March is arguably the most exciting time of the college basketball season, with the NCAA Tournament set to take center stage in the program.
It can be one of the best ways for NBA fans to identify which players may be the next rising stars of the game and make a splash when they enter the NBA. Indeed, with NBA betting continuing to be on the rise, many compare top sports betting sites to help them find the best value and odds, using markets that involve rookies because of the slight unknown regarding how they adapt to the professional game.
Some try to get ahead of the bookies by taking a keen interest in March Madness. As we’ve seen this season, Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg are performing fairly well after putting up decent numbers in their race to be the NBA’s Rookie of the Year for the Charlotte Hornets and Dallas Mavericks, respectively.
Still, does success in March Madness translate to success in the NBA? When looking at the players who hold the record for scoring the most points in NCAA Tournament history, results have been mixed.
Christian Laettner
Christian Laettner leads the all-time points scored total in March Madness competition, having amassed 407. However, his NBA career never reached the heights that this number would suggest it should have. Coming out of Duke, he had played in 23 NCAA tournament games and won two national championships.
In the NBA, he was a solid contributor over his 13-season career, averaging 12.8 points per game while playing for six teams. If anything, the tournament exposed the difference between the college game and the professional league, highlighting the step-up it takes and that not everyone can excel at both.
Elvin Hayes
Second on the list of all-time points in March Madness, Elvin Hayes scored 358 points as he led a dominant Houston to back-to-back Final Four appearances. He played in 13 games in the NCAA Tournament and scored at least 10 points in each of them. He would finish with an average of almost 30 points per game (27.5 average).
He would go on to enjoy an incredible career in the NBA, becoming a 12-time NBA All-Star, a championship winner with Washington, and known as one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. He had a career that saw him score an average of 21 points and 12.5 rebounds over his 16 years, making him one of the best players to have played in March Madness and the NBA.
Danny Manning
Saving his best for his senior year, Danny Manning essentially carried the Kansas Jayhawks on his own, earning him and the team the nickname “Danny and the Miracles” after their 1988 national championship success. He would score a total of 328 career points in the NCAA Tournament, scoring at least 20 points in all six of his appearances in the tournament in his senior year. He had 31 in the title game against Oklahoma.
However, he never really reached elite heights in the NBA. He had a solid career, but nothing special. Making two All-Star teams, he had his fair share of injuries, including two ACL tears.
Tyler Hansbrough
Tyler Hansbrough was a March Madness mainstay during his North Carolina tenure, suiting up for 17 tournament contests from 2006 to 2009. Known as “Psycho T” for his relentless energy, he fueled the Tar Heels’ deepest runs year over year, from the round of 32 to the Elite Eight, Final Four, and ultimately the 2009 national title. He poured in 18 points during that championship rout of Michigan State, wrapping a tourney resume averaging 19.1 points per game.
His NBA path, though, paled next to college stardom. Not every campus bully translates; many March stars scrap for pro bench spots. That tournament fire sparks draft hype, as with today’s buzz around Cooper Flagg, but it rarely guarantees the tools to handle NBA athleticism and physicality.
Is March Madness an indicator of potential success?
March Madness can create legendary players once they enter the NBA, but more often than not, success in the NCAA Tournament doesn’t translate the way many expect.
As we’ve seen, there’s no denying that some of them go on to have respectable careers, but there are very few who become the stars that their numbers would suggest they should. Hayes is arguably the exception to the rule, as he became a Hall of Famer. Manning played well, but injuries stopped him from ever reaching his potential ceiling.
Still, that won’t stop this year’s group of players from thinking they can go on to achieve success with a decent March Madness showing, and there’ll be many fans and NBA teams that will be keeping an eye on them ahead of the NBA draft.