Collegiate NBA Squads

For no real reason whatsoever, I found myself wondering as I fell asleep last night which NCAA program could put together the best starting 5 of current NBA players. Without a doubt, Wake Forest has the best top players, boasting a Big Three of Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, and Josh Howard, but there's only one other Demon Deacon in the whole league (Darius Songaila), so they're eliminated from the tourney.

Since it's my Spring Break, and since I'm at my sister's (who has a working computer), and since I don't have a car to take me anywhere, and since it's raining outside, and since I'm a dork, I spent the past few hours researching and putting together starting 5s. The fruits of my labor:

UConn Huskies

PG Ben Gordon

SG Ray Allen

SF Caron Butler

PF Rudy Gay

C Emeka Okafor

Bench: Rip Hamilton, Charlie Villanueva

A top contender for sure, but not very well-balanced and without a real point guard. This team could shoot jumpers all day, with Okafor just sitting down low to grab their misses and kick 'em back out, but I don't see them being able to stop anybody from scoring either.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

PG Stephon Marbury

SG Jarrett Jack

SF Thaddeus Young

PF Matt Harpring

C Chris Bosh

Bench: Will Bynum

Not really that high on talent level, but I included them just because I was surprised they could field a squad at all. Also it's notable that everyone here is essentially at their natural position.

Kansas Jayhawks

PG Mario Chalmers

SG Kirk Hinrich

SF Paul Pierce

PF Drew Gooden

C Darrell Arthur

Bench: Brandon Rush

Pretty lame big men, but the Truth gives them enough legitimacy to be in the conversation.

North Carolina Tarheels

PG Raymond Felton

SG Vince Carter

SF Marvin Williams

PF Antawn Jamison

C Rasheed Wallace

Bench: Brendan Haywood, Jerry Stackhouse

I wasn't really sure if Stack was still alive or not, but if he is and he can still play basketball I'd probably plug him in at 2, move Carter to 3, and bump Marvin Williams. Kind of shocking, though, that UNC hasn't produced anybody to supplant Stack-Sheed/Carter-Jamison in the past 10-12 years. I don't really see Psycho T doing that NBA-wise, either.

Duke Blue Devils

PG Chris Duhon

SG Luol Deng

SF Corey Maggette

PF Carlos Boozer

C Elton Brand

Bench: Grant Hill, Shane Battier, Mike Dunleavy, JJ Redick

Undoubtedly the deepest bench, which is not surprising considering that Duke has been producing NBA bench players for 25 years now. This is a good, deep group, but they would have looked a lot better a year ago, before Brand and Boozer had serious injuries, and when Maggette was still looking solid in LA.

Florida Gators

PG Corey Brewer

SG Mike Miller

SF Udonis Haslem

PF David Lee

C Al Horford

Bench: Matt Bonner, Joakim Noah

Probably the best defensive squad here, especially with Haslem, Lee and Horford hitting the boards. Still, not a lot of star power or firepower other than Miller and Bonner bombing from outside.

Arizona Wildcats

PG Gilbert Arenas

SG Jason Terry

SF Richard Jefferson

PF Andre Iguodala

C Channing Frye

Bench: Mike Bibby, Luke Walton

Along with UConn, probably the most talented group, but with the same sort of positional problems and absolutely no legit big men. Everybody (well, everybody but Channing Frye) is gonna want to have the ball in their hands and put it through the hoop. And Arenas/Terry/Jefferson all essentially have the same game. Still, they'd score at will.

Texas Longhorns

PG TJ Ford

SG Boobie Gibson

SF Kevin Durant

PF LaMarcus Aldridge

C Chris Mihm

Bench: DJ Augustin

This actually turned out to be my favorite squad, and I think they'd have a chance to win. Everyone is at their natural position. You've got one of the top 10 players in the league (Durant), a legit big man (Aldridge), outside shooting (Gibson) and a solid ball-handler (TJ Ford). But then there's Chris Mihm. If I was the coach of this team, I'd probably play as much small-ball as I could get away with, plugging Augustin in at the point and playing with three guards, Durant and Aldridge.

UCLA Bruins

PG Baron Davis

SG Jason Kapono

SF Trevor Ariza

PF Matt Barnes

C Kevin Love

Bench: Russell Westbrook, Jordan Farmar

A team of role players with Diddy as the focal point? It could work: Diddy drives, draws defenders, kicks out to Kapono for the three. Diddy drives, draws defenders, lays off to Ariza for the jam. Diddy drives, throws up a wildly ambitious layup that clanks off the rim, Barnes and Love grab the board. Yes, this is probably the least-talented group here, but you have to think of the team dynamic.

OK those were the best nine teams I came up with. Who do you guys think takes it? Is there another school out there that could compete that I'm forgetting? Are there other players from these schools that I've overlooked?