Final Four Picks Based On The Best NBA Prospects
We have Cal going to the Final Four and winning the championship led by freshman lottery picks Jaylen brown and Ivan Rabb.
We prefer pro sports to college sports because professional athletes are better than non-professional athletes generally. In a sport like basketball, individual great players can determine the outcome of individual games, which is how we look at the road to the Final Four. It’s a series of individual one-game scenarios in succession. With that being said, here is our Final Four:
Final Four: Cal, Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky
These four teams have the most and highest ranked NBA prospects according to nbadraft.net.
Cal has three projected first-round picks, including the number-three overall pick in freshman swingman Jaylen Brown. Freshman power forward Ivan Rabb will also be a lottery pick and is projected to go in the top 10. Finally, senior point guard Tyrone Wallace is a projected first-round pick. We actually have Cal winning it all as they have a real argument for being the most talented team in the country. Obviously their youth and inexperience will be their biggest hurdle.
We have Kentucky losing to Cal in the final game. While not a vintage Kentucky team, they still have two projected lottery picks in freshman guard Jamal Murray and freshman center Skal Labissiere. Diminutive sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis is a projected 2nd-round pick. The key to Kentucky will be what they get out of their frontline rotation whom have been underwhelming.
We have Kentucky beating Michigan State, who have two first fringe lottery picks in freshman power forward Deyonta Davis and senior point forward Denzel Valentine. Michigan State is a really impressive team leading the nation in three point field goal percentage and assists.
Duke has the #2 overall pick in the draft in freshman point forward Brandon Ingram. Grayson Allen is also a late first round pick. Duke is not very deep so of the four, this is the team I feel the least confident in. Cal’s length and talent, we believe, would overwhelm Duke in a national semifinal.
This Final Four strategy of picking NBA talent seems especially dubious this year given that the consensus overall number-one pick missed the tournament, the first time that’s happened since the 1970s. Still, we like this final four because not many people will have it, and it’s feasible.
