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NCAA Basketball: Current 2019-20 NBA teammates who played in college together

By Bill McCarthy

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 04: Tyus Jones #5 of the Duke Blue Devils gives instructions to his teammate Grayson Allen #3 of the Duke Blue Devils during the game against the Michigan State Spartans during the NCAA Men's Final Four Semifinal at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 4, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 04: Tyus Jones #5 of the Duke Blue Devils gives instructions to his teammate Grayson Allen #3 of the Duke Blue Devils during the game against the Michigan State Spartans during the NCAA Men's Final Four Semifinal at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 4, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Junior Cadougan #5, Jae Crowder #32 and Jimmy Butler #33 of the Marquette Golden Eagles (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Junior Cadougan #5, Jae Crowder #32 and Jimmy Butler #33 of the Marquette Golden Eagles (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) /

The Miami Golden Eagles

Duo: Jimmy Butler and Jae Crowder

NBA team: Miami Heat

College team: Marquette Golden Eagles, 2010-11

NCAA Tournament finish: Sweet 16

Former Marquette Golden Eagles Jimmy Butler and Jae Crowder, recently reunited in Miami, are the college-turned-NBA teammates with the most accomplished professional careers.

Butler, who signed with the Heat this summer after spending time with three other franchises, has played in five All-Star games since entering the league as the No. 30 pick in 2011. He’s made the NBA’s all-defensive second team four times and the All-NBA third team twice.

Through 55 games this season, Butler is averaging 20.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.8 steals per night, according to Basketball-Reference.

He was joined at the trade deadline by Crowder, a veteran swingman who plays tough defense and can knock down the three. The No. 34 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, Crowder has bounced around the league and now played for six different teams.

Both play with chips on their shoulders that can be traced back to before their college days.

Neither Butler nor Crowder was heavily recruited coming out of high school. Butler played one year for Tyler Junior College before Marquette recruited him. Crowder played two years of junior college basketball at South Georgia Tech and Howard College before transferring to Marquette.

It was during the 2010-11 season — when Butler was a senior and Crowder was a junior — that the two future NBA veterans shared the college court together.

Butler averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per contest that season, according to Sports Reference. Crowder contributed another 11.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Those numbers didn’t always translate to success, as the Golden Eagles finished with a 9-9 record in the Big East and entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed.

But Butler and Crowder still managed to make the Sweet 16, downing No. 6 seed Xavier and No. 3 seed Syracuse along the way. In their upset of Syracuse, the Golden Eagles went on a 10-3 run over the game’s final 2:25 to win by 4 points.

Marquette returned to the Sweet 16 the following season when Crowder was named Big East player of the year and made the AP All-America second team.

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