Well, forget about the tournament for a minute, why don't we just look to the NBA to see which conference is the best? My newly married friend posed this question to me last week and I found it to be fascinating. He said, "If you had to make a 10 man roster of current NBA players from the same college conference, what would be the best team?" After some serious consideration I have compiled the teams from each of the major six conferences. I also expanded the rosters to 12 (the same as NBA active rosters) and included a brief synopsis of how good I think each team is. Feel free to agree or disagree.
(Conferences are listed alphabetically)
ACC
PG- Chris Paul, Hornets (Wake Forest)
SG- Vince Carter, Suns (North Carolina)
SF- Luol Deng, Bulls (Duke)
PF- Chris Bosh, Heat (Georgia Tech)
C- Tim Duncan, Spurs (Wake Forest)
Bench
Raymond Felton, Nuggets (North Carolina)
John Salmons, Bucks (Miami)
Shane Battier, Grizzlies (Duke)
Carlos Boozer, Bulls (Duke)
Elton Brand, 76ers (Duke)
Grant Hill, Suns (Duke)
Antawn Jamison, Cavs (North Carolina
Synopsis- Pretty remarkable that Vince Carter still starts after all of these years. Quite frankly, I like Salmons more, but Carter’s name carries some weight (as in dead weight because that’s what he is). This team’s clear weakness is at the wing. They have nice size (Bosh, Duncan, Boozer), a great floor general (CP3), and great complimentary veteran role players (Battier, Hill, Jamison), but they lack an elite scorer, athleticism at the wing, and a real threat from behind the arc.
Big East
PG- Dwyane Wade, Heat (Marquette)
SG- Ray Allen, Celtics (UCONN)
SF- Rudy Gay, Grizzlies (UCONN)
PF- Carmelo Anthony, Knicks (Syracuse)
C- Roy Hibbert, Pacers (Georgetown)
Bench
Ben Gordon, Pistons (UCONN)
Wesley Matthews, Blazers (Marquette)
Caron Butler, Mavericks (UCONN)
Jeff Green, Celtics (Georgetown)
Emeka Okafor, Hornets (UCONN)
Wilson Chandler, Nuggets (Depaul)
Ron Artest, Lakers (St. John’s)
Synopsis- No true point guard was good enough to make the roster (Sorry Jonny Flynn) and that hurts them quite a bit. They do have two superstars (Wade and Melo), the best shooter of all time (Ray Ray), offensive firepower (Gordon, Chandler), and an emerging star (Rudy Gay), but they have mediocre and limited bigs and no true ball handler.
Big Ten
PG- Deron Williams, Nets (Illinois)
SG- Eric Gordon, Clippers (Indiana)
SF- Jason Richardson, Magic (Michigan State)
PF- Zach Randolph, Grizzlies (Michigan State)
C- Carl Landry, Hornets (Purdue)
Bench
Mike Conley, Grizzlies (Ohio State)
Jamal Crawford, Hawks (Michigan)
Shannon Brown, Lakers (Michigan State)
Kris Humphries, Nets (Minnesota)
Juwan Howard, Heat (Michigan)
Evan Turner, 76ers (Ohio State)
Devin Harris, Jazz (Wisconsin)
Synopsis- Where is the size? Carl Landry is a nice player, but he’s not a center. Outside of him I love the starting lineup. D Will is arguably the best point guard in the game, Eric Gordon has taking a huge leap forward this year after playing with Team USA in the summer, Jason Richardson is one of the most underrated players in the league, and Z Bo is an absolute beast. Their bench has some nice pieces (Crawford, Shannon Brown), but it’s rather underwhelming compared to the rest of these teams.
