Which Colleges Produce the Most NBA Players?
November 2, 2008
One hundred and seventeen Division I colleges are currently represented in the NBA by their former players.
Thirty-seven of these schools have three or more players in the NBA.
In order to be eligible to represent their alma mater in the NBA, each player had to score over 100 points in 2007-08 and be on the current active roster for their 2008-09 NBA team. All rookies from the 2008 NBA draft had to make their NBA team's roster in order to be considered.
It is a common misconception that Duke is not well represented in the NBA. However, Duke is represented by 10 players—second to UCLA's 12—who have met all requirements for this list.
Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Chris Duhon, and Grant Hill are among the 10 former Blue Devils.
Baron Davis, Earl Watson, Jason Kapono, Trevor Ariza, and Jordan Farmar are five of the Bruins who are currently on NBA rosters.
There are some schools, like Duke and UCLA, that people expect to produce great multitudes of NBA players because of the school's prestige and success.
UConn is famous for sending Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, and five other prominent NBA figures to the higher level.
Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, and Rasheed Wallace were once Tar Heels.
Arizona, Texas, Kansas, and Florida all have over seven former players playing at the professional level.
These are the schools that are notorious for sending their best players to the NBA. However, there are other colleges with great legacies that do not send many players to the NBA.
Prior to the 2008 NBA draft, Jared Jeffries was the only former Indiana Hoosier in the pros. Indiana is a school with a great history, and even though they have not been at the top of college basketball in recent years, they have consistently made the NCAA Tournament.
The University of Michigan has just as many former players in the NBA as Western Carolina—both have one. Jamal Crawford is the Wolverine representative, and Kevin Martin is the Catamount.
Melvin Ely and Rafer Alston played basketball for Fresno State, while Devin Harris and Michael Finley are the only former Wisconsin Badgers at the professional level.
David West and James Posey are the sole Musketeers who played their college ball at Xavier, so Xavier has more NBA players than St. John's. Ron Artest is the only pro to play for the Red Storm.
Obviously there are many more schools that have sent players to the highest level, but prestigious college programs don't necessarily send multitudes.
Take a look at the following list of colleges and their total number of NBA reps if you want to see where your favorite school ranks.
UCLA—12
Duke—10
Arizona—9
UConn—9
Kansas—9
Florida—9
UNC—8
Texas—7
Kentucky—7
Georgia Tech—6
LSU—6
Michigan State—5
Memphis—5
Syracuse—4
Wake Forest—4
Ohio State—4
California—4
Maryland—4
Villanova—4
DePaul—4
Stanford—4
Georgetown—3
Arkansas—3
Illinois—3
Washington—3
Marquette—3
Alabama—3
Iowa—3
Purdue—3
Notre Dame—3
Boston College—3
Oklahoma State—3
Minnesota—3
Oregon—3
Gonzaga—3
Texas A&M—3
Indiana—3
Nevada—3
New Mexico—2
Xavier—2
Utah—2
Rhode Island—2
Providence—2
Miami (FL)—2
Florida State—2
UNLV—2
Fresno State—2
Wisconsin—2
Cincinnati—2
St. Joseph's—2
Georgia—2
Nebraska—2
Missouri—2
Arizona State—2
Pittsburgh—2
Southern California—2
North Carolina State—2
Kansas State—2
Michigan
Western Carolina
Santa Clara
Colorado
St. John's
Bradley
Louisville
Arkansas-Little Rock
Detroit
Florida International
Central Michigan
Seton Hall
Miami (OH)
Saint Louis
Creighton
Virginia
Massachusetts
Ball State
Louisiana Tech
Auburn
Bowling Green
Texas San Antonio
Hawaii
Texas State
Cal-State Fullerton
Oklahoma
Iowa State
Texas Christian
Mississippi State
Eastern Washington
Houston
Portland State
Charleston
Rutgers
Colorado State
Southern Methodist
Duquesne
La Salle
Utah Valley State
South Carolina
Oregon State
Baylor
Northeastern
Drexel
Colgate
Pepperdine
Temple
Clemson
Austin Peay
Tennessee
South Florida
Wyoming
Rider
West Virginia
Western Kentucky
IUPUI
UAB
Washington State
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