If you could comprise a team based solely on players from mid-major programs, who would you take? Would you focus on perimeter players? Or would you try and corner the rare big-man market?
For the second straight year, a mid-major program has earned its way into the Final Four. Loyola Chicago made it the seventh year in the last 11 that a mid-major program has made it this far. It is clear that the gap between mid-majors and power conferences is closing. Talent is a big part.
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Andrew Doughty and I sat down and drafted two teams each. I drafted first (Team 1) and third (Team 3); Doughty went second (Team 2) and fourth (Team 4). We drafted in a snake fashion. For all intents and purposes, this draft was not done with the idea of playing in a fantasy basketball arena, but rather putting these players on an actual court to see who had the best team.
Only players from the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC were excluded.
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Team 1
| Pick | Player | Pos. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.01 | Jock Landale | C | Saint Mary's |
| 2.04 | Gary Clark | F | Cincinnati |
| 3.01 | Fletcher Magee | G | Wofford |
| 4.04 | Jaylen Adams | G | St. Bonaventure |
| 5.01 | Devontae Cacok | F | UNC-Wilmington |
| 6.04 | Milik Yarbrough | F | Illinois State |
| 7.01 | RJ Cole | G | Howard |
| 8.04 | Tre'Shaun Fletcher | F | Toledo |
It was not difficult to take Landale with the first pick. Despite the game being stretched out, Landale has proven to be a difference maker down on the block. An efficient scorer who can take over a game at will. As Landale as the cornerstone, the next objective was to get complimentary players. Gary Clark was the player of the year in the American and a swiss-army knife that can fill a variety of roles.
Rounding out the starting five; Magee averaged 4.9 threes per game and shot 44 percent from beyond the arc. Adams is an invaluable conductor at the point. Cacok led the nation in rebounding (13.5 rpg), grabbing a ridiculous 25 percent of rebounding opportunities. I could have picked Tom, Dick and Harry for the three bench positions and still felt comfortable owning the best team of the bunch.
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Team 2
| Pick | Player | Pos. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.02 | Caleb Martin | F | Nevada |
| 2.03 | Jerrick Harding | G | Weber State |
| 3.02 | Landry Shamet | G | Wichita State |
| 4.03 | Justin Wright-Foreman | G | Hofstra |
| 5.02 | Jared Terrell | G | Rhode Island |
| 6.03 | Nick King | F | Middle Tennessee |
| 7.02 | Justin Tillman | F | VCU |
| 8.03 | Jordan Howard | G | Central Arkansas |
The second-overall pick was a no-brainer. If Jock Landale was the first pick, Caleb Martin was the second and vice versa — and there are no complaints either way.
The seventh pick, however, was not a no-brainer. Do you load up the frontcourt with Gary Clark, Brandon McCoy or even Hayden Dalton? Or build up the backcourt with Jerrick Harding or Landry Shamet? Harding was the pick thanks to outstanding shooting clips and quick hands defensively.
I debated taking Jordan Howard with each of my five prior picks but kept holding out as I picked up other pieces. Snagging the Central Arkansas scorer in the final round was nothing short of miraculous.
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Team 3
| Pick | Player | Pos. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.03 | Shake Milton | G | SMU |
| 2.02 | Chandler Hutchison | F | Boise State |
| 3.03 | Brandon McCoy | C | UNLV |
| 4.02 | Kevin Hervey | F | UT-Arlington |
| 5.03 | Melvin Frazier | G | Tulane |
| 6.02 | Alize Johnson | F | Missouri State |
| 7.03 | Kendrick Nunn | G | Oakland |
| 8.02 | Jalen Adams | G | Connecticut |
Getting three projected NBA first-round picks with my first three selections…OK.
Milton, Hutchison and McCoy have talent–to use an oldie but goodie term–coming out the wazoo.
When I saw Andrew take Naar with his first pick, I laughed and laughed, and I kept laughing to the point where I may have reached with Frazier in the fifth round. That error was more than corrected with Johnson–a projected NBA power forward who was on no one's radar as a tiny prep guard that grew over a foot. Nunn is a guy who knows how to get buckets.
This team knows how to score from every spot on the floor.
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Team 4
| Pick | Player | Pos. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.04 | Emmett Naar | G | Saint Mary's |
| 2.01 | Mike Daum | F | South Dakota State |
| 3.04 | Hayden Dalton | F | Wyoming |
| 4.01 | C.J. Burks | G | Marshall |
| 5.04 | Dylan Windler | F | Belmont |
| 6.01 | Jonathan Stark | G | Murray State |
| 7.04 | Jemerrio Jones | F | New Mexico State |
| 8.01 | Nathan Knight | F | William & Mary |
It wasn't easy to pass on a slew of big-time scorers or legit big men with the first pick but it would've been infinitely harder passing on Emmett Naar, a top-five point guard in college basketball. Mike Daum got the slightest of edges over Chandler Hutchison despite a five-point dip in his overall shooting numbers this season.
The South Dakota State junior is one of the best perimeter scorers forwards in the nation and can terrorize opponents inside and outside the arc without sacrificing production on the boards.
Elsewhere, Dylan Windler with the 20th pick was a steal. The 6-foot-7, 195-pound junior is listed as a forward but he's more of a shooting guard comfortable running the point and crashing the glass. His breakout season includes a 43-percent clip from deep and 9.3 rebounds per game.
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Which team wins? Who was snubbed? Do @ us.
