With no bracket to analyze on this Selection Sunday, we take a look back on how every player on the Phoenix Suns played during the NCAA tournament.
Today is usually my favorite day of the calendar year. It is a day that will undoubtedly evoke some type of extreme feeling, usually outrage, followed by a pang of hunger and competitiveness that will either be quenched or smashed over the next few weeks. It has nothing to do with the Phoenix Suns. This is would-have-been, should-have-been NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday.
In my very first post on this site, I made it clear my favorite sports team across all platforms is the Phoenix Suns, but my religion is Kentucky Basketball.
Year after year, I watch the selection committee screw the Cats over in favor of putrid teams like Duke and it boils my blood like a day by a Phoenix pool in July. The next several weeks consume me with all things NCAA bracket, and just days before the tournament’s cancellation, I was already researching flights to Atlanta during that first weekend in April.
So without the tournament, the NBA, or any kind of sporting event to consume my time (not to mention Phoenix festivals), I find myself looking back at the NCAA brackets of yesteryear.
It turns out, this Phoenix Suns roster has a very impressive tournament résumé. Between everyone, they have a combined eight Final Four appearances and three National Championships.
That’s not bad at all.
Let’s take a deeper dive into how every player on the Phoenix Suns performed during the NCAA tournament.
Devin Booker
2015: (1) Kentucky lost to (1) Wisconsin in Final Four
Many Kentucky basketball fans will tell you the day Christian Laettner hit that over-replayed turnaround jumper in 1992 to go to the Final Four was the worst day of their lives. I disagree.
Granted, it is top-5 for me, but the day Kentucky lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four in 2015 is a day that will live in the dark corners of my memory for all eternity.
I was there. It was the second game of the Final Four doubleheader and I bought the ticket stub of a sad Michigan State fan with a good seat as he walked out of the arena. The Spartans had just lost to Duke, and many of them had no interest sticking around to watch the second game. It was a great way to upgrade from the nosebleeds to the lower level.
Kentucky was undefeated going into this game and had a chance to become the only team to ever go 40-0. It was there for the taking, but stupid Frank Kaminsky and company had to go and ruin everything.
This is also the game that caused officials to change the rule about reviewing whether or not a shot clock violation occurred. Wisconsin tipped in a shot late in the game after the buzzer, but the refs missed it (because college basketball refs are the worst of the species) and may have led to them winning.
But enough of that.
Devin Booker came off the bench during his one season for Kentucky on a stacked team. He averaged 10 points per game and shot an incredible 41.1 percent from deep throughout the season, and took home the SEC 6th Man of the Year award.
He did not have a great tournament, however. He only averaged 7.2 points per game and was cold from outside, shooting just 26.7 percent from deep. A lot of people said he and Tyler Ulis should have been on the court during the final few minutes, but alas, we will never be able to replay those minutes.
Unlike “The Shot,” I have not seen one replay of that game, and that is the way I prefer to keep it.
Kelly Oubre Jr.
2015: (2) Kansas lost to (7) Witchita St. in Second Round
Kelly Oubre was supposed to be a star for the Kansas Jayhawks when he was recruited out of Finlay Prep. Instead, he was…he was fine. He averaged 9.3 points and 5 rebounds per game throughout the season.
I remember the game they lost in the NCAA tournament because I won money on it. My friend went to Vegas and put a few bucks down on the in-state upset that paid off. Witchita State was better than their 7 seed suggested and Kansas was worse than their 2 seed. It ended up being a good bet, as Kelly Oubre and his team did not make it to the second weekend.
Like Booker, the Freshman Oubre dipped a little during tournament play. In his two games, he averaged just 8.5 points and 4 rebounds.
Oubre bolted for the draft soon after the college basketball season ended, ultimately getting drafted 15th overall by the Washington Wizards, two slots behind Devin Booker.
Deandre Ayton
2018: (4) Arizona lost to (13) Buffalo in First Round
I remember really looking forward to watching Deandre Ayton play in the NCAA tournament. I had seen him play a few games here and there throughout the regular season, but with the Suns in line to potentially draft him, I wanted to get a good look at his skill set.
I remember not being impressed.
Sure, I was impressed for all the reasons you should be impressed with Ayton. Athleticism. Size. All that. But Buffalo was a horrible matchup for him and the Arizona Wildcats. They were chock full of athletic wings who drove by Ayton like his feet were stuck in quicksand.
It really didn’t give him a fair shot at showing off his low-post presence.
During the season, Ayton was a beast. He averaged a double-double with 20.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.
In his one game in the NCAA tournament, he managed just 14 points, although he did contribute 13 rebounds over the much smaller Buffalo squad.
