Top 3 March Madness Performances By Current Sacramento Kings
We miss the NBA. We miss college basketball. To feed our need today, we take a look back at the 3 best March Madness performances from current Sacramento Kings players.
It was not long ago when the Sacramento Kings were considered one of the young, up-and-coming teams in the NBA, filled with former college stars and NCAA tournament standouts. The roster was like a whose who of memorable March Madness players and moments.
Many of these guys still play for the Kings today, though they are all a year older and another year removed from their glory days of playing for their alma maters. With no NCAA Tournament being held this year due to coronavirus concerns, we take a look back at the top three March Madness performances by players who are currently on the Kings roster.
#1. De’Aaron Fox – March 24th, 2017: 3rd Round vs. UCLA
39 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover (13 for 20 FG, 13 for 15 FT)
This was De’Aaron Fox‘s coming out party, and the second and final collegiate matchup with new mini-rival Lonzo Ball.
Fox’s Kentucky Wildcats lost the first matchup with Ball’s UCLA Bruins early in the season, but got a chance at revenge as both schools were placed in the same bracket for 2017’s March Madness tournament. The second meeting would come during the Sweet Sixteen, and Kentucky seemed vulnerable with narrow victories in the opening two rounds to Northern Kentucky and Wichita State.
But De’Aaron Fox and the Wildcats would not have another let down against the Bruins. Fox was phenomenal, and enjoyed what was easily his most impressive performance of his single year in college. After never eclipsing more than 28 points in any game previously, Fox dropped an ultra-impressive 39 points, deeming himself unstoppable with his drives to the basket and floaters that continuously dropped throughout the game.
He was able to draw plenty of fouls, getting to the free throw line a whopping 15 times and knocking down 13 of them. He also limited his turnovers to a single mishap, leading Kentucky to victory and sending them to an Elite 8 date with North Carolina.
Looking back on that game, it is likely the performance that Fox can point to as the reason he was drafted in the top 5 of the 2017 NBA Draft. The full repertoire that we know and love today was on display for a national audience for the first time that day: the blazing speed, the killer floater, and the ability to penetrate the lane and draw fouls.
It also gave Fox the upper hand in the budding rivalry against Ball.