Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook combined for 96 points on Friday's 2OT Timberwolves/Thunder game. Love scored a career-high (and franchise-high) 51 points on 16-27 shooting. He was an incredible 7-11 on 3 pointers, including a clutch game-tying shot to send the game to OT. He also grabbed 14 rebounds but Minnesota eventually lost to OKC 149-140 mostly because of Westbrook's hot hand. Russell also put up a career-high total with 45 points, shooting 17-28 on the night. Both of their previous career-highs were 43 points. Love's 51 point game was only the 3rd time someone has broken the 50 point mark this season (Durant and Deron Williams).
It is amazing to see these two former teammates at UCLA flourish in the NBA the way they have. While they were in school, I honestly never expected either of them to ever be drafted in the top 5, much less become Allstars. Not only were they drafted #4 (Westbrook) and #5 (Love) overall in 2008, they both made the 2011 and 2012 Allstar games. In fact, UCLA is the only school to be represented by the same two alumni in these 2 allstar games. Kevin Love is clearly the best PF in the world right now, while Westbrook is at least a top 5 point guard.
So how in the world did UCLA not win a NCAA title with these 2 allstars along with other NBA players like Collison and Mbah a Moute? One name: Derrick Rose (2008 #1 draft pick, 2011 NBA MVP). He was also declared ineligible eventually and Memphis' Final 4 appearance was vacated.
So how does our best 5 NBA alumnus match-up against powerhouses UK's, KU's, UNC's and Duke's best 5 in terms of scoring?
Duke (out of 16 total players in the NBA)
Kyrie Irving (18.8ppg, 5.6apg)
Gerald Henderson (14.3ppg, 4.1reb)
Corey Maggette (15.4ppg, 4.2reb)
Luol Deng (15.3ppg, 6.7reb)
Carlos Boozer (15.6ppg, 8.2reb)
Total: 79.4 ppg
Kentucky (18 total)
Rajon Rondo (12.7ppg, 10.7apg)
John Wall (17.1ppg, 7.1apg)
Brandon Knight (12.6ppg, 3.6apg)
Tayshaun Prince (12.3ppg, 4.4reb)
DeMarcus Cousins (16.9ppg, 11.0reb)
Total: 71.6 ppg
UNC (14 total)
Ty Lawson (15.1ppg, 6.7apg)
Raymond Felton (10.9ppg, 6.1apg)
Marvin Williams (9.7ppg, 5.2reb)
Antawn Jamison (18.0ppg, 6.6reb)
Tyler Hansborough (9.5ppg, 4.7reb)
Total: 63.2 ppg
Kansas (17 total)
Mario Chalmers (9.8ppg, 3.5apg)
Brandon Rush (8.6ppg, 3.9reb)
Paul Pierce (18.6ppg, 5.0reb)
Drew Goodon (14.3ppg, 6.8reb)
Markieff Morris (7.2ppg, 4.4reb)
Total: 58.5 ppg
The only other comparable schools worth a mention (at least 10 players in NBA) are:
Texas (13 total)
DJ Augustin (11.6ppg, 6.3apg)
Daniel Gibson (7.5ppg, 2.9reb)
Kevin Durant (27.9ppg, 8.1reb)
Tristan Thompson (7.6ppg, 6.0reb)
LaMarcus Aldridge (21.3ppg, 8.0reb)
Total: 75.9 ppg
UConn (15 total)
Kemba Walker (12.1ppg, 4.1apg)
Ray Allen (14.6ppg, 3.0reb)
Caron Butler (12.3ppg, 4.0reb)
Rudy Gay (18.6ppg, 6.6reb)
Emeka Okafor (9.9ppg, 7.9reb)
Total: 67.5 ppg
Florida (11 total)
Corey Brewer (9.5ppg, 2.9reb)
Chandler Parsons (8.9ppg, 4.9reb)
Al Horford (12.4ppg, 7.0reb)
David Lee (19.2ppg, 9.8reb)
Joakim Noah (9.9ppg, 10.0reb)
Total: 59.9 ppg
Arizona (13 total)
Jerryd Bayless (11.6ppg, 3.8apg)
Jason Terry (15.2ppg, 3.5apg)
Andre Iguodala (12.3ppg, 6.4reb)
Derrick Williams (8.7ppg, 4.9reb)
Channing Frye (10.1ppg, 6.1reb)
Total: 57.9 ppg
Harvard (1 total)
Jeremy Lin (14.6ppg, 6.1apg)
Total: 14.6ppg
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UCLA (16 total)
Jrue Holiday (13.8ppg, 4.4apg)
Russell Westbrook (24.0ppg, 5.4apg)
Arron Afflalo (13.9ppg, 2.7reb)
Trevor Ariza (11.2ppg, 5.6reb)
Kevin Love (26.3ppg, 13.8reb)
Total: 89.2 ppg
We have the highest-scoring starting lineup of any school by more than 10 points a night. Yes, UCLA rules. Its just that none of our NBA players have a NCAA title to show for it.
Isn't it amazing that none of the powerhouse schools (UK, KU, UNC, Duke) have a single 20ppg scorer in the league? In fact, the only two players listed above the 20 point barrier besides UCLA's duo, are Texas' pair in Durant and Aldridge. To me that is pretty shocking.
In case anyone was wondering, here are the top 5 scoring guys this season who skipped college. (You could argue guys like Rose and Durant would never have stepped on a college campus had the 1 year rule not been instituted in 2006).
Straight from HS Five
Monta Ellis (21.0ppg, 6.0 apg)
Kobe Bryant (28.3ppg, 5.5reb)
Lebron James (26.8ppg, 8.3reb)
Al Jefferson (19.4ppg, 9.4reb)
Dwight Howard (21.0ppg, 14.8reb)
Total: 116.5 ppg
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