas. He first received a six-game suspension from the NCAA due to a living arrangement he had while still a high school player in Seattle.
Crawford was then handed an eight-game suspension after making himself eligible for the NBA draft despite already signing a letter of intent to play for Michigan. Feeling exhausted by all the unwanted drama he endured in college, Crawford quickly declared himself available for the 2000 NBA Draft where he was selected by the Chicago Bulls as the 8th overall pick.
Joel Embiid (Kansas Jayhawks)
While Embiid’s team – the Kansas Jayhawks – did get invited to the NCAA tournament in 2014, he did not log a single minute of playing time due to a stress fracture he suffered before the Big 12 tournament. Without their prized center from Cameroon, the Jayhawks immediately got booted out of the NCAA tournament in round 32 by Stanford.
Technically, Embiid never experienced what it’s like to play on college basketball’s grandest stage. If he had a chance to display his skills on national television, there’s little to no doubt that Embiid could’ve gone number one in the 2014 NBA Draft. But all is well as Embiid eventually became a dominant force while playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Klay Thompson (Washington State Cougars)
Unlike his Warriors’ long-time teammate Stephen Curry who had a Cinderella run with Davidson in the 2009 NCAA tournament, Thompson never had a chance to show his sweet shooting stroke under the national spotlight while playing three years for the Washington State Cougars.
Despite compiling a 22-13 record and with Klay Thomspon’s second straight selection on the All-Pac-10 First Team in 2011, the Cougars still weren’t invited to the Big Dance. With his name quickly becoming a hot topic around the NBA circles due to his ability to torch defenses from the three-point line, Thompson decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility and declared for the 2011 NBA Draft. Four championships later, I don’t think he regretted his decision one bit.
Dejounte Murray (Washington Huskies)
It’s hard to fathom that Murray did not get a chance to display his skills at the NCAA tournament in 2016. He was a very good all-around player during his lone year at Washington, averaging 16.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 4.4 apg and started all 34 games. However, despite his brilliance on the court, the Huskies only finished 19-15 in the 2015-2016 season, failing to get a bid due to their inferior record.
With his draft stock unexpectedly skyrocketing due to his stellar year with the Huskies, Murray forgo his remaining college eligibility and declared for the 2016 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the Spurs as the 29th overall pick in the first round.
Darius Garland (Vanderbilt Commodores)
Garland, rated a five-star player in high school, was regarded as the best recruit ever for Vanderbilt. However, the 6 foot 1 floor general only played 5 games for the Commodores after suffering a knee injury against Kent State in a November game in 2018. It was later revealed that Garland suffered a meniscus injury and decided to sit out the remainder of the season to prepare for the 2019 NBA Draft.
It was such a sad circumstance for the team as they genuinely thought that they had a chance to make some noise during the 2018-2019 NCAA season. Garland eventually declared himself available for the draft and was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the 5th overall pick in 2019.
Jarrett Allen (Texas Longhorns)
There was certainly a fair amount of buzz with Jarrett Allen’s arrival at Texas as he was ranked the 15th overall player in the 2016 recruitment class. Allen did not disappoint during his lone season wearing the Longhorns jersey as he averaged 13.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg and 1.5 bpg. However, despite his dominance on the court, his team only compiled an 11-21 record during the 2016-2017 NCAA season, missing the Big Dance by a far mile.
Allen decided to test the waters ahead of the NBA Draft and due to his strong performance in the workouts he attended, he was selected by the Brooklyn Nets as the 22nd overall pick in 2017.
Chris Bosh (Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets)
Who would have thought that Chris Bosh never logged a single minute in the NCAA tournament? One of the best power forwards in the 2000s era, Bosh had a great season with Georgia Tech in the 2002-2003 NCAA season, averaging 15.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 2.2 bpg. Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, they only went 16-15 for the year and completely missed the Big Dance.
While Bosh initially wanted to complete his degree and play for the team until he was no longer eligible, he made the ultimate decision to enter his name in the 2003 NBA Draft after his name shot up the draft boards. Safe to say that Bosh made the right decision as he was taken by the Raptors as the 4th overall pick in 2003, behind LeBron James(1st) and Carmelo Anthony(3rd).
Anthony Edwards (Georgia Bulldogs)
During his lone season at Georgia, Anthony Edwards lit up the scoreboard as he averaged 19.1 ppg in 32 games. He posted insane numbers throughout the 2019-2020 season for the Bulldogs and his name was consistently floated around as the potential top pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Sadly, despite his stellar play on the court, the Bulldogs only went 16-16 for the year, missing the NCAA tournament by a wide margin and a chance to showcase his skills in front of a larger audience. But things aren’t so bad for the high-flyer and three-level scorer as he eventually morphed into one of the best players in the NBA today.
