5 most amazing one-man March Madness machines

4. David Robinson – 1986 Navy Midshipmen

Took Navy to Elite Eight — 27.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 5.8 blocks per game (four games)

Robinson declared for the NBA Draft in 1987 after a first-round exit, but he became the number one pick in 1987 because of his performance in the 1986 Tournament. The Admiral was a classic number one option on a mid-major in the NCAA Tournament, and he obliterated Tulsa, Syracuse, and Charlotte to take the Midshipmen to a surprise Elite Eight run. While we normally think of the one-man machine archetype as an offensive player, Robinson used the tournament to showcase his defensive skills, blocking seven shots and gathering three steals against the Orangemen, and blocking nine shots in a Cinderella showdown against Cleveland State.

Robinson didn’t just show a strong statistical output here — he also displayed the physical presence that would make him stellar in the NBA. Watch any Robinson film, and you’ll see that he’s very obviously the most skilled and athletic player on the court.

Robinson preyed on a lucky tournament draw to get to the Elite Eight, but he absolutely was Navy’s gameplan on both ends in the ’86 Tournament. A Syracuse team with Pearl Washington and Rony Seikaly that would make the title game the next year couldn’t stop him, and while Duke ended up blowing Navy out in the Elite Eight, Robinson still gave Jay Bilas 23 of Navy’s 50 points in the process. If that’s not a sign that a guy is your entire team, I don’t know what is.