As I was watching Hoosiers II (proof that sometimes the sequel can be better, albeit much more painful, than the original) last night, wearing my Butler University t-shirt (as a former adjunct faculty member, I'm allowed a seat on the bandwagon), I couldn't get away from a nagging question.
Where are the prospects?
Don't get me wrong. Duke vs. Butler was college basketball as it was meant to be, hard-nosed defense, unselfish offense, raw elbows and knees, players subverting individual egos for the collective will of the team. I loved every minute of it, except the last.
It was also an example of schools with long-term programs and a tradition of achievement in place, not factories whose fortunes rise and fall with their abilities to produce one-and-done superstars.
But if you were looking for lottery picks that can come in and help reverse the Pacers' fortunes, you didn't find any. In fact, there weren't even any first-round locks on the court – not just in the championship game itself but in the Final Four.
And that's an incredibly rare exception.
Last year, of course, North Carolina won the title with three first-round picks including the Pacers' Tyler Hansbrough (as well as Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington). Connecticut, eliminated in the semifinals, had No. 2 pick Hasheem Thabeet (and Pacers second-rounder A.J. Price).
In 2008, three of the top five picks were in the Final Four (Derrick Rose of Memphis and Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love of UCLA), while Kansas teammates Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur were first-round picks from the championship team.
In 2007, five of the top nine picks were in the Final Four (Florida's Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah, Ohio State's Greg Oden and Georgetown's Jeff Green), along with first-rounds Daequan Cook of Ohio State and Aaron Afflalo of UCLA.
And so it goes.
Based on a survey of the premier online draft experts, the most likely first-round picks from the Final Four teams are Butler's Gordon Hayward, West Virginia's Devin Ebanks and Duke's Kyle Singler.
Hayward is rated as high as No. 21 (by DraftExpress) and as low as 44 (RealGM).
HoopsHype, which ranked him as the 28th-best player but projected him as a second-round pick, summarized his prospects thusly:
"Wing player with great size and a superb skill-level. Smart player who understands the nuances of getting his shot off, and is an outstanding perimeter shooter. Can pass, rebound and will have no problem operating within a team setting. Just an average athlete with a frame that may struggle to carry much more weight. Defensive potential looks limited."
He's drawing comparisons to the Pacers' Mike Dunleavy and Washington's Mike Miller.
Singler is all over the board, a potential first-round on some sites, not even listed as a second-rounder on others. Ebanks is the most consistently rated as a first-rounder but a mid-to-late-round prospect.
What does this all mean?
Ultimately, that last night's championship game was one to be cherished, placed in a pantheon and replayed for the ages, because it was all about the teams.
Only if Hollywood ever does really decide to put this story to celluloid, I'd appreciate it if they would take a bit of license and make Hayward's last shot good.
Then I could stop watching the replays, thinking the next one will be different.
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