Would Lebron, Durant, and Kawhi...

[Johnny Firpo]

win the NCAA? The topic was inspired by the Alabama game. Could this trio win the NCAA with Jordan Bell as their only substitute, coached by Pop? I would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

[lambchop]

You mean playing 3 on 5 the entire time? Why Jordan Bell though? Hahaha
My answer is yes. I think they'd just take turns going 1 on 3. Theyre so tall and athletic that they could still move without the ball and get easy buckets near the rim. On defense they'd cover a lot of ground.

[LloydFree]

Never. Unless every good college coach just happened to miss the tournament that year.

[Bruh Man]

Nope

[homecourtloss]

No. If teams knew they were playing with three, they would gameplan and exploit them. They would tire out in a game having to get back on defense and get fewer chances in transition unless they got steals near the half court, not to mention all the offensive rebounds they would give up.

In thst game yesterday, it was just weird and awkward and the opposition seemed to not really go at the opposition.

[Yoshun]

Yes.

[RCM88x]

Honestly, if fatigue wasn't an issue probably.

I don't think people realize how big the gap is between Lebron, Durant and other elite NBA players and even the best college players.

Obviously a huge disadvantage defensively, but unless they other team is able to consistently hit jump shots they still will have trouble scoring. Not like they'll be able to shut down them offensively either, can only double two of them.

If you even gave them a 4th player on the level of Bell I don't even think the games would be close.

[bstein14]

For sure 4 win NBA stars could win NCAA title... 3 is a tougher question though. Opposing teams would always be able to double team two of the three guys it would be really tough.

[Kool_Name_Right]

3 NBA SUPERSTARS against 5 college players?

I'm going with the MVPs

[GeorgeMarcus]

Honestly it's a fair question, and I believe the NBA trio would get the job done. Ultimately 1 of the 3 would be single covered at all times, so I expect steady offensive production. On the other end of the floor the college kids would see a fair amount of open jumpers, but they'd have to hit an extremely high percentage to keep up.

[zimpy27]

No, not with bell as the sub. Theyd get killed with him put there.

If they play the whole time and fatigue didn't exist then they'd win. It'd be close though.

[DoubleLintendre]

3.5 men versus 5 children. It's possible with Pop, and Bell for rest.

Think about it this way: 3 of the NBA players mentioned can play through NBA double teams as is. Stamina being the only question, it's more like 6 on 5 with relative god-tier athletes/scorers/defenders on the one side.

The talent gap between even average NBA players and NCAA players is very deep. Championship-level NCAA players often wind up with careers in the D-League/overseas.

EDIT: Cool hypothetical question

[afarmenian]

no way, one of the teams would eventually figure out that they can just cherry pick the entire time and still play 4 on 3 like Minnesota stupidly didnt think to do.

[taikibansei]

Defenses with actual NBA starters can't shut down those three even when focused on doing just that. College kids--most of whom probably won't even make the NBA (let alone start)--have no chance, even if they do get to double-team.

On offense, unless the college kids can shoot the 3 at a high percentage (which few can), they will have trouble scoring. Without the 3-ball falling consistently, Lebron (even at his age), Durant and Kawhi are all tall and mobile enough to shut down the key and contest mid-range shots.

[lakerz12]

Does this include doing it the entire season and the entire tournament??

If they could somehow achieve perfect stamina and play all out, all game...yes.

But, even with the shorter game and one sub, I think they would definitely tire out throughout the tournament and someone would beat them.

Also, playing that way, the odds of an injury to one of them is pretty high.

[MarcusBrody]

I think any reasonably well coached team with good jump shooters would beat them. They are just going to have concede a whole ton of shots. Between that, the ability to double one player and still have a player just waiting in the paint, the previously mentioned ability to cherry pick (or at least send someone immediately as a shot goes up), I'm betting on the college kids. I do think the NBA stars could score on them pretty well though.

[mixerball]

obviously people who would say yes are the ones without RL basketball exp. extra man is huge. 2 extra men is not a brainer.

[clyde21]

It's possible, but all it would take is for one of them to have a bad game and they'd be eliminated.

Also Jordan Bell is such a random choice here.

[Johnny Firpo]

I figured 4 stars would surely do it, so I chose 3 vs. 5, similarly to the Alabama game. I also chose three all-time great players, all with elite athleticism and a 7'2, a 7'5, and a 7'6 wingspan to be able to contest as many semi-open jumpshots on defense as possible. Bell to give a breather to any of the three, as a mobile, ultra energy big. He would play around 10 minutes, giving a 3 minutes breather to the most fatigued star. That 10 minutes would be at 100% effort, giving constant screens and grabbing every available rebound. Coached by Pop, I honestly think they would do it if they stay healthy.

[Johnny Firpo]

It's possible, but all it would take is for one of them to have a bad game and they'd be eliminated.

Also Jordan Bell is such a random choice here.

I wanted to give them a good NBA substitute, energy big, and definitely not a star, but a young player, who can play with high energy all the time. Hence Bell. If it's a fourth star player, then they can have three stars at all times on the floor, and I think that's too much to handle for the college teams.