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NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 24 teams in 2020 “The Basketball Tournament”

By Max Marmitt

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 30: D.J. Kennedy #1 of the St. John's Red Storm celebrates the win against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on January 30, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 30: D.J. Kennedy #1 of the St. John's Red Storm celebrates the win against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on January 30, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) /
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GLENDALE, AZ – APRIL 03: Kennedy Meeks #3 of the North Carolina Tar Heels (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – APRIL 03: Kennedy Meeks #3 of the North Carolina Tar Heels (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

13. The Basketball Tournament power rankings – Team CP3

Actual Ranking:  #13 – Round of 24 Matchup:  #20 Mid American Unity

More specific than just playing for an All-time NBA great Chris Paul, Team CP3 consists of alumni from the CP3 grassroots program (AAU team). It’s no secret that Chris Paul’s basketball mind is unmatched and he constructed a talented, well-rounded roster, even if not every guy is from the AAU team.

Led by a pair of North Carolina gems Kennedy Meeks and P.J Hairston, the pressure will surely not faze either of these guys. P.J Hairston, a 2014 NBA first-round draft pick, was the go-to guy during all Elam Endings in Team CP3’s run last year (tied at 76, his game-winning three to send Team CP3 was one of the best highlights from 2019). Meeks was a vital piece to North Carolina’s national championship run in 2017 (and was a Kris Jenkins buzzer-beater away from becoming a two-time national champion). Maryland alum Dez Wells and Georgetown alum LJ Peak are two of the most underrated roster additions joining TBT this year. Both guys should fit perfectly with this team and really help balance the roster.

Minnesota alum Nate Mason and UNC Greensboro alum Diante Baldwin fill a strong backcourt as both guys demonstrated last year. Mason is a 2017 All-Big Ten player and Diante Baldwin is 14th on the all-time UNC Greensboro scoring list, third in assists, and fourth all-time in steals. Just like the Clemson alumni team, I’m not a fan of the zone approach used on defense last year because of the best TBT teams being able to exploit the defense so easily. The potential second-round opponent Golden Eagles (Marquette alumni) could certainly take advantage.

However, this didn’t seem to be too big of an issue last year and down by 18 in the first round last year, Team CP3 used a suffocating full-court press to pull off the comeback. Chris Paul attended the 2019 TBT championship, and he understands what type of team it takes to make that deep of a run.

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