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What if LeBron hadn't gone directly to the NBA? What if King James and Greg Oden were teammates at Ohio State?

"We would win the whole thing," says James.

Oden lights up when asked about the possibility. "I would just pick and rebound," says the freshman 7-footer. "That's all I would need to do. Anybody with Lebron has a good shot at the championship."

Would a LeBron-led Ohio State run away with the national championship or would North Carolina (with Dwight Howard, J.R. Smith and Marvin Williams) or UConn (with Rudy Gay, Charlie Villanueva, Andrew Bynum, Marcus Williams and Josh Boone) cut down the nets? That's up to you.

Welcome to SIOC's third annual What If Tournament, where we imagine what the 64-team bracket would look like had high school players never been allowed to enter the NBA early and everyone had to spend four years playing college ball. Last year, you voted for a Dwight Howard and Marvin Williams-led North Carolina squad over LeBron James and the Buckeyes in the finals. Who will win this year's crown? Vote now for your favorite team.

Elite Eight


	1		North Carolina
	Adds: Dwight Howard ('08), J.R. Smith ('08), Marvin Williams ('09) How would the addition of Howard, Williams and Smith help the Tar Heels? Says PG Bobby Frasor: "It's kind of funny to think about how good they would be. I don't know if we would have lost a game yet. With Tyler [Hansbrough] and Brandan [Wright] coming off the bench, that's pretty amazing right there." We have to agree. Both Smith and Williams are an upgrade over Reyshawn Terry, whose athletic body usually doesn’t overcome his poor decision-making. Add Tyler Hansbrough and ACC tournament MVP (and frosh) Brandan Wright, speedy point guard Ty Lawson, and sharp-shooter Wayne Ellington, the young Tar Heels would be a nearly impossible squad to defend. --Nicki Jhabvala
	2		Georgetown
	Adds: None Fresh off the team's first Big East regular season title since 1997, Georgetown looks to turn a No. 2 seed into a championship. Wins against tournament-bound teams Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh and Villanova should have the Hoyas prepared. It also helps to have 7-2 junior center Roy Hibbert, the latest in a long line of Hoya giants. --Jay St. Pierre

	1		Ohio State
	Adds: LeBron James ('07) With the addition of King James, Ohio State is about a No. 3 seed...in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Buckeyes already have at least four future NBA players in Greg Oden, Daequan Cook, Mike Conley Jr. and Ron Lewis -- and now you add the most hyped basketball player ever? People in Columbus would forget about their football team if this squad ever set foot on a court together. --Matt Dollinger
	2		Memphis
	Adds: Darius Washington Jr. ('08), Kendrick Perkins ('07), Shawne Williams ('09), Sean Banks ('07), Ricky Sanchez ('09) Even with Rodney Carney playing for the Sixers, Memphis is loaded with NBA-caliber players including Banks (a D-League player), Perkins, Sanchez (D-League), Washington (playing in Greece) and Williams. The sudden influx of talent presents coach John Calipari with a luxury of lineup choices. The Tigers could go big with Sanchez, Perkins and Williams or opt for a shorter starting five and play current Tigers stars Chris Douglas-Roberts and Jeremy Hunt. --Nick Zaccardi

	4		UCLA
	Adds: Jordan Farmar ('08) Adding Farmar to the UCLA lineup is like Elvis Presley joining the Beatles. The Bruins are loaded with talent this season, with juniors Aaron Afflalo and Josh Shipp leading the way. With Farmar in the mix, the team would be even more dangerous, as his passing (5.1 assists per game as a sophomore) and scoring (13.5 ppg) would balance Afflalo's all-around game. While UCLA certainly would've been a No. 1-seed, Farmar would've likely stunted the growth of budding playmaker Darren Collison. The 6-1 sophomore has excelled at the point in Westwood, with 179 assists and just 88 turnovers. -- Jon Gold
	6		Duke
	Adds: Luol Deng ('07), Shaun Livingston ('08) While an NCAA bid for the Blue Devils baffled some as their 22-10 record and No. 7 seed heading into the ACC tournament hardly seemed satisfactory for a top D-I school, the addition of Shaun Livingston (sans the injury) and Luol Deng would quash any doubts. Livingston, a 6-7 guard, would add versatility and speed to the Duke lineup, while the real help would come from 6-9 Luol Deng, who's averaging 7.1 rebounds (second to current Duke forward Josh McRoberts who averages 7.8) and 18.7 points per game for the Chicago Bulls this season -- more than any player for the Blue Devils. Adding Deng down low and Livingston at the point (benching Greg Paulus), keeping Jon Schcyer as a shooter, putting Gerald Henderson on the other wing and keeping McRoberts in the post would give Duke a clear advantage over its opponents. --Nicki Jhabvala

	1		Florida
	Adds: None The Gators have lost a few transfers in recent years but none of those players (like Oklahoma State's Mario Boggan) are eligible to return. So poor Florida will have to make due with frontcourt stars Joakim Noah and Al Horford and guards Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey. And don't forget about Corey Brewer, a defensive hawk with the ability to drain threes and drive to the hoop. Coach Billy Donovan's team steamrolled through its SEC schedule before losing three out of four games late in the season, a similar scenario to what happened in 2006. And we all know how that story ended. --Nick Zaccardi
	6		UConn
	Adds: Charlie Villanueva ('07), Andrew Bynum ('09), Marcus Williams ('07), Josh Boone ('07), Rudy Gay ('07) This is a team made for March with NBA-quality players across the court. Villanueva and Bynum form a dangerous inside tandem. Then there's slashing forward Rudy Gay on the wing and cool-as-ice point guard Marcus Williams. Anything less than a championship would be a disappointment for coach Jim Calhoun. --Dakota Rubin

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