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Just heard this stat .. amazed me

Hoosiers94
(@hoosiers94)
Noble Member

Decourcy just stated on Big Ten radio in XM that since 1987 only 1 team has won the National Championship without a future 1st round draft pick on the roster.   Which means DD needs to start getting commits from some.  He also felt that Purdue likely won't win it because they don't have one of those 


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Topic starter Posted : 02/11/2026 12:01 pm
hooky
(@hooky)
Noble Member

Wonder who the other team between us in 87 and today was.


Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
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Posted : 02/11/2026 12:19 pm
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IUNorth
(@iunorth)
Noble Member

@hoosiers94 I've used this basic argument countless times when "arguing" about not wanting to take the Purdue/Wisconsin route to building a program.  One, because at IU its unnecessary because we should be able to attract NBA level players.  And then two, because of what you posted.  You basically can't win a Natty without at least an NBA guy or two on your roster.  

Now... that does NOT need to come from 5 star HS kids any more.  The portal, and the emerging foreign born pipelines, make the need for McDonalds AA and top 50 HS kids, much less important.  

But wherever they come from, gotta have some league guys.

Using Purdue as an example... I kinda doubt this years team has any first round guys on their roster.  I do think Braden Smith will end up playing in the NBA.  And maybe Jacobsen will someday if he develops a lot.  But par for what Painter usually has, very solid multi year guys, but very few, if any, NBA level guys.  In the end, it always catches up to him in the NCAA's.


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Posted : 02/11/2026 12:32 pm
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surjay
(@surjay)
Honorable Member

Posted by: @hoosiers94

Decourcy just stated on Big Ten radio in XM that since 1987 only 1 team has won the National Championship without a future 1st round draft pick on the roster.   Which means DD needs to start getting commits from some.  He also felt that Purdue likely won't win it because they don't have one of those 

PU has no chance regardless.

 


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Posted : 02/11/2026 12:45 pm
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jhoban19
(@jhoban19)
Estimable Member

@hooky pretty sure it was Maryland, who of course beat us in 2002.


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Posted : 02/11/2026 1:17 pm
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GThomas's avatar
(@gthomas)
Noble Member

Posted by: @jhoban19

@hooky pretty sure it was Maryland, who of course beat us in 2002.

I had the same thought, so I looked it up. We're wrong: Wilcox was picked 8th and Dixon 17th. 

 


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Posted : 02/11/2026 1:25 pm
hooky
(@hooky)
Noble Member

I've googled it and have asked a couple of different AI engines "Who was the last NCAA basketball champion that didn't have a first round NBA draft pick on the roster?" The result has only been IU in 87.

Search

The last NCAA basketball champion that did not have a first-round NBA draft pick is the 1987 Indiana Hoosiers. They won the championship by defeating Syracuse 74-73 in the title game.

Key Details:

  • Coach: Bobby Knight
  • Most Outstanding Player: Keith Smart, who scored 21 points in the final, including the game-winning shot.
  • Draft Context: Steve Alford was the highest drafted player from Indiana in that year, picked in the second round (26th overall) of the NBA Draft, which would not qualify him as a first-round pick by today's standards.

Since the 1987 championship, every NCAA champion has produced at least one future first-round draft pick, highlighting the strong correlation between college success and NBA potential. This pattern underscores the increasing talent concentration in college basketball, making Indiana's 1987 triumph a notable historical anomaly.

 


Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
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Posted : 02/11/2026 1:32 pm
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ams66's avatar
(@ams66)
Prominent Member

Posted by: @hooky

highlighting the strong correlation between college success and NBA potential

It's really the opposite. Players with NBA potential are correlated with college success.


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Posted : 02/11/2026 1:35 pm
Hoosiers94
(@hoosiers94)
Noble Member

Posted by: @jhoban19

@hooky pretty sure it was Maryland, who of course beat us in 2002.

[/quote

 

blake also played but not 1st rd

 


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Topic starter Posted : 02/11/2026 2:23 pm
Sammy Jacobs
(@thehoosierhuddle)
Member Admin

@hooky Good find. I was thinking Arkansas in 94, but they had one


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Posted : 02/11/2026 2:33 pm
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hooky
(@hooky)
Noble Member

Posted by: @ams66

Posted by: @hooky

highlighting the strong correlation between college success and NBA potential

It's really the opposite. Players with NBA potential are correlated with college success.

That's what I took from it.  If a college team has players with NBA potential on the roster, the chances of success are greater.

 


Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
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Posted : 02/11/2026 2:39 pm
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Mushroomgod's avatar
(@mushroomgod)
Honorable Member

Posted by: @surjay

Posted by: @hoosiers94

Decourcy just stated on Big Ten radio in XM that since 1987 only 1 team has won the National Championship without a future 1st round draft pick on the roster.   Which means DD needs to start getting commits from some.  He also felt that Purdue likely won't win it because they don't have one of those 

PU has no chance regardless.

 

 

It would seem so, and statistically it comes down to their defensive stats.  They are 19th in the country in rebounding differential, 16th in fewest TOs, 16th in overall FG%, 28th in 3 pt %, but 116th in overall FG% D, and 122nd in 3 pt% D.  Points to the lack of a shot-blocker in the middle & quickness overall.

For us, rebounding is our biggest issue.  We are 180th in rebounding differential (365 teams nationally), 50th in TOs, 68th in overall FG%, 117th in 3 pt %, 50th in overall FG% D, 66th in 3 pt % D.  I didn't see a stat for 2 pt% D, but I have to think it would be pretty darn good if you would factor out the offensive putbacks, which are probably 80% or so % wise.  I think our other primary issue is relatively poor shot selection on our 3s.

For sake of comparison, Michigan is qood or very good in all the stat categories, with a huge exception--TOs:  8th in rebounding differential; 6th in overall FG%; 78th in 3 pt%; 2nd in overall FG% D; 15th in 3 pt % D.  But 237th in TOs with 12.3/game.  Compare to Northwestern, which is 2nd in the nation with 8.3/game.  They take relatively few 3 pointers, so their % (35.8) may mask a relative weakness in pure LD shooting ability.

 


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Posted : 02/11/2026 2:59 pm
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