NATIONALLY-ranked Florida will clash with upset-conscious Connecticut and unpredictable Wisconsin will take on red-hot Kentucky on April 5 (Apr. 6 Manila time) in the Final Four (national semifinals) of the 2013 U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s basketball tournament at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Two days later (Apr. 8 MT), the winners then will vie for the national championship that was vacated early by 2013 titlist Louisville when the Cardinals were beaten by intra-state rival Kentucky, 74-69, in an Elite Eight duel.
To reach the Final Four, Florida (36-2) blasted 11th-seeded Dayton, 62-52, to annex the South Region crown; seventh-seeded Connecticut (30-8) downed fourth-seeded Michigan State, 60-54, to secure the East title; No. 2 seed Wisconsin (30-7) beat top-seeded Arizona, 64-63, in overtime for the West Regional title; and eighth-seeded Kentucky (28-10) upended No. 2 seed Michigan, 75-72, to grab the Midwest diadem.
Florida is in the midst of a 30-game winning streak and owns a 36-2 record, having surpassed the school’s old all-time single-season win mark of 35 victories established by the 2007 national champion Gators.
Behind current Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah, Florida chalked up back-to-back NCAA tournament title finishes in 2006 and 2007 under current bench tactician Billy Donovan.
The Gators are the only No. 1 seed remaining in the ongoing tournament. Virginia dropped a 61-59 decision to Michigan State in the East Elite 8, Arizona lost to Wisconsin in the West final and Wichita State lost to Kentucky in the Midwest Round of 32. Wisconsin is making its first Final Four trip since 2000. The Badgers last won the NCAA title in 1941.
UConn has romped away with the NCAA hardware thrice. The Huskies reached the mountain top in 1999, 2004 and 2011. With eight titles, Kentucky owns the second most number of championships in NCAA Division I tournament history, trailing only the UCLA Bruins’ 11.
The Wildcats last won the hardware in 2012 behind top-flight frontliner Anthony Davis, who’s now an All-Star in just his second pro season with the New Orleans Pelicans.
It’s April Fools’ Day today, but a joke this story isn’t. Though how great he was as a player, not even His Airness Michael Jordan was able to score the hat-trick during his basketball career – which was winning altogether a U.S. state high school title, a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I championship and a National Basketball Association (NBA) crown.
Jordan, who’s now the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats (to be known as the Hornets starting next season) in the NBA, romped way with an NCAA ring with the University of North Carolina Tar Heels in 1982 as a rookie collegian and amassed two three-peats and six NBA championships overall with the Chicago Bulls from 1991-93 and from 1996-98.
However, the Brooklyn, New York-born Jordan failed to win a state high school title. During his sophomore year at Emsley A. Laney in Wilmington, North Carolina, the then-5-foot-9 Jordan tried out for the basketball team.
He was bypassed for the final berth on the varsity squad when coach Clifton Herring opted for a taller player, 6-foot-9 sophomore Leroy Smith, over Jordan.
According to Jordan, it was embarrassing not making that team. “They posted the roster and it was there for a long, long time without my name on it. I remember being really mad, too, because there was a guy who made it that really wasn’t as good as me.” That season, Jordan put together one of the best performances on the school’s junior varsity team.
He joined the varsity the following campaign. And as a senior, he powered Laney High to the state playoffs – but wound up without a championship.
Excluding Jordan, there have been at least 11 athletes in American hoops history to have had success in every stage of their career. The exclusive cast include Lucius Allen (1965 Wyandotte, Kansas City, Missouri HS; 1967 and 1968 UCLA Bruins; and 1971 Milwaukee Bucks); Quinn Buckner (1971 and 1972 Thornridge, Phoenix, Illinois HS; 1976 Indiana Hoosiers; and 1984 Boston Celtics); and Earvin (Magic) Johnson (1977 Lansing, Michigan HS; 1979 Michigan State Spartans; and 1980-1982-1985-1987-1988 LA Lakers); Jerry Lucas (1958 Middletown, Ohio HS; 1960 Ohio State Buckeyes; and 1973 New York Knicks); Rodney McCray (1978 and 1979 Mount Vernon, New York HS; 1980 Louisville Cardinals; and 1993 Chicago Bulls); and Glen Rice (1984 Northwestern, Flint, Michigan HS; 1989 Michigan Wolverines; and 2000 LA Lakers); Bill Walton (1969 and 1970 Helix, California HS; 1972 and 1973 UCLA Bruins; and 1977 Portland Trail Blazers and 1986 Boston Celtics); Rick Robey (1974 Brother Martin, New Orleans HS; 1978 Kentucky Wildcats; and 1981 Boston Celtics); and Billy Thompson (1982 Camden, New Jersey HS; 1986 Louisville Cardinals; and 1987 and 1988 LA Lakers); James Worthy (1979 Ashbrook, North Carolina HS; 1982 North Carolina Tar Heels; and 1985-1987-1988 LA Lakers); and Milt Wagner (1979 Camden, New Jersey HS; 1986 Louisville Cardinals; and 1988 LA Lakers). Lucas, Johnson, Walton and Worthy are members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
In addition to the aforementioned triple feats, Buckner (1976 Montreal), Johnson (1992 Barcelona) and Lucas (1960 Rome) also collected an Olympic gold medal.
Buckner and Lucas earned their medals while still in college. Johnson starred for the original NBA-dominated U.S. Dream Team that handily won all of its eight games en route to the gold during the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Jordan owns a pair of Olympic gold medals (1984 Los Angeles and 1992 Barcelona). But then again, he did not secure a single high school title at Laney. Admittedly, Jordan belongs to rarefied air but his roundball resume will forever be incomplete despite his incandescent NCAA and NBA tenures.
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