March Madness Legends Comps for 2025 Men's College Basketball Stars
When we think back on some of the most unforgettable players in NCAA tournament history, names like Kemba Walker, Steph Curry and Christian Laettner immediately spring to mind.
But who are the current players that potentially could emulate those March Madness legends in the process of creating a little tourney lore of their own?
By no means is this purported or intended to be a comprehensive list—in either direction. There are current All-American-caliber players like Kam Jones, Ryan Kalkbrenner and John Tonje not included, as well as many a March Madness legend like Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony and Glen Rice who just have no equal in today's game.
All the same, there are quite a few interesting comps of current players to the stars of yesteryear.
Players are presented in no particular order, but we'll start out with the obvious one in Durham, North Carolina.
Statistics for this season's players are current through the start of play on Tuesday.
Christian Laettner Comp: Cooper Flagg, Duke
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1991-92 Christian Laettner: 21.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.1 SPG, 2.0 APG, 0.9 BPG, 56% 3PT
2024-25 Cooper Flagg: 19.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 38% 3PT
Got to get this party started with the most obvious comp of them all, matching up the do-it-all Dukie big man of yesteryear with the one of today.
As far as public perception goes, there's really no comparison here. Outside of Durham, Laettner was one of the most hated players in college basketball history. But even most of the "anyone but Duke" fans of the sport seem to appreciate how good Flagg has been. (It helps that he's surely one-and-done and isn't stomping on anyone's chest like a villain.)
In terms of being indispensable to an excellent Blue Devils team that is going to enter the NCAA tournament as one of the favorites to win it all, though, Flagg and Laettner are kindred spirits.
The odds are slim that the current star and Wooden Award frontrunner delivers a moment as iconic as Laettner's OT buzzer beater in the Elite Eight, but we also know damn well who's getting the ball if Duke finds itself in a similar situation.
For Flagg's sake, here's hoping he doesn't find another wet spot on the floor like he did at Clemson.
Jason Kidd Comp: Braden Smith, Purdue
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1992-93 Jason Kidd: 13.0 PPG, 7.7 APG, 4.9 RPG, 3.8 SPG, 29% 3PT
2024-25 Braden Smith: 16.0 PPG, 8.7 APG, 4.5 RPG, 2.4 SPG, 40% 3PT
Perhaps calling NBA Hall of Famer Jason Kidd a March Madness Legend is a bit generous, but he did unforgettably slay a dragon as a freshman. With Duke seeking a three-peat, Cal's point guard went for 11 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and four steals in a second-round upset of the Blue Devils.
And, well, 11 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and four steals sure sounds like something Braden Smith could accomplish in an NCAA tournament game, as he does have season-high marks (not in the same game) of 34, 15, nine and six, respectively.
There simply aren't many lead guards in college hoops history who have made as much of an impact on both ends of the floor as Smith has had to make this season at Purdue, ranking second in the nation in assists and top 10 in steals while also doing quite a bit of scoring and a surprising amount of rebounding.
So, sure, let's call Kidd a March legend for his Sweet 16 run, or else there's not going to be a good comp for Smith in the 64-team era of the dance.
Would be something else if he leads the Boilermakers to a championship that they couldn't quite win with Zach Edey on the roster.
Kemba Walker Comp: PJ Haggerty, Memphis
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2010-11 Kemba Walker: 23.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.9 SPG, 33% 3PT
2024-25 PJ Haggerty: 21.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 SPG, 41% 3PT
Ah, yes, the comp we've been trying to find for—try not to freak out when I tell you how long it has been since Kemba's magical run that definitely only happened a couple of tournaments ago—14 years now.
This is a pretty respectable match, though.
Haggerty doesn't shoot threes (3.0 attempts per game) nearly as often as Walker did as a junior with the Huskies (5.5 attempts per game), but they are otherwise remarkably kindred spirits with an affinity for driving, dishing, drawing fouls and finishing at the rim.
The Memphis star does have a drastically more established supporting cast, though. Three of Walker's four highest scoring teammates were freshmen while Haggerty almost exclusively plays alongside seniors and graduate seniors.
However, there's really no question that the Tigers' hopes and dreams are pinned on Haggerty, his subpar performance against Wichita State (15 points on 18 shots) a few weeks ago the primary reason Memphis isn't currently on a 12-game winning streak.
Despite one of the highest scoring averages in the nation, he actually hasn't gone for 30 in a game yet this season, though.
Maybe he's saving those for March.
Jack Gohlke Comp: Tyler McGhie, UC San Diego
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2023-24 Jack Gohlke: 13.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.1 APG, 38% 3PT
2024-25 Tyler McGhie: 16.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 40% 3PT
Got to have at least one mid-major legend on the list, and might as well go with the one whose star was born one year ago.
Surely you remember Gohlke, right?
The guy who shot 10-for-20 from three-point range while Oakland drove the final nail into John Calipari's coffin at Kentucky?
Maybe McGhie could do that for the Tritons of UCSD.
He's never gone 10-for-20 in a game, but he does have 10 games this season with at least five made triples, as well as a dozen contests with at least 20 points scored. In fact, UC San Diego has won 21 consecutive games in which McGhie made multiple three-pointers, as getting him going has been one of the biggest catalysts of this team's success.
