It’s that time of the year in the United States of America when the top sports colleges compete for the coveted NCAA Men’s Basketball title branded as March Madness. The NBA players also take a lot of pride in rooting for their colleges which prepared them to excel in the professional circuit. In the podcast – ‘All the Smoke‘, the co-hosts Stephen Jackson and former UCLA player Matt Barnes, were joined by former Kentucky Player – DeMarcus Cousins, to discuss the All-time starting line-up from both colleges.
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Two colleges that have been the most successful in churning out NBA talent are the University of Kentucky and UCLA DeMarcus Cousins started the segment by providing his All-time Kentucky line-up by selecting John Wall, Devin Booker, Tayshaun Prince, Anthony Davis, and himself. His lineup was followed by 1x NBA champion, Matt Barnes’ UCLA line-up which consisted of Baron Davis, Jrue Holiday, Reggie Miller, Kevin Love, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Both line-ups were extremely strong consisting of current and future Hall of Fame players. However, Stephen Jackson ridiculed Matt Barnes’ list and insinuated that his team would get swept by the Kentucky team. He then proceeded to give his starting five which was unconventional, to say the least.
“Bring out the brooms. Y’all getting swept. Jrue Holiday, BD that ain’t gonna get the win. Cool dudes, we cool with them, cool with a lot of them. When it comes to playing 5-vs-5, against that 5 [they aren’t winning]. I will give you a better UCLA line-up than that. I am going with Russ [Russell Westbrook], BD [Baron Davis], you [Matt Barnes], Kevin Love and Jelani.”
Surprisingly, Jackson decided to leave out two NBA Hall of Famers Reggie Miller and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Not surprisingly, Cousins disagreed with his selection. The players debated on their teams and had an intense debate.
“Jackson: ‘Stop acting like you gonna play every possession Boogie. You don’t know who is going to show up.’
Cousins: ‘I know who is going to show up. That n**ga who was next to me in New Orleans, that’s who is gonna show up.’
Jackson: ‘If that’s the AD you are bringing, then it’s a different story.’
Cousins: ‘I am telling you. I am putting batteries in n**ga’s back.'”
Despite what Stephen Jackson says, leaving out one of the greatest players to play in the history of the game is unacceptable. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is often said to have the best career in basketball. He is the most accomplished player if we were to consider high school, college, and the NBA. On the other hand, Reggie Miller is one of the greatest shooters in the game. There is no explanation for leaving these two out of your line-ups.
The Panel discusses the best moments in NCAA history
After a healthy discussion on the best starting lineups of Kentucky and UCLA, Barnes decided to shift the conversation toward the best moments in the history of the NCAA. March Madness has the term ‘Madness’ in it for a reason. It has produced some of the most crazy endings to a basketball game. There have been numerous ecstatic moments and an equal number of heartbreaks.
Jackson: ‘I am gonna go with Chris Jenkins or Kemba, because the Kemba did that dude, that dude shouldn’t play basketball no more after that.’
Cousins: ‘That’s my choice right there.’
Jackson: ‘Every team should see that video and be like – Nah bro!
Some other famous performances were brought up during the discussion including the Jalen Suggs game-winner against the UCLA team, Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot, and Christian Laettner’s big moments in college. It isn’t easy to choose one from the other as there have been so many in the history of the tournament. The fans would hope to get more such moments as the March Madness gets underway.
