We have now entered the month of March, which means new focus for the highest levels of basketball. In the NBA, that means looking ahead to the playoffs and potential matchups. The Pistons should be gearing up for a deep postseason run and fine-tuning their rotations to prepare for April and May. But in the NCAA, March is the peak time of year and the NCAA Tournament will bring some of the most exciting hoops of the whole year.
The Pistons themselves have had their fair share of success in the Tournament, although typically not from their best players. The most talented Pistons, such as All-Stars Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren, were "one-and-done" players in college who declared for the draft after their freshman year. As such, they had less opportunities to make deep runs in March Madness. The Pistons also lose out on some March moments to non-NCAA routes, which were taken by impactful wings Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II.
But the Pistons still have plenty of March moments to fondly remember:
The Michigan Wolverines - Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert
The Pistons currently employ two local legends from their college days in Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert. The two were teammates at the University of Michigan during the 2016 NCAA Tournament, when Michigan lost in the first round. However, the Wolverines did pick up a postseason win over Tulsa in a First Four game prior to that loss. That win made them the 11 seed in their region and pitted them against 6 seed Notre Dame, which would eventually be a 70-63 loss.
However, LeVert and Robinson had much better Tournament outcomes in their non-overlapping seasons. LeVert reached the NCAA Championship game as a freshman in 2013, where Michigan lost a close game to Louisville. In his sophomore season, LeVert also advanced to the Elite Eight before being outsed by Kentucky.
Robinson, on the other hand, made it to the Championship Game as a senior in 2018. Although Robinson wasn't a leading scorer on the team, he hit some big shots in the Tournament to help Michigan keep advancing. He was also a team captain that year and played an important leadership role in the locker room.
Marcus Sasser: University of Houston legend
The Pistons' other notable collegiate success was Marcus Sasser. He's a program legend at Houston and earned First-Team All-American honors his senior year in 2023. During his four years in college, Sasser's team qualified for the Tournament three times and made it to at least the Sweet Sixteen each time. In his last two runs, his tough shotmaking and 3-point shooting was crucial to helping Houston advance.
The Pistons' next key role player could emerge as a March Madness legend this month. As we get caught up in the excitement of college basketball, we should keep an eye on players' potential NBA fit as well.