LWOS will begin a college basketball series comparing the players from each state, also known as, the NCAA All-State Tournament. Ten team rosters were made from a list of active college basketball players. Anyone who was on a roster this season was considered. Teams were made with positions in mind, trying to create a realistic basketball lineup. For some places, that was impossible. In total, 32 teams were created, including international teams. They were seeded and then broken up into regions consisting of eight teams each.
NCAA All-State Tournament East Region
First Round
#1 New York (Overall 1)
Starters: Obi Toppin, Jordan Nwora, Isaiah Stewart, Elijah Hughes, Cole Anthony
Bench: James Bouknight, Anthony Lamb, Precious Achiuwa, Alpha Diallo, Justin Champagnie
The overall number one seed is the New York squad. This team is led by AP Player of the Year, Obi Toppin. The starting lineup might be one of the best scoring lineups in the history of college hoops. They also have a tough bench and talent is widely dispersed. All ten players will get NBA looks and at least seven of them seem to be on pace for solid careers. This makes them the best roster of the NCAA All-State Tournament.
#8 Missouri (Overall 32)
Starters: Jacob Gilyard, Xavier Sneed, Ochai Agbaji, Courtney Ramey, Javonte Perkins
Bench: Elijah Childs, Jordan Barnes, Jimmy Whitt, Jericole Hellems, Michael Hughes
This Missouri team is poor at best. Gilyard, Sneed, and Agbaji have had nice moments in college, but it will be hard for this team to manufacture points. They definitely have some high major talent on the roster, but they are quite weak overall. They also run into an absolute buzzsaw.
New York will control this game from start to finish. They advance easily behind Toppin and Nwora. Champagnie comes off the bench to have a big ball game.
#4 Tennessee (Overall 16)
Starters: Grayson Murphy, Jalen Crutcher, Jordan Bowden, John Fulkerson, James Wiseman
Bench: Tray Boyd, Bo Hodges, Alex Lomax, Tyler Harris, Nathan Hoover
Tennessee is full of guys that stayed in state to attend college. The only player on the roster that does not fit that description is Hoover, who plays for Wofford. The starting frontcourt duo of Wiseman and Fulkerson is strong. Adding solid wings and a good point guard around them make this a formidable starting lineup. The bench is also solid with several great mid-major players.
#5 Virginia (Overall 17)
Starters: Keyontae Johnson, Aamir Simms, Matt Coleman, Armando Bacot, Mac McClung
Bench: Tyler Scanlon, Chris Clarke, Rasir Bolton, Nick Sherod, Xavier Johnson
This is another team with a solid overall roster. The concern for this group will be consistency from long range. The frontcourt duo of Simms and Bacot is formidable and the guard play will be solid. There are a lot of players that can handle the ball with this group.
Virginia narrowly edges out the win here. The quality of the starters for Tennessee is slightly better, but the bench is slightly better for Virginia. This one might come down to a coach’s battle, but Virginia does just enough to advance. A Bacot and Simms versus Wiseman and Fulkerson matchup would be fantastic.
#3 Pennsylvania (Overall 9)
Starters: Fatts Russell, Samir Doughty, Collin Gillespie, Lamar Stevens, Mike Watkins
Bench: Jahaad Proctor, Donta Scott, Tyrese Martin, Nate Sestina, Quade Green
Pennsylvania has a great starting lineup. This group would easily average 80 points per game. Russell, Doughty, and Gillespie can all catch fire. Stevens and Watkins played well together in college and that should continue with this group. The bench group is thin. They have high major players on the bench, but they are all role players.
#6 Washington (Overall 24)
Starters: Malachi Flynn, Corey Kispert, Jaden McDaniels, CJ Elleby, Emmitt Matthews
Bench: Terrell Brown, Erik Stevenson, Tony Miller, Daejon Davis, Jaquori McLaughlin
This group is rather thin. Flynn, Kispert, and McDaniels are all solid, but beyond that, there is somewhat of a lack of talent. Elleby and Matthews have been solid but they have also disappeared at times. The bench group leaves something to be desired.
Pennsylvania wins this matchup rather easily. The guards light the world on fire and Stevens has a solid game. Watkins should also control the glass and protect the paint. This is a good matchup for Pennsylvania.
#2 Northern Europe (Overall 8)
Starters: Joel Ayayi, Jon Axel Gudmundsson, Yves Pons, Killian Tillie, Oscar Da Silva
Bench: Marek Dolezaj, Matt Haarms, Olivier Sarr, Maik Kotsar, Franz Wagner
The Northern European team is surprisingly strong. The starters have great guard play, but they do not have a lot of depth at that position. They are exceptionally strong at the forward position with players like Pons, Tillie, da Silva, and Dolezaj. This group should outrebound almost everyone and make life very difficult. The bigs are also quite athletic so there should not be too many mismatches on the defensive end.
#7 Rest of the World (Overall 25)
Starters: Kofi Cockburn, Nick Richards, Chris Duarte, Andres Feliz, Kevin Samuel
Bench: Romaro Gill, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jaime Echenique, Lucas Siewert, Hyunjung Lee
This team is headlined by Duarte, Cockburn, and Richards. They have some talent, but they are mostly a bottom-tier team. There are a lot of bigs and not too many guards.
The Rest of the World team struggles to score against Northern Europe who controls the game from the jump. Northern Europe advances to the next round after a lights out shooting performance by the guards.
Round 2
#1 New York vs #5 Virginia
New York is too good for Virginia. The one-two punch of Toppin and Nwora is too much to handle. Virginia is certainly a solid lineup, but New York is better at each spot.
#2 Northern Europe vs #3 Pennsylvania
This is a great matchup. The guards for Pennsylvania are better than Northern Europe. The size difference will be the game changer here. Northern Europe’s athleticism and height get them over the hump here.
Round 3
#1 New York vs #2 Northern Europe
This is a battle. New York has more scoring and talent from top to bottom. It is just not a great matchup for Northern Europe as New York has big wings with guard talent. New York should out-pace Northern Europe and keep the game out of reach. New York moves onto the Final Four as the winner of the East Region of the NCAA All-State Tournament.
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