Of course, UCSD isn't going to be a No. 14 seed like Oakland was. It's far more likely the Tritons will be a No. 10 seed like Davidson was back in 2008, but mentioning McGhie in the same breath with Stephen Curry would've been overly aggressive.
All the same, if there's a mid-major sniper out there who's going to make it rain threes during an upset or two, McGhie is as good of a candidate as any.
Danny Manning Comp: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
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1987-88 Danny Manning: 24.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.9 BPG, 1.8 SPG, 35% 3PT
2024-25 Hunter Dickinson: 16.9 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.0 SPG, 21% 3PT
It's pretty clear from the PPG discrepancy that this one's a stretch, even though we're talking about a pair of big men from the same program.
But as Kansas sputters its way down to what will probably be its worst starting position in the dance in a quarter century, why not at least give it the old college try here?
Danny and the Miracles were a No. 6 seed for their championship run in 1988, and they rode their Wooden Award winner big time, Manning averaging better than 27 points in those six wins, including 31 in the national championship.
And while the might-be a No. 6 seed Jayhawks maybe don't need to lean that heavily on Dickinson, he's clearly going to be the anchor in the paint for whatever they do accomplish this March.
KU head coach Bill Self has already stated that he plans to let the big dog eat from here on out. They were somewhat limiting his minutes earlier in the season, but it'll probably be all of the minutes and all of the entry passes Dickinson can handle in the NCAA tournament.
So, get ready for...Hunter and the Wonders?
Kris Jenkins Comp: Alijah Martin, Florida
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2015-16 Kris Jenkins: 13.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, 39% 3PT
2024-25 Alijah Martin: 14.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.7 SPG, 36% 3PT
Long before the "Bang" heard 'round the world, Jenkins was already a major part of Jay Wright's first championship at Villanova. We kind of forget about that because he wasn't one of the six players on that roster who eventually made it to the NBA, but he was the second-leading scorer and the primary three-point weapon for what ended up being both a top-five offense and top-five defense by the end of that title run.
Sure sounds a lot like Martin's situation at Florida, doesn't it?
Walter Clayton Jr. is the Gators' leading scorer and their main perimeter shooter, but Martin isn't far behind him in either regard, with peripheral numbers similar to what Jenkins did for 'Nova nearly a decade ago. (Though, Martin is a bit more of an asset on the defensive end of the floor.)
It's frankly wild that Florida won those back-to-back road games against Auburn and Mississippi State without him, but it just speaks to the depth of talent on this roster that they don't need Martin so long as guys like Thomas Haugh and Denzel Aberdeen rise to the occasion.
In five games played since those two he missed, Martin has shot 13-for-28 from three-point range and could be gearing up for a repeat of his Final Four run with Florida Atlantic from two years ago.
Mateen Cleaves Comp: Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
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1999-2000 Mateen Cleaves: 12.1 PPG, 6.9 APG, 1.8 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 38% 3PT
2024-25 Zakai Zeigler: 13.7 PPG, 7.2 APG, 3.0 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 33% 3PT
In what was the Big Ten's last national championship run, defense was the name of the game for the Spartans.
They didn't do a ton of shot blocking or turnover forcing. It was more of a Dick/Tony Bennett-style defense in which they owned the defensive glass and made you settle for low percentage shots. But they ranked eighth in the nation in total points allowed per game (58.9) and were led in both assists and steals by a point guard who was seemingly there for a decade.
Smash cut to today and Zeigler is in the exact same boat as Cleaves was 25 years ago.
Tennessee ranks seventh in points allowed per game (61.3). And while Chaz Lanier is the Vols' Morris "Mo Pete" Peterson who leads the team in scoring, we all know Zeigler is the straw who stirs their drink, the leader on both ends of the floor with his veteran savvy.
MSU won all six of its tournament games in 2000 by double digits, never needing Cleaves in a particularly high-leverage situation. But look for Zeigler to take matters into his own hands if Tennessee finds itself in a tight one, perhaps hitting the buzzer-beater that he missed against Auburn earlier this season.
Patrick Ewing Comp: Johni Broome, Auburn
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1983-84 Patrick Ewing: 16.4 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 3.6 BPG
2024-25 Johni Broome: 18.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.4 BPG, 3.3 APG, 29% 3PT
A double-double machine with shot-blocking prowess on one of the best teams in the nation, it's not all that difficult to make the connection between Ewing and Broome.
Broome is more versatile than Ewing was, but it was a different time. There wasn't even a three-point line on the court when Ewing was at Georgetown, and passing out of the post was a sign of weakness.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this comp is the mutual free-throw liability, with both Ewing and Broome shooting below 66 percent from the charity stripe in each and every one of their combined nine seasons of college hoops.
Ewing was at 65.6 percent in the season in question, and he did go 0-for-2 as Georgetown damn near lost its tournament opener against SMU (37-36).
Broome is even worse at 62.8 percent, and a Hack-a-Johni strategy could be a problem if Auburn ends up in any nail-biters. Though, Broome has one heck of a basketball IQ and has done a great job of either calling immediate timeouts or basically playing hot potato with the ball if he grabs a rebound late in a close game.
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