Former NCAA Superstars—Are They Having Hoop Dreams or Hoop Nightmares?
For most sports fans, the NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness is all about bracketology. For the young players on the court, it's win or go home. Snakkle selected a slew of college b-ball heroes from the '80s, '90s, and '00s. (The latter is typically referred to as "the aughts." Yes, we're nerdy.) Some went on to NBA greatness, some not so much. All of them were certified sports superstars who helped their college teams snag a championship. Is your favorite on our list? If not, leave a comment and let us know! We can take it. (A tip of the cap to our friend Vin Getz of Sports List of the Day for his kind assistance.) By Brett SingerMagic Johnson went on to have one of the best NBA careers of all time—for a while anyway. He started out with the Los Angeles Lakers, who selected him first overall in the 1979 NBA draft. He quickly won an NBA championship and the NBA finals MVP—in his first year as a pro. He went on to four more championship seasons with the Lakers. Then came 1991, when Johnson announced he was HIV positive. This led to his retirement, a brief return, then another retirement, and a final return to the game in 1996, after which he retired for good. Since then, Johnson has had a late-night talk show (not so successful), many businesses (more successful), and has worked as a broadcaster. He also works with HIV-related charities, including his own Magic Johnson Foundation.