NCAA March Madness kicks off on March 21. Here’s a look back at current VTB League basketball players who participated in the famed college tournament, as well as former representatives from the league’s youth championships who are preparing to try their hand at March Madness.
The VTB League players participated in March Madness:
Sindarius Thornwell, Avtodor
University of South Carolina, 2017 NCAA semifinal
21.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 44.4% from the game
Malik Newman, Avtodor
University of Kansas, 2018 – NCAA semifinal
14.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 46.3% from the game
Brandon Garrett, Avtodor
Murray State University, 2012 – third round West
2.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.6 blocks, 45% from the game
Vailije Pusica, Astana
Northeastern University, 2019 – first round Midwest
17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 48.2% from the game
Markell Johnson, Astana
North Carolina State University, 2018 – first round Midwest
8.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 46% from the game
Devin Davis, Astana
University of Houston, 2018 – second round West
10.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 48.8% from the game
Jordan Skipper-Brown, Astana
Murray State University, 2022 – second round East
4.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.7 blocks, 62.5% from the game
Royce Hamm, Astana.
University of Texas, 2021 – first round East
1.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.4 blocks, 52.8% from the game
Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Enisey
Florida State University, 2017 – second round West
10.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 45.3% from the game
Mikel Hopkins, Enisey
Georgetown University, 2012 – third round Midwest
2.4 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 42.3% from the game
Georgetown University, 2013 – second round South
5.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 40.9% from the game
Georgetown University, 2015 – third round South
5.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 43.8% from the game
Beau Beech, Enisey
University of North Florida, 2015 – first round South
12.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 42.5% from the game
Trent Frazier, Zenit
University of Illinois, 2021 – second round Midwest
10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 40% from the game
University of Illinois, 2022 – second round South
11.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 39.7% from the game
Kyle Kuric, Zenit.
University of Louisville, 2009 – Midwest final.
1.6 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 52.6% from the field
University of Louisville, 2010 – first round South
4.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 45.7% from the game
University of Louisville, 2011 – second round Southwest
10.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 51.4% from the game
University of Louisville, 2012 – NCAA semifinal.
12.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 42.2% from the game
Jaylen Barford, Lokomotiv Kuban
University of Arkansas, 2017 – second round South
12.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 43.8% from the game
University of Arkansas, 2018 – first round East
17.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 47% from the game
Okaro White, Lokomotiv Kuban
Florida State University, 2011 – Southwest semifinal
6.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 44.4% from the field
Florida State University, 2012 – third round East
7.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 47.6% from the game
Zach Smith, MINSK
Texas Tech University, 2016 – first round Midwest
10.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 51.1 from the game
Texas Tech University, 2018 – final East
6.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 57.9% from the game
Kasey Shepherd, Pari NN
University of Louisiana, 2014 – second round West
8.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 53.5% from the game
C.J. Bryce, PARMA
University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2016 – first round West
10.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 53.7% from the game
University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2017 – first round East
17.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 48.4% from the game
B.J. Johnson, PARMA
Syracuse University, 2014 – third round South
1.4 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 25% from the game
Richard Solomon, PARMA
University of California, 2012 – first round Midwest
6.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 45.6% from the game
University of California, 2013 – third round East
8.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 47.2% from the game
Alex Tyus, Runa
University of Florida, 2010 – first round West
11.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, 50.3% from the game
University of Florida, 2011 – final round Southeast
9.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, 50% from the game
Juwan Morgan, Runa
Indiana University, 2016 – Southeast semifinal
2.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.4 blocks, 51.2% from the game
Jalen Reynolds, UNICS
Xavier University, 2014 – first round Midwest
3.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.5 blocks, 53.3% from the game
Xavier University, 2015 – semifinal West
9.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, 61.8% from the game
Xavier University, 2016 – second round East
9.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 0.6 blocks, 52.3% from the game
Marcos Knight, UNICS
Middle Tennessee State University, 2012 – first round Midwest
12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 44.7% from the game
Octavius Ellis, Uralmash.
University of Cincinnati, 2015 – third round Midwest
9.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 55.7% from the game
University of Cincinnati, 2015 – third round Midwest
9.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 54.7% from the game
Casper Ware, CSKA
Long Beach State University, 2012 – second round West
17.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 40.1% from the game
Tonye Jekiri, CSKA
University of Miami at Florida, 2013 – semifinal East
1.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.3 blocks, 51.4% from the game
University of Miami at Florida, 2016 – semifinal South
7.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, 52.5% from the game
Pavel Zakharov, CSKA
Gonzaga University, 2021 – NCAA Final
0.8 points, 0.4 rebounds, 33.3% from the game
Melo Trimble, CSKA
University of Maryland, 2015 – third round Midwest
16.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 44.4% from the game
University of Maryland, 2016 – semifinal South
14.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 41% from the game
University of Maryland, 2017 – first round West
16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 43.6% from the game
Samson Ruzhentsev, CSKA
University of Florida, 2021 – second round South
2.0 points, 0.7 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 34.1% from the game
Who to follow in the upcoming March Madness 2024:
Vladislav Goldin, Florida Atlantic University
15.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 67% from the game this season
(played for CSKA-2 in the VTB United Youth League from 2017-2020)
Andrei Savrasov, Duquesne University
6.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 48.4% from the game this season
(played for Zenit 2 in the VTB United Youth League from 2016 through 2019).
