How Current Atlanta Hawks Looked in March Madness.
The news that the Atlanta Hawks’ and the rest of the NBA’s season would be delayed came on Wednesday. On Thursday, the NCAA followed suit by cancelling the March Madness Tournament.
These actions are precautionary due to growing fear surrounding the Coronavirus, which two members of the Utah Jazz tested positive for, as well as NBA/NCAA talking head Charles Barkley.
Yes, for the first time since its creation, we will not have a NCAA basketball Tournament. No sweet sixteen Cinderellas, no first-round upsets, no Final Four, no One Shining Moment.
With the lack of basketball — professional and collegiate — now’s a good time to look ahead to the future, but also into the past. Here we’ll be looking at how every current member of the Atlanta Hawks did in March before they were Hawks. They have a very young roster so we won’t have to go to far back, and you should remember most of their history after a quick reminder.
Let’s talk a walk down a March Memory lane in this dire time without Atlanta Hawks basketball, shall we?
Note: Atlanta Hawks players Charlie Brown, Clint Capela, and Dewayne Dedmon never appeared in a March Madness game.
DeAndre Bembry
Before DeAndre’ Bembry was an Atlanta Hawk, he was a Saint Joseph’s Hawk. He was a three year starter for St. Joseph’s, and led them to two Tourney appearances.
As a freshman in 2013-2014, Bembry was accompanied by fellow future NBA player Langston Galloway. The team went 24-10, winning the A-10 Conference Tournament. That netted them a 10th seed, but they drew an unfortunate first round match up with the Shabazz Napier led UConn team, which beat St. Joseph’s by eight en route to winning the National Championship.
After missing the big dance as a sophomore, Bembry returned as a junior, once again winning the A-10 tourney. Bembry won the A-10 player of the year and scored 23 points to lead the 8th seeded Hawks past Cincinnati in the first round.
His final collegiate game came just two days later, with the team losing to top-seeded Oregon. It was a close 5-point game that saw Bembry lead his team in points (16), rebounds (12), assists (3), and steals (2), playing in all 40 minutes.
He was a good player in college, and with just a bit more help could have helped St. Joseph’s make a deeper run in March.
Final Tally: Two appearances, one win
Vince Carter
Vince Carter was a key aspect of three stacked UNC teams, and he shared a locker room with a total of six future NBA players during his three years in Chapel Hill. The latter two of those years, he led the Tar Heels to a #1 seed.
His freshman year had lesser results, with the team going 21-11 and earning a 6 seed. They defeated New Orleans in the first round but were beat handily by Texas Tech in the round of 32. Vince wasn’t particularly effective in either games.
As a sophomore, Vince helped UNC go 28-7 in Dean Smith’s final season as coach. They got the #1 seed in the East, making it to the Final Four pretty easily. Vince scored 22 in their first round beat down of #16 Fairfeld.
In the RCA Dome for the Final Four, they lost in the semi-finals to fellow future Hawks Mike Bibby and Jason Terry and the Arizona Wildcats. Carter poured in a team-high 21 points in the losing effort.
UNC was even better in Vince’s final year in college, with the team going 34-4, once again earning a #1 seed. They once again blew through the regional part of March, making it to the Final Four by beating every team by nine points or more. Vince scored 20-plus in two of the four wins.
Their season and Vince’s college career came to an end in the semi-final once again, losing to the Utah Utes 65-59. VC scored a game-high 21 points on 9-12 shooting.
Final Tally: Three appearances, nine wins. Named to 1998 All-Tourney Team.
John Collins
John Collins barely makes this list, as his lone appearance in the tourney in two seasons was a play-in, First Four game against Kansas State.
The 2016-2017 Demon Deacons were on the bubble despite strong play from John Collins, who made the All-ACC team and won the ACC most improved player award. He averaged 19.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in his final year at Wake Forest.
In the play-in game the Demon Deacons faced off with Kansas State, losing a high scoring game, 95-88. Collins played 36 minutes and was the game’s leading scorer with 26. He shot 9-13 from the field, adding nine rebounds, a game high as well.
Collins did the best he could, but never saw any weekend action in the big dance.
