While the Mavericks and other NBA teams have a growing number of international players with no university connections, many players get excited about this time of the year when the NCAA Tournament is set to begin.
The Mavericks have seven players whose schools made the Big Dance: Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke (Michigan), Devin Harris (Wisconsin), Jalen Brunson (Villanova), J.J. Barea (Northeastern), Justin Jackson (North Carolina) and Dorian Finney Smith (Florida).
And, of course, Rick Carlisle’s Virginia Cavaliers also made the tournament – as a No. 1 seed, no less.
All of them think their schools are headed to the Final Four, although they admittedly have different levels of confidence about that possibility.