Remembering current NBA stars' March Madness moments
The aura around March Madness is as much about nostalgia as it is about the present day, as every basketball fan can recount where they were when a memorable Madness moment went down.
On that note, here are a few memorable tournament moments or runs involving current NBA stars.
1993 - Steve Nash's No. 15 Santa Clara team upsets No. 2 Arizona
Nash was a freshman at the time and didn't have nearly the impact he had in his final three years, but he was a solid contributor on the Santa Clara team that upset Damon Stoudamire's Arizona squad.
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2001 - Duke beats Arizona for the National Championship
Shane Battier completed his four-year Duke career with a championship and Most Outstanding Player of the tournament award, as he, Carlos Boozer and Jason Williams were too much for Richard Jefferson, Gilbert Arenas, Loren Woods and the Wildcats. Is there anything more fitting than Battier trying to take a charge on Arenas?
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2003 - Carmelo Anthony goes 'won and done' at Syracuse
There isn't much to preface here. Ahead of one of the most highly anticipated NBA Drafts in two decades, Anthony helped lead the Orange to their only national championship in school history.
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2003 - Dwyane Wade carries Marquette to the Final Four
Freshman Anthony and the Orange got the last laugh (Although Wade's probably laughing last and hardest now), but few can forget the run sophomore Dwyane Wade went on to carry the Golden Eagles to the Final Four for the first time in 26 years. Plus don't forget Steve Novak!
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2004 - Emeka Okafor lifts UCONN to glory
Okafor sealed his sparkling three-year tenure at Connecticut with a national title, as he and Ben Gordon first toppled J.J. Redick and Duke in the Final Four before besting Jarrett Jack's Georgia Tech side in the championship game.
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2004 - Jameer Nelson and the almost perfect St. Joseph's Hawks
Nelson made three tournament appearances in his four-year career at St. Joe's, but it was the Hawks' 2004 run that everyone remembers. St. Joe's went a perfect 27-0 in the regular season (they were the last team to finish the regular season undefeated until Wichita State this year) before falling just short of the Final Four.
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2005 - Deron Williams and Illinois come within a win of glory
They couldn't quite solve Sean May's North Carolina squad in the championship game (Sean May!), but Williams and the 2005 Fighting Illini made school history in even getting that far.
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2007 - A star-studded Final Four
2007 was a pretty awesome year for fans looking to check out future NBA stars in the tournament, as the Final Four featured a defending champion Florida team that boasted Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer, an Ohio State team led by Greg Oden and Mike Conley, a Georgetown team with Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green and a UCLA team led by Russell Westbrook, Darren Collison and Arron Afflalo. That's about as stacked as it gets.
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2008 - Stephen Curry takes Davidson on a magical ride
Davidson entered the 2008 tourney as a No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region after winning both the Southern Conference regular season and playoff title, then went on to beat No. 7 Gonzaga, No. 2 Georgetown and No. 3 Wisconsin before falling to eventual champion Kansas in a fantastic Elite Eight matchup. Over the course of the Cinderella run, Steph Curry became a household name.
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2008 - Derrick Rose's championship run comes up short, thanks to Mario Chalmers
While Curry stole most of the headlines six years ago, no basketball fan can forget Derrick Rose and Memphis crumbling down the stretch of the championship game (mostly at the free throw line), allowing Mario Chalmers and his Kansas squad to seize their one shining moment and take the 2008 title.
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2009 - Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson win it all with UNC
The 2008-09 Tar Heels featured six current NBA players (Hansbrough, Lawson, Danny Green, Ed Davis, Wayne Ellington and Tyler Zeller), but Lawson and especially UNC legend Hansbrough enjoyed most of the memorable moments from the title run.
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2010 - Gordon Hayward brings Butler within an inch of glory
Sure, his Hail Mary halfcourt heave to win the national championship game came up just short, but Brad Stevens' 2010 Bulldogs and their memorable run all the way to the final will be remembered for a long time.
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2011 - Kemba Walker puts UCONN on his back
Walker shot his draft stock through the rook over a one-month span in the Spring of 2008, carrying Connecticut to a memorable Big East tournament title, where he won MVP, before continuing his run straight through the NCAA championship game, where he took tournament MOP honors.