Final Tally: One appearance
Bruno Fernando
Bruno Fernando shared the court with fellow Atlanta Hawks’ youngster Kevin Huerter in 2017-2018, but unfortunately the Terrapins did not make the tourney that season. In Fernando’s sophomore campaign, during Huerter’s rookie season with the Hawks last year, Fernando was Maryland’s top player.
He made the Big Ten All-defense team and first team All-Big Ten thanks to solid play on both ends of the court. Maryland looked prime for a top seed in March but after a lackluster finish (losing five of their last nine), settled for the 6th seed.
They narrowly escaped popular upset pick Belmont in the first round, with Fernando scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the two point victory. The Terps’ next game was also decided by two points, but this time it was a losing effort to LSU.
Fernando finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds, turning the ball over five times.
Final Tally: One appearance, one win.
Brandon Goodwin
Brandon Goodwin played four years of college ball between two teams: UCF and Florida Gulf Coast. In those four seasons he made one March Madness appearance. In the 2016-2017 season, Goodwin and Utah Jazz guard Rayjon Tucker led FGCU to a 26-8 record and won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
That netted them the 14th seed in the West, and drew a matchup with the nearby Florida State. The Seminoles team that featured four future NBA players needed all 40 minutes to get past FGCU and their upset bid.
Goodwin went for 28 points and added seven assists, but in the end it wasn’t enough, with the Eagles falling 86-80.
Despite Goodwin’s stats improving in his senior season, FGCU was upset in the A-Sun championship game, ending his collegiate career.
Treveon Graham
Although he missed the Final Four run by one year, Treveon Graham was still apart of some really good VCU teams under head coach Shaka Smart. He made the tourney all four of his seasons with the Rams, sharing the court with NBA players Troy Daniels and Briante Weber, as well as current Indianapolis Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox.
As a freshman, Graham came off the bench for VCU, who won the CAA Conference Tournament en route a 12 seed in March Madness. They upset 5th seeded Wichita State in the first round, with Graham chipping in four points in 15 mintues. They narrowly upset Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller and the 4th seeded Indiana Hoosiers two days later, but fell by two, ending their season.
Graham slid into a starting role as a sophomore, leading the team in scoring. Despite losing in the A-10 championship game, VCU earned a #5 seed, annihilating 12th seeded Akron 88-42 in the opening round. They lost in their next game to Michigan. Graham was quiet in both games offensively.
The Rams were also a 5 seed in 2014, failing to make it out of the first weekend once again. Treveon Graham poured in 19 points, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the 12th seeded Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks’ upset.
Graham failed to get past the first weekend of play as a senior as well, and once again lost in the first round, this time to D’Angelo Russell‘s Ohio State team. Graham struggled in his final game, shooting 3-12 from the floor just 10 points, adding a team-high 10 rebounds.
His VCU teams were always talented, but never found success in the postseason.
Final Tally: Four appearances, two wins
Kevin Huerter
We already mentioned that Kev failed to go dancing in his second and final season in Maryland, but the team did find success in his freshman year.
Huerter led the Terps in three-pointers per game as a freshman, helping Melo Trimble led Maryland to a 6th seed in March.
The 6/11 matchup is always a popular upset pick while filing out brackets, and if you picked 11th seeded Xavier in 2017, you were a smart thinker. They took care of Maryland in the first round, ending Kevin Huerter’s March Madness career before it really began.
Kev scored a team-high 19 points, making 3-8 threes. Its not like the Xavier team they lost to was a slouch, however, as they went on to make the Elite Eight that year.
Final Tally: One appearance
De’Andre Hunter
In two years with Virginia, De’Andre Hunter experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the NCAA tournament.
As a freshman in 2018, Hunter won the ACC’s sixth man of the year, with his Cavaliers going 28-2 in the regular season, earning the #1 seed in the south. The Hoosiers were a popular pick to win it all, and then the unthinkable happened.
They fell handily to 16th seeded UMBC, becoming the first (and as of now, only) #1 seed to lose to a 16th seed. If there’s any consolation, De’Andre Hunter did not play in the game after breaking his wrist in the ACC tourney.
Hunter took on a larger role for the Cavaliers as a sophomore, and while the team didn’t see the same dominance in the regular season, still did enough to earn another 1 seed. De’Andre Hunter won the ACC’s defensive player of the year award, and had to be excited to make his tourney debut.
