Carmelo joins some elite company...

by Andrew Feinstein on Sep 5, 2008 8:18 AM MDT

With Carmelo Anthony parading around his gold medal this week, it got me thinking: how many gold medalists also won NCAA Championships? And of the players who won both, how many subsequently won an NBA Championship, as well?

In looking at 52 years of USA Basketball going back to 1956 (it should be noted that the 1952 team was coached by Kansas' Phog Allen and featured seven KU players soon after they won the NCAA Championship), I came up with a short list of 15 players who have pulled off this feat:

Bill Russell
K.C. Jones
Darrall Imhoff
Jerry Lucas
Walt Hazzard
Scott May
Quinn Buckner
Sam Perkins
Michael Jordan
Patrick Ewing
Christian Laettner
Magic Johnson
Grant Hill
Carlos Boozer
Carmelo Anthony

That's a pretty amazing list. Granted, with the influx of high school and then one-year-of-college players filing into the NBA over the last 15 years, winning an NCAA Championship isn't what it used to be, but winning is winning. And in basketball, there are only three titles worth noting: the NBA Championship, NCAA Championship and Olympic Gold Medal (I suppose the FIBA World Championship would be a distant fourth on the list).

So are winning both a gold medal and an NCAA Championship an indicator of bringing home an NBA Championship? Not necessarily. Of the players above, only five - MJ, Magic, Lucas, Russell and Jones - have all three titles on their mantle. Now that's an exclusive list.

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Comments

Now lets get that NBA chamionship while still with the Nuggs.

by John on Sep 5, 2008 9:17 AM MDT reply actions

Oscar never won an ncaa championship but he made the final four twice.

by Anonymous on Sep 5, 2008 12:42 PM MDT reply actions

Thanks for catching that - I've fixed it!

by denverstiffs@gmail.com on Sep 5, 2008 1:01 PM MDT reply actions

That is pretty good company. Like John said hopefully Melo can get the gold while he is still in Denver, but that it's not looking good at this point in time. I hope Melo has a better season next year. Not that he had a bad one this year, but I hope we are able to make the playoffs and do a little bit of damage so he doesn't get so much trash from everyone. Sitll, at this point that doesn't seem to likely either. Frustrating times to be a Nugget fan.

by Goldennugget on Sep 5, 2008 3:58 PM MDT reply actions

tayshaun prince - ncaa champ, nba champ, olympic gold medalist

by Anonymous on Sep 6, 2008 6:36 AM MDT reply actions

Let's face it, winning the NCAA means shit in these days.

Now bring the NBA champhionship to Denver, Melo.

by Catalan on Sep 6, 2008 11:43 AM MDT reply actions

manu's fiba olympic and nba means nothing?

by Anonymous on Sep 7, 2008 10:14 PM MDT reply actions

Prince never won an NCAA title.

by Anonymous on Sep 8, 2008 10:21 AM MDT reply actions

That's a great post. You should submit it to a newspaper, it would be a good read.

by grantarchy on Sep 9, 2008 10:12 AM MDT reply actions

Patrick Ewing was a John Starks performance away from the trifecta.

by Dan Amale on Sep 11, 2008 12:25 PM MDT reply actions

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STIFF LIST (as of 4/26 by Andrew Feinstein)

1. METTA WORLD PEACE

Metta resorted back to Ron Ron last Sunday by clubbing James Hardenwith an "inadvertent celebratory elbow", landing him a 7-game suspension. Apparently, changing his name didn't prevent NBA commissioner David Stern from overlooking Metta's past behavior problems.

2. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

The 'Cats are on the verge of securing the worst winning percentage in NBA history. Given that the guy who runs the team - Michael Jordan - had previously drafted Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison, should this really be a shock?

3. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
The team that was supposedly built to overcome the lockout-shortened season managed to lose 7 of its last 14 games, ceding the Western Conference's 1-seed to the Spurs in the process. Their reward might be a first round matchup with defending champion Dallas.

4. BILLY HUNTER AND DEREK FISHER

With report after report coming out about NBPA union head Hunter's shady, nepotistic dealings and questions arising about Fisher's own role in dealing with NBA owners behind Hunter's back during the lockout, this off-the-court scandal could prove to be more exciting than the playoffs themselves!

5. STEVE NASH AND THE PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns are on this list for squandering the last few great seasons from Nash. Nash is on this list for his stupidly stubborn loyalty to a franchise as awful as the Suns.