San Antonio Spurs small forward Rudy Gay says without the NCAA tournament, CJ McCollum might not have made it to the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Gay's comments come amid sports being suspended because of the coronavirus. The NCAA had to cancel March Madness after the NBA suspended its season following Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert's positive coronavirus test.
Gay says all the NBA players want to play right now, but he ultimately feels bad for the college players who won't get to experience the NCAA tournament like he and McCollum did:
“We all want to play, you know what I’m saying? I know myself, I’m trying to get out there, man,” Rudy Gay told Wosny Lambre of The Athletic. “But what I’ve heard is it’s going to be a month, this and that. You see it on Instagram what people think, ‘When is the next season going to start?' I don’t really care, man. I just want to finish this season, do the best we can, and then try to figure out next year.
“I feel bad for the college students because a lot of people were made in the tournaments, so it’s crazy. Where would CJ McCollum be without the tournament? Where would… Steph Curry would probably… Obviously, Steph Curry, do you know what I’m saying?”
McCollum has turned into one of the best scorers in the NBA since coming into the league back in 2013. To recall, CJ played his college ball at Lehigh. The Blazers guard is the only player from that school to make it to the NBA.
McCollum has career averages of 18.4 points in 473 NBA games. Just imagine how different the league would be if CJ wasn't in it?
NBA owners are hoping to resume play in the summer. Hopefully it happens, but with the virus spreading through the NBA population quickly, it's unknown if play will be able to be restarted.
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