Best NBA Pro Factories

What colleges produce the best pro players? You might be surprised.

5. Kentucky

Starting Lineup
Guard: Rajon Rondo, So.
Guard: John Wall, Fr.
Forward: Tayshaun Prince, Sr.
Forward: DeMarcus Cousins, Fr.
Center: Nazr Mohammed, Jr.

Average Years In College: 2.2

Other Active Players
Brandon Knight*, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe, Jodie Meeks, Kelenna Azubuike, Keith Bogans, Jamaal Magloire, Chuck Hayes, Daniel Orton, Josh Harrellson*, DeAndre Liggins*

This is one of the more interesting teams out there. They have three incredible talents in Rondo, Wall and Cousins as well as two nice role players, but I’m not exactly sure how they’d fit together in reality. Rondo and Wall are real, pure point guards, and while Wall would probably do fine if shifted to the 2, I don’t think he’d really thrive there. Still, I like their chances.

4. Duke

Starting Lineup
Guard: Kyrie Irving*, Fr.
Guard: Corey Maggette, Fr.
Forward: Luol Deng, Fr.
Forward: Carlos Boozer, Jr.
Center: Elton Brand, So.

Average Years In College: 1.6

Other Active Players
Grant Hill, Shane Battier, JJ Reddick, Gerald Henderson, Josh McRoberts, Nolan Smith*, Kyle Singler*, Mike Dunleavy, Chris Duhon, Dahntay Jones

Surprisingly, Duke hasn’t produced a very good player since Boozer in 2002 (and he was a second rounder). Still, though, they pump out enough players that a rock solid lineup can be pieced together. If Irving pans out, this lineup has the chance to be as good as any, as it’s one of the only ones where no players are playing out of their natural positions (I know Brand is only 6-9, but he’s played many of his games at center).

3. UCLA

Starting Lineup
Guard: Jrue Holiday, Fr.
Guard: Russell Westbrook, So.
Forward: Trevor Ariza, Fr.
Forward: Luc Mbah a Moute, Jr.
Center: Kevin Love, Fr.

Average Years In College: 1.6

Other Active Players
Baron Davis, Darren Collison, Arron Afflalo, Matt Barnes, Jordan Farmar, Ryan Hollins, Tyler Honeycutt*, Earl Watson, Jason Kapono, Dan Gadzuric, Malcolm Lee*

UCLA has produced some serious point guards over the past few years to say the least. They’d obviously win the Skills Challenge (not that anybody watches), but unfortunately you can’t really start four point guards. Still, the dynamic backcourt featuring Holiday and Westbrook as well as having Love down low would be extremely hard to defend.

2. UConn

Starting Lineup
Guard: Kemba Walker*, Jr.
Guard: Ray Allen, Jr.
Forward: Caron Butler, So.
Forward: Rudy Gay, So.
Center: Emeka Okafor, Jr.

Average Years In College: 2.6

Other Active Players
Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton, Charlie Villanueva, Hasheem Thabeet, Hilton Armstrong, AJ Price, Jeff Adrien, Stanley Robinson

Connecticut probably has the best offensive attack on this list, but they’re too undersized to be ranked number one. Still, having a distributor like Kemba along with three guys who can absolutely light it up and a defensive beast like Okafor is an incredible combination.

1. Texas

Starting Lineup
Guard: DJ Augustin, So.
Forward: Damion James, Sr.
Forward: Kevin Durant, Fr.
Forward: Tristan Thompson*, Fr.
Center: LaMarcus Aldridge, So.

Average Years In College: 2

Other Active Players
TJ Ford, Jordan Hamilton*, Daniel Gibson, Dexter Pittman, Avery Bradley, Royal Ivey, Maurice Evans, Cory Joseph*

Texas has never won a National Championship, but who cares. While there are deeper teams on this list, I’d take the Longhorns’ lineup in a 5-on-5 game any day, and that’s what this competition is all about. Durant and Aldridge would be absolutely unguardable together (if only Portland had grabbed KD over Oden…), and the supporting cast is good enough to get it done. Texas has the rare mixture of scoring and size that would make any coach drool.

And, By The Way… Players Who Came Out of High School

Starting Lineup
Monta Ellis
Kobe Bryant
LeBron James
Kevin Garnett
Dwight Howard

Other Active Players
Josh Smith, Al Jefferson, Andrew Bynum, Kendrick Perkins, Stephen Jackson, Tyson Chandler, Lou Williams, Rashard Lewis, JR Smith, Dorell Wright, Andray Blatche, Al Harrington, Tracy McGrady, Amir Johnson, CJ Miles, DeShawn Stevenson, Travis Outlaw, Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, Jermaine O’Neal, Jonathan Bender, Shaun Livingston, Martell Webster, Shaun Livingston

Leo Sepkowitz is a lifelong basketball fan who inexplicably loves the New Jersey Nets. He writes for SLAMonline and maintains his own blog, LeoBeingLeo.com.