It is lunchtime somewhere. So, welcome back to the lunch hour read of the Meat & Three. Every weekday I dive into a big picture topic and three things to get you through a quarantine spring. 

Today we dive into what will be a constant here in this space for a while - NBA Draft data. Which schools have produced the most NBA Draft picks since 2000? Also, We’re staying ready at HoopSeen for any sized tournament. Today’s stream of the day is a good podcast worth a listen from a prominent sports business executive. And, of course, the Stan Johnson photo of the day. 

THE MEAT: NBA DRAFT DATA 

My career in basketball started at the NBA Draft. I began my career in media covering the annual summer night of dreams coming true. I’ve always loved it. If you’re a hoophead, it’s hard not to like. It blends our college game with the pro game on one amazingly fun night. 

With the time inside and away from the court, I’ve poured into some data from the NBA Draft. I’ve gone back to 2000 so we have 20 years of data to sort through. There’s a lot to look at, a lot to think about and a lot to discuss. 

I’m always curious as to where the talent comes from. Today’s NBA Draft note includes just that. Here are the schools that have produced at least 10 draft picks since 2000. 

MOST DRAFT PICKS SINCE 2000

1. Kentucky 44 (32 1st, 12 2nd)
2. Duke 37 (28 1st, 9 2nd)
3. UCLA 29 (15 1st, 14 2nd)
4. Kansas 28 (17 1st round, 11 2nd)
5. North Carolina 27 (22 1st, 5 2nd)
6. Arizona 24 (12 first round, 12 second round) 
7. Syracuse 21 (11 1st, 8 2nd)
8. UCONN 20 (13 1st, 7 2nd)
9. Texas 19 (14 1st, 5 2nd)
10. Michigan State 18 (11 1st, 7 2nd) 
11. Florida 15 (8 1st, 7 2nd)
11. Maryland 15 (5 1st, 10 2nd)
11. Washington 15 (11 1st, 4 2nd)
12. Florida State 14 (6 1st, 8 2nd)
12. Ohio State 14 (8 1st, 6 2nd)
13. LSU 13 (5 1st, 8 2nd)
13. Michigan 13 (9 1st, 4 2nd)
13. Oregon 13 (5 1st, 8 2nd) 
13. Stanford 13 (8 1st, 5 2nd) 
14. Gonzaga 12 (8 1st round, 4 2nd) 
14. Indiana 12 (9 1st round, 3 2nd)
14. Louisville 12 (7 1st, 5 2nd) 
15. Iowa State 11 (8 1st round, 3 2nd)
15. Memphis 11 (6 1st, 5 2nd) 
15. Villanova 11 (7 1st, 4 2nd)
16. Cal 10 (2 1st round, 8 2nd round) 
16. Georgia Tech 10 (9 1st round, 1 2nd) 
16. Miami 10 (3 1st, 7 2nd) 
16. Missouri 10 (5 1st, 5 2nd)
16. Vanderbilt 10 (5 1st, 5 2nd)
16. Virginia 10 (3 1st, 7 2nd)

These 31 schools make up 521 players. That’s 43.8 percent of all players drafted over the last 20 years.

THE NOTE

I heard a prominent sports talk show host ask a prominent person in Major League Baseball how the league would be able to pull off such a feat. 

“It’s intimidating,” the person said with some worry and wonder in his voice. 

Is it? Those of us in the sports industry, particularly prep sports, would love a 30-team league schedule to put together. Even a truncated one. We do those on the regular. A 30-team event is a cake walk. One venue? No problem. 

Our genius tournament director Daniel Paccione planned and ran the Best of the South, a four-day event at one venue last July without a hick-up. There were nearly 1,000 games in that span and over 320 teams. He didn’t miss a beat. 

All of us in sports would love to be back on our respective courts, fields and playing venues. So would you. So would, frankly, everybody. Putting schedules together without a long runway is a tough task, regardless of your league or size. 

Wether it is a Georgia Cup that has 80 teams or the Best of the South that can hold up to 700 teams, we’re ready to put the pieces together, safely and healthy, whenever that green light gets turned back on. 

Planning for the bounce back has been our daily task since we’ve all moved indoors and outside of the gym. We’ll be ready. Don’t you worry about that.

THE STREAM 

Let’s pivot from video to audio for the Stream of the Day this week. If you’re not a podcast listener, now is the perfect time to become one. This week’s streams are a run back of some of my most favorite listens over the last couple of years. 

We talk a lot about the game on how it looks on the court. But what about off of it? I’ve listened to this podcast with Scott O’Neil, the CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, and Paul Rabil quite a bit. This was aired in Feb. 2018 but it’s points are still relevant and important in today’s sports business world. 

O’Neil talks about his process of managing the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils and his time when he was the CEO of Madison Square Garden. 

If you are in leadership or aspire to be, this is a terrific hour of great business insight with a human foundation for success. 

THE STAN JOHNSON PHOTO OF THE DAY 

I asked our guy Stan Johnson to send me some of his favorite shots from the 2019 season on our HoopSeen platform. We begin his gallery today in the Meat & Three.