Where NCAA Tournament MVPs went to high school

New York City is known for the outstanding basketball players it produces every year, and the evidence can be found in the all-time list of Most Outstanding Players for the NCAA Tournament.

Of the 68 players who have been chosen as the tournament's most outstanding player (there have been five players who have won the award more than once), eight have come from the state of New York, seven of them from New York City. In fact, The Bronx has produced four of those players alone - Kemba Walker (Rice), Ed Pinckney (Stevenson), Butch Lee (DeWitt Clinton) and Irwin Dambrot (Taft).

However, only two high schools have produced more than one MOP. Indiana's New Castle Chrysler, now known as New Castle, had a pair of MOP's in Marvin Huffman way back in 1940, and Kent Benson in 1976. New Castle might have had a third, but Keith Smart edged out Indiana teammate Steve Alford, a New Castle legend, for the 1987 MOP.

Overbrook (Philadelphia) remains the only high school to produce three MOPs. Ironically, only one of them, Walt Hazzard with UCLA in 1964, played on a winning team. Hal Lear of Temple won the award in 1956, even though Bill Russell and USF won the NCAA tournament. The following year, Wilt Chamberlain won the MOP even though his Kansas team lost in triple overtime to North Carolina.

Five players have won the MOP at least twice, but only three went on to lengthy NBA careers. Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, prepped at Power Memorial (New York City) and went on to win the MOP three times at UCLA. A few years later, Helix (La Mesa, Calif.) grad Bill Walton won a pair of MOP awards with UCLA. He might have won a third as well if UCLA hadn't fallen to North Carolina State in the 1974 Final Four.

Jerry Lucas of Middletown also won the award while at Ohio State. Like Abdul-Jabbar and Walton, Lucas enjoyed a long career in the NBA.

Alex Groza of Martins Ferry, who won the award with Kentucky in the late 1940s, wasn't as fortunate. The brother of NFL Hall of Famer Lou Groza, Alex was the Rookie of the Year in the NBA in 1949-50. However, he was implicated in a point-shaving scandal while at Kentucky and was the first player ever banned for life from the NBA.

Bob Kurland of Jennings (Mo.) did not play in the NBA, instead choosing to play A.A.U. basketball for Phillips Petroleum during the 1940s and '50s. He did play on two gold medal Olympic teams in 1948 and 1952.

