NCAA Tournament: Purdue, Ja Morant and Virginia among early winners

NCAA Tournament 2019: Purdue, Ja Morant and Virginia among early winners

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 24: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates a layup against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 21: Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers celebrates scoring at the end of the first half during the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Marquette Golden Eagles at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Ja Morant

Ja Morant and the Murray State Racers were bounced from the NCAA Tournament in the second round, but that does not mean he is not a winner from the first weekend of play. I have mentioned before, but two previous first overall picks, Ben Simmons from LSU and Markelle Fultz from Washington, did not play in their respective NCAA Tournaments. Both had weak teams and were looking ahead to their NBA potential counting down the days until draft day.

Ja Morant already did something neither of those players did by carrying a team to the NCAA Tournament the only way possible, by winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. At the beginning of this college basketball season, Ja Morant was definitely on many NBA teams’ radars, however he was not considered to be on the same level as the top three ranked college players, all Duke Blue Devils: RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish.

As you are reading this article today, many experts are predicting that Ja Morant will be the consensus overall number two draft pick behind the human highlight reel, Zion. The reason is not that RJ Barrett has not lived up to expectation, I mean the kid is averaging 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists per game. It is because Ja Morant is showing the world that he has the potential to be a franchise changing player and that was on display as he played on National television and recorded the eighth triple double ever in Tournament history in round one.

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