Value Add: Top 16 Hoop Trios 22 Days Before Selection Sunday

With Selection Sunday just 22 days away, the following would be the No. 1 through No. 4 seeds if selections were based on the top three players from each team. Al McGuire first noted that it usually takes three stars to win a championship, and the following table lists the top 16 trios in basketball with the top three players listed along with their Value Add rankings, individual rank among the 4,000 D1 players, and heights as shown on www.valueaddbasketball.com. Syracuse would be the top seed in the country, and that rating does not even include CJ Fair.

The 4-seeds include national contenders Arizona and Florida, but also potential sleepers Tennessee and VCU who have the star powers for big runs. The 3-seeds include powerhouses UConn, Kentucky, Pitt and Creighton. Duke’s top trio comes in as a 2-seed, right before their battle with top-seeded Syracuse. The other two seeds are Louisville, Kansas and Wichita State, while Cincinnati, UCLA and Wisconsin are the final 1-seeds.

Tennessee is an example of a team that might only be an 11-seed, but might actually be a favorite against a 6-seed in the first round. The Vols top three players would be a 4-seed, so as bench strength becomes less important in the tournament the Vols could easily win at least one game. Jarnell Stokes (pictured), Jordan McRae and Jeronne Maymon give the Vols a trio of players between 6-fot-8 and 6-foot-6 that can match up with even elite teams.

Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
4	Arizona	P12		13.9
24	Nick	Johnson	.6-03	5.95
82	TJ	McConnell	.6-01	4.48
180	Rondae	Hollis-Jefferson	.6-07	3.47
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
4	Florida	SEC		13.86
38	Michael	Frazier	.6-04	5.31
95	Patric	Young	.6-09	4.31
103	Casey	Prather	.6-06	4.24
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
4	Tennessee	SEC		13.81
23	Jordan	McRae	.6-06	5.97
51	Jarnell	Stokes	.6-08	4.99
267	Jeronne	Maymon	.6-08	2.85
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
4	VCU	A10		14
18	Briante	Weber	.6-02	6.23
90	Juvonte	Reddic	.6-09	4.36
188	Treveon	Graham	.6-06	3.41
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
3	Connecticut	Amer		14.12
2	Shabazz	Napier	.6-01	7.96
233	Ryan	Boatright	.6-00	3.09
238	DeAndre	Daniels	.6-09	3.07
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
3	Creighton	BE		14.2
8	Doug	McDermott	.6-08	7.07
144	Jahenns	Manigat	.6-01	3.78
197	Ethan	Wragge	.6-07	3.35
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
3	Kentucky	SEC		14.19
42	Willie	Cauley-Stein	.7-00	5.26
68	Julius	Randle	.6-09	4.69
102	Aaron	Harrison	.6-06	4.24
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
3	Pittsburgh	ACC		14.1
16	Lamar	Patterson	.6-05	6.28
128	Talib	Zanna	.6-09	3.93
135	James	Robinson	.6-03	3.89
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
2	Duke	ACC		14.8
22	Jabari	Parker	.6-08	6.1
66	Rodney	Hood	.6-08	4.72
124	Amile	Jefferson	.6-09	3.98
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
2	Kansas	B12		14.4
43	Perry	Ellis	.6-08	5.22
47	Joel	Embiid	.7-00	5.11
117	Andrew	Wiggins	.6-08	4.07
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
2	Louisville	Amer		15.22
33	Montrezl	Harrell	.6-08	5.4
37	Russ	Smith	.6-00	5.33
80	Wayne	Blackshear	.6-05	4.49
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
2	Wichita St.	MVC		14.22
32	Fred	Van Vleet	.5-11	5.41
53	Ron	Baker	.6-03	4.95
137	Cleanthony	Early	.6-08	3.86
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
1	Cincinnati	Amer		15.62
4	Sean	Kilpatrick	.6-04	7.43
31	Justin	Jackson	.6-08	5.43
282	Titus	Rubles	.6-07	2.76
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
1	Syracuse	ACC		17.28
12	Tyler	Ennis	.6-02	6.48
13	Trevor	Cooney	.6-04	6.45
91	Jerami	Grant	.6-08	4.35
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
1	UCLA	P12		15.53
7	Jordan	Adams	.6-05	7.16
26	Kyle	Anderson	.6-09	5.75
308	Norman	Powell	.6-04	2.62
Seed/Rnk	Fname/team	Lname/conf	Ht	Value Add
1	Wisconsin	B10		15.37
19	Frank	Kaminsky	.6-11	6.15
58	Ben	Brust	.6-01	4.84
88	Sam	Dekker	.6-07	4.38