NCAA Tournament Final Four Most Outstanding Players
2012 - Anthony Davis, Kentucky - Perspectives Charter (Chicago)
2011 - Kemba Walker, Connecticut - Rice (Bronx, New York), closed
2010 - Kyle Singler, Duke - South Medford (Ore.)
2009 - Wayne Ellington, North Carolina - Episcopal Academy (Newtown Square, Pa.)
2008 - Mario Chalmers, Kansas - Bartlett (Anchorage, Alaska)
2007 - Corey Brewer, Florida - Portland (Tenn.)
2006 - Joakim Noah, Florida - Lawrenceville School (N.J.)
2005 - Sean May, North Carolina - Bloomington North (Ind.)
2004 - Emeka Okafor, Connecticut - Bellaire (Texas)
2003 - Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse - Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)
2002 - Juan Dixon, Maryland - Calvert Hall (Baltimore)
2001 - Shane Battier, Duke - Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.)
2000 - Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State - Northern (Flint, Mich.)
1999 - Richard Hamilton, Connecticut - Coatesville (Pa.)
1998 - Jeff Sheppard, Kentucky - McIntosh (Peachtree City, Ga.)
1997 - Miles Simon, Arizona - Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
1996 - Tony Delk, Kentucky - Haywood (Brownsville, Tenn.)
1995 - Ed O'Bannon, UCLA - Artesia (Lakewood, Calif.)
1994 - Corliss Williamson, Arkansas - Russellville (Ark.)
1993 - Donald Williams, North Carolina - Garner Magnet (N.C.)
1992 - Bobby Hurley, Duke - St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.)
1991 - Christian Laettner, Duke - Nichols (Buffalo, N.Y.)
1990 - Anderson Hunt, UNLV - Southwestern (Detroit), closed
1989 - Glen Rice, Michigan - Northwestern (Flint, Mich.)
1988 - Danny Manning, Kansas - Lawrence (Kan.)
1987 - Keith Smart, Indiana - McKinley (Baton Rouge, La.)
1986 - Pervis Ellison, Louisville - Savannah (Ga.)
1985 - Ed Pinckney, Villanova - Stevenson (Bronx, N.Y.)
1984 - Pat Ewing, Georgetown - Cambridge Rindge & Latin (Mass.)
1983 - Akeem Olajuwon, Houston - Did not play high school basketball in U.S.
1982 - James Worthy, North Carolina - Ashbrook (Gastonia, N.C.)
1981 - Isiah Thomas, Indiana - St. Joseph (Westchester, Ill.)
1980 - Darrell Griffith, Louisville - Male (Louisville, Ky.)
1979 - Earvin Johnson, Michigan State - Everett (Lansing, Mich.)
1978 - Jack Givens, Kentucky - Bryan Station (Lexington, Ky.)
1977 - Butch Lee, Marquette - DeWitt Clinton (Bronx, N.Y.)
1976 - Kent Benson, Indiana - New Castle (Ind.), formerly Chrysler New Castle
1975 - Richard Washington, UCLA - Benson Tech (Portland, Ore.)
1974 - David Thompson, NC State - Crest (Shelby, N.C.)
1973 - Bill Walton, UCLA - Helix (La Mesa, Calif.)
1972 - Bill Walton, UCLA - Helix (La Mesa, Calif.)
1971 - Howard Porter, Villanova - Booker (Sarasota, Fla.)
1970 - Sidney Wicks, UCLA - Hamilton (Los Angeles)
1969 - Lew Alcindor, UCLA - Power Memorial (New York) - closed in 1984
1968 - Lew Alcindor, UCLA - Power Memorial (New York)
1967 - Lew Alcindor, UCLA - Power Memorial (New York)
1966 - Jerry Chambers, Utah - Eastern (Washington, D.C.)
1965 - Bill Bradley, Princeton - Crystal City (Mo.)
1964 - Walt Hazzard, UCLA - Overbrook (Philadelphia)
1963 - Art Heyman, Duke - Oceanside (N.Y.)
1962 - Paul Hogue, Cincinnati - Austin-East (Knoxville, Tenn.)
1961 - Jerry Lucas, Ohio State - Middletown (Ohio)
1960 - Jerry Lucas, Ohio State - Middletown (Ohio)
1959 - Jerry West, West Virginia - East Bank (W.Va.) - consolidated to form Riverside (Belle, W. Va.)
1958 - Elgin Baylor, Seattle - Spingarn (Washington, D.C.)
1957 - Wilt Chamberlain, Kansas - Overbrook (Philadelphia)
1956 - Hal Lear, Temple - Overbrook (Philadelphia)
1955 - Bill Russell, San Francisco - McClymonds (Oakland, Calif.)
1954 - Tom Gola, La Salle - La Salle College (Wyndmoor, Pa.)
1953 - B.H. Born, Kansas - Medicine Lodge (Kan.)
1952 - Clyde Lovellette, Kansas - Garfield (Terre Haute, Ind.) - closed in 1971
1951 - Bill Spivey, Kentucky - Warner Robins (Ga.)
1950 - Irwin Dambrot, CCNY - Taft (Bronx, N.Y.)
1949 - Alex Groza, Kentucky - Martins Ferry (Ohio)
1948 - Alex Groza, Kentucky - Martins Ferry (Ohio)
1947 - George Kaftan, Holy Cross - Xavier (New York City)
1946 - Bob Kurland, Oklahoma A&M - Jennings (Mo.)
1945 - Bob Kurland, Oklahoma A&M - Jennings (Mo.)
1944 - Arnie Ferrin, Utah - Ogden (Utah)
1943 - Ken Sailors, Wyoming - Laramie (Wyo.)
1942 - Howie Dallmar, Stanford - Lowell (San Francisco)
1941 - John Kotz, Wisconsin - Rhinelander (Wis.)
1940 - Marvin Huffman, Indiana - New Castle (Ind.)
1939 - Jimmy Hull, Ohio State - McClain (Greenfield, Ohio)