That one mediocre game wasn’t enough to keep the Phoenix Suns from drafting him #1 overall (cough–over Luka Doncic–cough) just a few months later.
Mikal Bridges
2016: (2) Villanova won championship (defeated UNC)
2017: (1) Villanova lost to (8) Wisconsin in Second Round
2018: (1) Villanova won championship (defeated Michigan)
Remember how I said earlier that the Phoenix Suns have a combined three NCAA championships on their roster? Two of them are courtesy of Mikal Bridges.
Bridges didn’t start for Villanova in 2016, but played a little more than 20 minutes per game and contributed 6.4 points and 1.1 steals per contest.
That season, Villanova marched through the tournaments and beat the North Carolina Tarheels in dramatic fashion. Bridges only had two points in what could have been the best NCAA championship game in history.
The next year, after earning a 1 seed in the tournament, Bridges and company were upended in the second round by the pesky Badgers from Wisconsin. The funny thing is, Wisconsin wasn’t even all that good that year.
Bridges improved upon his previous years overall statistically but floundered in what would be his final game of the season, putting up a goose egg in the points column.
It was 2018 where Bridges truly became Bridges. On the season, he averaged 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. On top of that, he shot a remarkable 43.5 percent from behind the arc.
During the tournament, he continued he good numbers, putting up 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block per game. Villanova won every game of the tournament by double digits.
The Phoenix Suns drafted Bridges 10th overall in the subsequent draft because, as we will see, James Jones loves him some March Madness stars.
Frank Kaminsky
2012: (4) Wisconsin lost to Syracuse in Sweet 16
2013: (5) Wisconsin lost to (12) Ole Miss in First Round
2014: (2) Wisconsin lost to (8) Kentucky in Final Four
2015: (1) Wisconsin lost to (1) Duke in Championship
Frank Kaminsky didn’t play much for the Wisconsin Badgers his freshman and sophomore years. He only averaged 1.8 points and 4.2 points, respectively, in those seasons. In the tournament those years, Wisconsin was meh.
His junior year, however, the proverbial switch flipped and he turned into the Frank Kaminsky that would eventually be a lottery pick. He averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds his junior season and his team advanced in the tournament all the way to the Final Four, where they played…drumroll…Kentucky.
This is another game I will remember vividly for all time. I was there, in Dallas, Texas, at the Jerry Dome. Aaron Harrison for Kentucky hit a 3 in the closing seconds to give UK the lead, and Wisconsin’s final shot rimmed out, giving Kentucky the win.
I hugged many strangers in the immediate aftermath.
In that game, Kaminsky mustered a mere eight points and five rebounds.
The following season. I don’t know. Something happened. I already talked about I don’t really feel think I can emotionally handle rehashing it.
Basically, Wisconsin played Duke in the finals and they lost. Frank was there.
Jevon Carter
2015: (5) WVU lost to (1) Kentucky in Sweet 16
2016: (3) WVU lost to (14) Stephen F. Austin in First Round
2017: (4) WVU lost to (1) Gonzaga in Sweet 16
2018: (5) WVU lost to (1) Villanova in Sweet 16
Jevon Carter was one of those college players who you felt was on the team for 12 years.
Every year, it feels like West Virginia is always a 4 or 5 seed and the 1 seed in their bracket is annoyed they get matched up with what is always called a “dangerous” West Virginia team.
Kentucky was one of those 1 seeds in 2015, but they actually doubled WVU up in the Sweet 16, winning 78-39. Carter played 23 minutes in that game as a freshman and had six points, two assists, and zero steals.
The next year, in Carter’s first full season as a starter, his Mountaineers were upset in the first round by Stephen F. Austin. It as another weak tourney game for the Bulldog. He had just four points and two assists.
His third year, WVU returned to the Sweet 16, only to run into Final Four-bound Gonzaga. The Zags barely squeaked by that dangerous WVU team, where Carter nearly willed his team to victory, scoring a team-high 21 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Another bad draw came in 2018 when Carter’s WVU squad had to face Mikal Bridges and eventual champion, Villanova. Carter had 12 points, eight assists, and an impressive four steals during this contest, but it wasn’t enough.
There is no doubt this Press Virginia style of play has stayed with him and he continues to play aggressively as a member of the Phoenix Suns. It’s the only way he knows how.
Cheick Diallo
2016: (1) Kansas lost to (2) Villanova in Elite 8
Cheick Diallo was a huge recruit out of High School. ESPN ranked him as the 7th overall prospect in the class, and he signed with the Kansas Jayhawks.
