USA TODAY International Edition
For men, NCAA- pro hoops title double feat fading
Even into the 1980s, the hallmark of a successful NBA player could partially be traced to his college team’s track record.
Many of the stars of their generation won both NBA and NCAA championships, including Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar and Magic Johnson. But once the high school to NBA pipeline became popularized, the number of amateur champions who accomplished the feat professionally dwindled.
And since women’s basketball became organized at the collegiate and pro levels, the odds of a woman winning a WNBA championship after a NCAA title are greater than a male player’s chances of the NCAA- NBA double.
Thirty- two men’s players have won at both levels – over a much larger sample size – according to USA TODAY Sports research. In considerably less time, there have been 14 dual champions in women’s basketball.
‘ One- and- done,’ other factors limit men’s NCAA champions
When the NBA instituted what had become known as the “one- and- done” rule in 2006, players were required to be 19 to enter the draft. Most of the top prospects continued going the college route, despite the lure of pursuing a season in Europe or other professional routes ( such as the G League).
The lone superstar from the current era to pull off the feat of titles at both levels is Lakers’ forward Anthony Davis, who brought John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats the 2012 NCAA men’s championship and won his first professional title in October.
Davis isn’t the only one on the men’s side to do it recently, but he is the only All- Star to win at both levels since Rip Hamilton ( national championship at Connecticut, NBA title with Pistons). Quinn Cook has been on two of the last three NBA championship squads and was a senior on the Duke Blue Devils championship team of 2015.
Other men’s players who accomplished the feat in the 21st century include Danny Green. The three- time NBA champion ( with three different teams – Spurs, Raptors, Lakers) won the 2009 NCAA championship at North Carolina under recently retired coach Roy Williams. Green’s style – strong perimeter defense, proficient 3- point shooting – helped him find his role on teams that could win.
“I think I learned at an early stage early on and high school how to be that piece,” Green told USA TODAY Sports by phone Friday.
The second- round draft pick found it fitting that he and Cook were part of Davis’ first NBA title. “Me and Quinn have had some recent ( conversations) before about getting it done,” he said. “I didn’t realize AD was a part of that. Now he is a part of that conversation. That’s pretty special.”
Jason Terry ( Arizona, 1999) and Corey Brewer ( two NCAA titles at Florida, 2006 and 2007) won their NBA rings together with the Mavericks in 2011. In the cases of Green and Brewer, they were part of college teams with cores that
stuck around in pursuit of winning – something that doesn’t happen often in the modern men’s college basketball landscape.
It’s difficult to build the chemistry to win in one season, especially if the star player is an 18- or 19- year- old freshman, as future NBA stars often are.
“With each team, you’d like to see some guys who did some college ( winning), to experience it on both levels,” Green told USA TODAY Sports, “but it’s just kind of starting to fade because less guys are doing college years, so it’s harder to find those.”
Draft rules mean women’s players have more time to win NCAA titles
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament didn’t start until 1982; the WNBA will begin its 25th season this year.
Both of those factors are reasons why the women’s list is much shorter than the men’s, although the frequency is certainly higher.
Similar to the early stages of the NBA, the names associated with women’s basketball burst onto the scene as college players and continued their greatness in the pros. Female players cannot leave after their freshman year for the WNBA because league draft rules specify that players “be at least 22 years old during the year in which the draft takes place and has no remaining college eligibility or renounces any future college eligibility.”
Then there’s the Connecticut factor. Coach Geno Auriemma built a powerhouse that attracts the top high school talent, some of whom have gone on to become the faces of women’s basketball. Sue Bird is an 11- time All- Star and four- time WNBA champ. Swin Cash won three pro titles and made four WNBA All- Star teams. Diana Taurasi is an MVP, nine- time All- Star and threetime WNBA champion. Other Huskies including Maya Moore, Asjha Jones, Breanna Stewart, Kara Wolters and Renee Montgomery also distinguished themselves as multilevel champions.
It’s not just the UConn greats who reached the top of the sport at the next level. Sheryl Swoopes, who won an NCAA title during her senior year at Texas Tech, went on to be a four- time champion and six- time All- Star. Cynthia Cooper, a four- time WNBA Finals MVP with the Comets ( she was a regular- season MVP twice), captured NCAA titles with the Southern California Trojans in 1983 and 1984.
More recent stars such as Candace Parker ( Tennessee), Britney Griner ( Baylor) and Tamika Catchings ( Tennessee) are also on the list. All but one of the 14 ( Wolters) went on to be named WNBA All- Stars.