Raptors' Ochai Agbaji Shows How Crucial March Madness Can Be
Ochai Agbaji played it perfectly.
Had he come out of college in 2021, he’d have maybe been a second-round pick. Sure, he’d had an impressive junior season for the Kansas Jayhawks, but it wasn’t going to be enough to get him drafted early in the first.
Agbaji did test the waters in 2021, initially entering his name for draft consideration. But the feedback wasn’t good enough, and he decided to run it back.
It was a multi-million-dollar decision.
Over the next 12 months, Agbaji led the Jayhawks to a national championship, earned All-American honors, the Big 12 Player of the Year award, and became a lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. His game took a step forward on both ends of the court and when the lights were the brightest, Agbaji rose to the occasion.
That’s the path hundreds of student-athletes are hoping to embark on over the next month with March Madness tipping this week. It’s the dream so many players have, not just to lead their team to a national championship, but to drastically change their draft stock in the process.
“Obviously NBA scouts and people are looking for winners and guys that can win at the highest level when the stakes are the highest and the pressure is on the most,” Agbaji said Tuesday following practice for the Toronto Raptors. “If you do make it further in March Madness it shows a lot about you.”
It’s a small sample size, but an important one. Players have had 30 or so games to prove themselves this season and that’s what scouts will weigh the most, Agbaji acknowledged, but what transpires over the next few weeks will certainly impact how players are judged.
“I think it’s really the most exciting time of the year for everyone,” said Gradey Dick, a lifelong Jayhawks fan whose Kansas career ended in the second round of March Madness last season. “All the guys that are competitive like that because it's a lot on the line. You know, you win and advance, you lose, and you’re done.”
The Raptors have talked for years about the value of playing in playoff-like games. It’s why they were so adamant earlier this season about being in the play-in hunt and getting opportunities for their young core to feel that pressure.
March Madness is like that but more.
It’s not a best-of-seven series where you can lose one game and come back and win the series the way Toronto used to. It’s do-or-die and those who can’t handle the pressure are exposed early.
“It's what made March Madness so fun for us last year,” Dick said. “Obviously not in the second game, but just the whole excitement of the whole tournament. It's one of the most fun times a year for a college basketball fan and just basketball fan in general.”
For Agbaji, his 2021 run was an important lesson in stick-to-itiveness.
“I think it showed me a lot about how all the hard work doesn't really all up in one day or one season. It takes a while — it takes two or three years and takes a while for a culture to build and guys to form around each other,” he said.
That can only help as he embarks on this new journey in Toronto. It’s going to be a multi-year process for Agbaji and the Raptors. This isn’t some one-year turnaround for Toronto to get over the hump and back into playoff or championship contention.
For Toronto to execute this rebuild quickly, it’s going to take a serious reshaping of this roster by nailing the surplus of draft picks the Raptors acquired from the Pascal Siakam deal. To do that, there’s little doubt Toronto will be locked in on the tournament with eyes on those players who rise when the pressure is the greatest.
The Raptors have talked about the value of winning in college before. It’s what drew them to Fred VanVleet all those years ago. Now the mission is to find the next star who proves they’re something special when the tournament begins this week.