Big 12
PG- Chauncey Billups, Knicks (Colorado)
SG- Paul Pierce, Celtics (Kansas)
SF- Kevin Durant, Thunder (Texas)
PF- Blake Griffin, Clippers (Oklahoma)
C- LaMarcus Aldridge, Blazers (Texas)
Bench
Daniel Gibson, Cavs (Texas)
Kirk Hinrich, Hawks (Kansas)
Tony Allen, Grizzlies (Oklahoma State)
Michael Beasley, Timberwolves (Kansas State)
DeAndre Jordan, Clippers (Texas A&M) D
J Augustin, Bobcats (Texas)
Nick Collison, Thunder (Kansas)
Synopsis- Easily my favorite starting lineup of the major conferences, but like the Big Ten there’s just not a lot of depth behind it. Another weakness that doesn’t jump out at you right away is that this team really has no low post presence. Aldridge’s low post game is improving, but he’s basically a face up shooter. Blake Griffin is an uber athletic 4 that drives to the rim (he doesn’t operate in the post). Beasley, who can’t win for losing, plays more like a 2 than a 4 even though he dominated the glass in college. That all said, this may be the best of the six purely based on the firepower in their starting lineup.
Pac 10
PG- Jason Kidd, Mavericks (California)
SG- Russell Westbrook, Thunder (UCLA)
SF- Andre Igoudala, 76ers (Arizona)
PF- Kevin Love, Timberwolves (UCLA)
C- Brook Lopez, Nets (Stanford)
Bench
Jason Terry, Mavericks (Arizona)
Gilbert Arenas, Magic (Arizona)
Nick Young, Wizards (USC)
Richard Jefferson, Spurs (Arizona)
Channing Frye, Suns (Arizona)
Aaron Brooks, Suns (Oregon)
Brandon Roy, Blazers (Washington)
Synopsis- Believe it or not, the Pac 10 had the most players that seemed worthy of making the team. Players like Baron Davis, Trevor Ariza, and OJ Mayo didn’t make the cut. This team would definitely operate best playing an up-tempo style. Jason Kidd would have a field day taking outlet passes from Kevin Love and running with super athletic wings like Westbrook and Iguodala. Brook Lopez is a true low post scorer who would love (excuse the pun) playing alongside Kevin Love because Love would make up for Lopez’ softness on the glass. I love Jason Terry, Arenas, and Nick Young coming off the bench and if Brandon Roy could ever stay healthy he would probably be in the starting lineup.
SEC
PG- Rajon Rondo, Celtics (Kentucky)
SG- Joe Johnson, Hawks (Arkansas)
SF- Gerald Wallace, Blazers (Alabama)
PF- David Lee, Warriors (Florida)
C- Al Horford, Hawks (Florida)
Bench
John Wall, Wizards (Kentucky)
Mo Williams, Clippers (Alabama)
Mike Miller, Heat (Florida)
Glen Davis, Celtics (LSU)
Joakim Noah, Bulls (Florida)
Marcus Thornton, Hornets (LSU)
Tayshaun Prince, Pistons (Kentucky)
Synopsis- I’d be very interested to see how Rondo would play without Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. This team would dominate the glass, but who’s their go to scorer? Joe Johnson? He’s a talented 2, but he’s the go to guy on the Hawks and they aren’t even a top 4 seed in the East. This team does have an intriguing bench, but not a lot of players that can fill the scoring void. As weird as it sounds, this team would probably play like a typical SEC team who slows it down, plays aggressive defense, and grinds out tough baskets. They say defense wins, even in the NBA, but you still need to have elite offensive weapons and this team doesn’t have any.
Well now that two mid-majors have advanced to the Final Four (Butler and VCU)I think it's only fair if we take a look at a team comprised of players from non major conferences.