After it looked like their nightmare was going to repeat itself, Virginia rallied back after taking a 6-point deficit to 16th seed Gardner-Webb to halftime. They outscored them 41-20 in the second half to move on. Hunter had 23 points.
They were able to rattle off a few fairly stress-free wins, with Hunter playing his patented tough defense. After a OT victory over Carsen Edwards and Purdue, Virginia advanced to the Final Four. Auburn awaited them in Minnesota, and the game ended up being one of the best of the year.
Even though Kyle Guy was the hero of that one, Hunter made some nice plays on the defensive end.
The National Championship was Hunter’s time to shine, and he stepped up offensively in a big way. He played 44 minutes in the OT thriller, scoring 27 points, his most in his two collegiate seasons. Hunter hit a game-tying three with 15 seconds remaining, and then a go ahead three in OT.
He was rightfully named to the All-Tourney team after a great month, and won a championship. Probably the most accomplished college player on the Atlanta Hawks.
Final Tally: Two appearances (played in one), six wins, All-Tourney team, National champion
Damian Jones
Damian Jones‘ March Madness resume begins and ends with a single game in his junior season. Like John Collins above, Jones’ team was ousted in the First Four In matchup, losing to Wichita State 70-50.
The two-time All-SEC center tied his season-low in points with five, adding five rebounds and two blocks. Not a great way for the former Vanderbilt stud to go out.
The three year starter averaged 13.3 points, 1.7 blocks, 6.4 rebounds and 0.4 steals per game across his career with the Commodores.
Skal Labissiere
Perhaps a sign of the Atlanta Hawks’ draft strategy, Skal Labissiere is the first name on this list to play just one season of college ball.
Skal was a freshman on a Kentucky team that, compared to usual Wildcats squad, was a bit lackluster. The team went 23-8 in the regular season, but rattled off a few wins to take the SEC Tournament crown.
Skal Labissiere played in 36 games, started exactly half of those and averaged 6.6 points and 1.6 blocks per game. He was one of seven(!) NBA players on the roster which includes former Hawks Alex Poythress and Isaac Humphries. They drew a 4th seed in March Madness.
The Wildcats beat Stony Brook 85-57 in the opening round, with Labissiere going for 12 points on 6-10 shooting. His collegiate career ended two days later when Kentucky was upset by Indiana. Skal posted just four points and five boards in his final game.
Final Tally: One appearance, one win.
Cam Reddish
Cam Reddish was a third wheel on a team that also featured freshmen studs Zion Williamson and R.J Barrett, and had a tendency to disappear in big games.
Still, His Duke team coasted to a 26-5 regular season record, earning the #1 overall seed in the tourney last year. After easily getting past 16th seeded North Dakota State, the Blue Devils consistently played tight games, eventually losing in the Elite Eight.
Reddish had to miss one game because of an injury, and was just so-so in the ones he did play. He scored 12, 13, and 8 in the three games he played. His final game in college was a 2-8 shooting night in 37 minutes played.
Final Tally: One appearance, three wins (played in two)
Jeff Teague
Jeff Teague had a celebrated college career, earning consensus All-American honors as well as being named the the 2009 All-ACC first team.
After failing to go dancing as a freshman he led his Demon Deacons to a 4th seed in his second and final season, but their season was prematurely ended by a 13 seed: Cleveland State. Teague took just seven shots after averaging 12 per game as a sophomore, finishing with just 10 points and 5 assists. He averaged 18.8 points per game that year.
Teague was out-played by future Miami Heat point guard Norris Cole, who scored 22 points for the Vikings in the upset.
Jeff Teague would then be drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 19th pick of the 2009 draft.
Final Tally: One appearance
Trae Young
Trae Young had a turbulent season in Norman Oklahoma, looking like a lock for player of the year early on before struggling a bit down the stretch.
Despite his team’s questionable 18-12 regular season record, the Sooners were awarded an At-large bid. They were on the bubble, but Trae Young’s — who led the nation in both assists and points per game— showmanship was hard to send to the NIT.
They matched up with Rhode Island, a sexy Cinderella pick after the brackets were anounced, and nearly defeated them, going to OT. Trae Young scored 28 points and added seven assists in 39 minutes of play.
Trae was the only member of that Sooners team to reach the NBA, and with a bit more help, could have had more team success. sound familiar?