How every current Charlotte Hornets player performed in March Madness

Hornets players who either had short runs or didn’t impress in the NCAA Tournament

James Bouknight, UConn (Appeared in 2021)

The Hornets 2021 first-round draft pick and current rookie James Bouknight didn’t get to experience the postseason his freshman season at UConn due to COVID but as a sophomore in 2021, he helped lead the Huskies to the No. 7 seed.

Unfortunately, Bouknight’s UConn team was upset by No. 10 in the first round of the tournament.

In the game, Bouknight led all Huskies with 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field in 40 minutes played.

After that, Bouknight declared for the NBA Draft.

Kelly Oubre Jr., Kansas (Appeared in 2015)

Kelly Oubre Jr. has been in the NBA for quite some time now, but that’s because he only spent his freshman season with the Kansas Jayhawks.

As always, Kansas made the tournament but unfortunately, the appearance was short-lived. The Jayhawks entered the tourney as a No. 2 seed and beat No. 15 New Mexico State in the first round before losing to the No. 7 seeded Wichita State Shockers in the second round.

Oubre did not have his best games in those two rounds.

Against New Mexico State, Oubre played 22 minutes, scoring eight points on 3-of-7 shooting. In the second round against Wichita State, he had another average game with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting in 23 minutes.

Terry Rozier, Louisville (Appeared in 2014 & 15)

Terry Rozier arrived in Louisville the year after they won the title, and as a freshman, he didn’t make much of an impact during their tournament appearance.

Rozier played 42 minutes in three games as the Cardinals made it to the Sweet 16.

Rozier’s sophomore season is when he really made an impact, helping lead the 4-seeded Louisville all the way to the Elite 8 before losing to No. 7 Michigan State.

He scored in double-digits in each game, including 25 points in the second round but he struggled in the Elite 8, scoring 13 points and shooting 6-of-23 from the field.

Rozier would then declare for the NBA Draft.

Jalen McDaniels, San Diego State (Appeared in 2018)

During his three years (one redshirt year) at San Diego State, Jalen McDaniels was only able to get the Aztecs to the Big Dance once, which came his freshman season.

San Diego State was seeded 11th and faced No. 6 Houston but fell in the first round in a close one, 67-65.

McDaniels was the leading scorer in the game with 18 points on 4-of-11 shooting in 28 minutes.

Kai Jones, Texas (Appeared in 2021)

The current rookie forward was another player who fell victim to not competing in the postseason in 2020 due to COVID but he did stay another year and was a part of last year’s tournament team.

Kai Jones is still a raw talent in the NBA but he was one of the most athletic guys in college basketball.

However, Jones’ tournament didn’t last long. Texas was ranked No. 3 in the tournament but suffered a major upset by No. 14 Abilene Christian in the first round.

Jones led all Longhorns in scoring with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and had three blocks in 31 minutes. But it wasn’t enough as Texas lost by one point.

Scottie Lewis, Florida (Appeared in 2021)

Like Kai Jones, forward Scottie Lewis was a freshman in 2020 and didn’t get a chance to experience the tournament.

In 2021, Lewis was a key bench player for Florida‘s brief tournament appearance. The Gators were the No. 7 seed in their region and beat No. 10 Virginia Tech in the first round. Lewis had 15 points in 32 minutes for them in that game.

Lewis’ performance in the first-round late in the game was a big reason Florida advanced.

Unfortunately, the Gators fell victim to the Cinderella No. 15 Oral Roberts in the second round. Lewis struggled, going 0-for-3 from the field, scoring zero points.

Nick Richards, Kentucky (Appeared in 2018 & 19)

Center Nick Richards appeared in both the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Tournaments and made it to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, respectively with Kentucky.

Richards did stay his junior season, which is when he had his breakout but the tournament was canceled due to COVID.

As a freshman, Richards started every game in the three tournament games but ended up playing less than 10 minutes in each and not impressing.

The next year, Richards came off the bench and had a much better season. As a 2-seed in the 2019 tournament, Kentucky was without P.J. Washington for the first two games of the tourney due to an injury and Richards filled in admirably.

His stats weren’t eye-popping but he scored when needed and played solid defense.