Mid Majors
PG- Derrick Rose, Bulls (Memphis)
SG- Stephen Curry, Warriors (Davidson)
SF- Danny Granger, Pacers (New Mexico)
PF- Paul Millsap, Jazz (Louisiana Tech)
C- Andrew Bogut, Bucks (Utah)
Bench
Tyreke Evans, Kings (Memphis)
Kevin Martin, Rockets (Western Carolina)
Lamar Odom, Lakers (Rhode Island)
David West, Hornets (Xavier)
Javale McGee, Wizards (UNLV)
Jameer Nelson, Magic (St. Joseph’s)
Kyle Korver, Bulls (Creighton)
Synopsis- I would take this team to beat any and all of the teams from the major conferences. Sure they have more schools to pick from, but they are easily the most balanced. They have 4 players who played PG in college (Curry and Evans are now shooting guards), 5 elite scorers (Rose, Curry, Granger, Evans, and Martin), 4 top notch threats from deep (Curry, Granger, Martin, and Korver), and above average big men that have unique skill sets (Millsap is your prototypical low post scorer and rebounding, Bogut is as good of a low post defender as you’re going to get, Odom is arguably the most versatile player in the league as well as an elite rebounder, West can play in the post and has a nice mid-range game, and McGee is an athletic freak who can come in and grab rebounds and block shots). The only weakness I can see, and it’s not much of one, is that they one have one true superstar (Rose) and other teams have more.
*Steve Nash, Suns (Santa Clara) was not considered because, as a Canadian, he is also eligible for our next category. Similarly, other players that were eligible for more than one category (ex: Linas Kleiza, Raptors (Missouri) (Lithuania)) we're not considered.
Foreign
PG- Tony Parker, Spurs (France)
SG- Manu Ginobili, Spurs (Argentina)
SF- Hedo Turkoglu, Magic (Turkey)
PF- Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks (Germany)
C- Pau Gasol, Lakers (Spain)
Bench
Jose Calderon, Raptors (Spain)
Danilo Gallinari, Nuggets (Italy)
Andrei Kirilenko, Jazz (Russia)
Andrea Bargnani, Raptors (Italy)
Nene Hilario, Nuggets (Brazil)
Marc Gasol, Grizzlies (Spain)
Luis Scola, Rockets (Argentina)
Synopsis- As much as I’d like to say that this group of foreigners would suck, I can’t. This team is loaded. Two legitimate superstars in Dirk and Pau. One of the best late game scorers in the world in Manu. Six viable threats from behind the 3 point line (Manu, Hedo, Dirk, Calderon, Gallo, and Bargnani). Great size (the Gasol brothers, Nene, Scola). Two true pass first point guards (one of which is a former NBA Finals MVP and a confirmed swinger). The biggest question for this team is defense. Kirilenko and Nene are the only two notable defensive players on the roster and Kirilenko is way past his prime. So how good are they? I’d take them to beat any team yet.
If you're even a remote fan of the NBA you know that there's a team that we haven't gotten to yet. You should also know that it's probably the best team of them all.
High School
PG- LeBron James, Heat (St. Vincent’s/St. Mary’s in Akron, OH)
SG- Kobe Bryant, Lakers (Lower Merion in Philadelphia, PA)
SF- Amare Stoudemire, Knicks (Cypress Creek in Orlando, FL)
PF- Kevin Garnett, Celtics (Farragut Academy in Chicago, IL)
C- Dwight Howard, Magic (SW Atlanta Christian Academy in Atlanta, GA)
Bench
Monta Ellis, Warriors (Lanier High in Jackson, MS)
J.R. Smith, Nuggets (Saint Benedict’s in Newark, NJ)
Josh Smith, Hawks (Oak Hill in Mouth of Wilson, VA)
Al Jefferson, Jazz (Prentiss High in Prentiss, MS)
Andrew Bynum, Lakers (St. Joseph’s in Metuchen, NJ)
Tyson Chandler, Mavericks (Dominguez High in Compton, CA)
Dorell Wright, Warriors (South Kent Prep in South Kent, CT)
Synopsis- This team lacks a true point guard (even though some would argue that PG is LeBron’s natural position), but they have 4 current super stars (LBJ, Kobe, Amare, and Dwight) and one former star who’s past his prime (KG). They have explosive scorers on their bench (Ellis, J.R. Smith), unmatched size, six elite defenders (LBJ, Kobe, KG, Dwight, J.R. Smith, and Josh Smith), and 4 solid 3-point shooters (Kobe, Ellis, J.R. Smith, and Dorell Wright). This team’s pure talent and other worldly size makes them virtually unbeatable.
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