Unfortunately, he never really made the splash Jayhawks fans hoped. He averaged just 3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 27 games with Kansas. In fact, he only logged 202 total minutes.
In the tournament, he didn’t play at all.
Nonetheless, after a big-time draft combine, where it was said no player helped himself more, he declared for the NBA draft and the Pelicans drafted him with the 33rd overall selection.
Now, he is on the Phoenix Suns where he is averaging 4.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in limited time. It is pretty much like his time at Kansas all over again, plus a few million bucks.
Ty Jerome
2017: (5) Virginia lost to (4) Florida in Second Round
2018: (1) Virginia lost to (16) UMBC in First Round
2019: (1) Virginia won championship (defeated Texas Tech)
Ty Jerome’s success in the 2019 NCAA tournament is likely a large reason the Phoenix Suns drafted him in the first round.
His Virginia Cavaliers meandered through the field, hit some huge shots, and won the 2019 NBA championship. Now with the 2020 tournament canceled, they will hold the rare distinction of being reigning champions for two years without having won back-to-back titles.
But before this great achievement, there was 2018: the year Virginia made history for the wrong reason. They became the first 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed in the first round.
Jerome played decent in this game, putting up 15 points and getting four steals, but destiny was on the side of the mighty UMBC Retrievers, and they won by 20.
Virginia, of course, got their redemption in 2019. During their impressive tourney run, Jerome 16.5 points, 6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. That run impressed James Jones who made a clear effort to acquire winners this offseason.
Who says college kids can’t earn money?*
* Kidding. College players should definitely get paid.
Cameron Johnson
2015 Pitt did not make tourney
2016: (10) Pitt lost to (7) Wisconsin in First Round
2017: Pitt did not make tourney
2018: (2) UNC lost to (7) Texas A&M in Second Round
2019: (1) UNC lost to (5) Auburn in Sweet 16
This is your periodic reminder that Cameron Johnson is old for a rookie. He spent 5 years in college after starting with Pittsburgh and transferring to North Carolina.
There wasn’t much success to be had in March for whichever team Cam Johnson played for. Pitt limped in one year and UNC got upset by Texas A&M in the second round in 2018.
The furthest he got was in 2019 when his team fell to the hot, Jared Harper-led, Auburn Tigers, who eventually went on to the Final Four.
Throughout the tournament in 2019, Johnson shot 39.1 percent from behind the arc and averaged 16.3 points per game.
It was his shooting that got him drafted so high by the Phoenix Suns. For the season, Johnson shot an insane 45.7 percent from 3, and with the maturity of a 5th-year senior, this is exactly what the Phoenix Suns were searching for.
Tariq Owens
2015: Tennessee did not make tourney
2016: Transfer
2017: St. John’s did not make tourney
2018: St. John’s did not make tourney
2019: (3) Texas Tech lost to (1) Virginia in championship
Not to be one-upped by Cameron Johnson, Phoenix Suns two-way player Tariq Owens saw his five years in college and raised him a team.
Owens played for three teams during his college tenure, Tennessee, St. John’s, and eventually Texas Tech, where he shined in the 2019 tournament, catching the eyes James Jones.
During Texas Tech’s improbable run, Owens didn’t do a ton of scoring. He only put up 8 points per game, however, he finished with a total of 14 blocks (2.3 per game) and was a defensive presence all tournament long.
James Jones must have put a lot of stock into the 2019 March Madness because we are starting to see a trend. With no tourney this year, it is unfortunate a mediocre player on a team that happens to go far will likely not get a chance to become a Phoenix Suns two-way player next season.
Jared Harper
2017: Auburn did not make tourney
2018: (4) Auburn lost to (5) Clemson in second round
2019: (5) Auburn lost to (1) Virginia in Final Four
I know. The Phoenix Suns recently waived Jared Harper for reasons unknown, but I included him for a couple of reasons.
First, he makes the roster’s totals look better because his Auburn Tigers made the Final Four in 2019.
Also, he is further proof that Jones placed a ton of emphasis on March Madness when deciding who would be a good fit for the Phoenix Suns.
Plus, if you are still reading at this point, then cheers to you. You deserve his inclusion.
During Auburn’s impressive run (where they broke by heart by beating Kentucky in overtime in the Elite 8), Harper averaged 16.2 points and 5.8 assists per game.
Harper fell to the Ty Jerome-led Virginia Cavaliers in the Final Four when Kyle Guy was fouled on a 3 in the closing seconds, or else he may have been NCAA champion.
I miss basketball, but I really miss March Madness. Next year can’t come soon enough.