March Madness is in full swing.

The NBA will take a backseat for the next few weeks as the NCAA Tournament takes centre stage across the US.

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As the next generation of budding NBA stars prepare to make a splash at The Dance, talkSPORT takes a look at the current superstars who have already been there, done it and got the t-shirt.

These certified ballers made a name for themselves during March Madness and have since gone on to hoover up All-NBA and All-Star honours while winning numerous NBA championships and MVPs awards.

These former college prodigies came out of the gate hot and have carried on that same trajectory throughout their time in the pros.

Steph Curry – Golden State Warriors

Steph Curry had a fairy-tale run at the 2008 NCAA Tournament when he put the plucky Davidson Wildcats on the map – and even impressed LeBron James.

Davidson entered the NCAA Tournament as the No.10 seed and upset No.7 seed Gonzaga in the Round of 64 with a 40-point performance from Curry.

The future Warriors star then dropped 30 points, including five three-pointers, on No.2 Georgetown to propel Davidson to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in school history.

The Davidson standout then notched his third-straight 30-point game, scoring 33 points with six three-pointers, as the Wildcats claimed a 73-56 victory to march on to the school’s third-ever Elite Eight.

Their Cinderella run came to an end at the hands of the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the Final Four but Curry was well on his way to greatness.

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Zion Williamson – New Orleans Pelicans

Williamson was a beast in high school and continued to excel throughout college.

In his freshman and only season with Duke, Williamson was named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Athlete of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year and was a wrecking ball throughout much of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

In his March Madness debut, he scored 25 points in an 85-62 win over 16th-seeded North Dakota State. He erupted for 32 points in the next round in a win over UCF before the Blue Devils crashed out at the Elite Eight at the hands of Michigan State.

He was the consensus No.1 overall pick by the Pelicans in that year’s NBA Draft and in 2021 became the fourth youngest NBA player to be selected to an All-Star game.

Surgeries and weight issues have plagued Zion but when he’s healthy there’s few as dominant.

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Jalen Brunson – New York Knicks

Jalen Brunson was a key cog in Villanova’s 2016 and 2018 championship teams and is one of the most accomplished players in program history.

In his Villanova debut in 2015-16 he started 39 games and was a starter as Wildcats won the NCAA Tournament, defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels 77-74 in the championship game.

His junior year was one for the ages as he joined Paul Arizin as the only players in Villanova history to be named National Player of the Year.

Brunson received the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard and led the Wildcats to their second NCAA title in three years.

The 28-year-old guard was drafted by the Mavericks but he has taken his game to another level since joining the Knicks in 2022.

With the Knicks, he became an NBA All-Star and received an All-NBA Team selection for the first time in 2024.

He set the NBA record for most three point shots made in a half without a miss (8) and tied the NBA record for most three point shots made in a single-game without a miss (9).

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Ja Morant – Memphis Grizzlies

Morant went under the radar in high school and was only lightly recruited by NCAA Division I programs before going to college.

The mercurial point guard eventually joined Murray State and quickly showed the world what he was all about.

On a national stage at the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Morant dropped a 17-point, 11-rebound, 16-assist triple-double against fifth-seeded Marquette.

He became only the eighth player to officially record a triple-double in the history of the tournament, and the first player since Draymond Green in 2012.

The 12-seeded Racers were eliminated in the next round and Ja decided to forgo his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility and declare for the 2019 NBA draft.

The Grizzlies selected him second overall and he quickly established himself as the most explosive guard since Russell Westbrook.

The 25-year-old was named Rookie of the Year in his debut season and was also named Most Improved Player in 2022.

However, the two-time NBA All-Star has had his fair share of off-field issues, resulting in a 25-game suspension to start the 2023-24 season.

He is back and competing for the 4th seed Grizzlies.

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Al Horford – Boston Celtics

In 2004-05, Al Horford joined a formidable Florida Gators squad bursting with future NBA talent including the likes Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green.

That young squad went on to win back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007, becoming the only team to win two championships in a row since Duke in 1991 and 1992.

Horford was by no means the star of the show but he was a consistent and dependable figure who was integral to their success.

The Dominican centre notched double figures in nine of the Gators’ 12 NCAA Tournament games over those two campaigns.

In the title game against UCLA in 2006, ‘Big Al’ registered 14 points and seven rebounds.

In the championship game the following year against Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Ohio State, Horford put up 18 points, twelve rebounds and three assists.

He was selected third overall by the Hawks in the 2007 NBA Draft and has gone on to play for the Celtics (twice), 76ers and Thunder.

The 38-year-old, currently with the Celtics, is also a five-time All-Star and the highest paid Latin American basketball player.

Last season he finally won a championship.

It was his first title after playing 186 career playoff games without one, the second most all-time.

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Anthony Davis – Los Angeles Lakers

AD had one of the greatest one-and-done seasons in recent history after completely dominating the field at the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

The future No.1 overall NBA Draft pick was quite literally head and shoulders above the competition that year and led Kentucky to a national title as the team’s best player.

Davis recorded double-digit rebounds in five of the six games he played, registering three double-doubles.

He was a menace on the glass, particularly on the defensive end, and finished with a whopping 16 rebounds, five assists, three steals and six blocks in the title game.

Davis totalled 29 blocks, which is tied for the second-most in a single tournament and he given NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award.

That summer he won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2012 Olympics, becoming the first American player since Emeka Okafor in 2004 to have competed in the Olympics without any prior NBA experience.

The ten-time NBA All-Star made a name for himself in New Orleans before joining the Lakers and winning a championship alongside LeBron in 2020.

He was recently part of the blockbuster trade involving Luka Doncic that saw him leave LA for Dallas.

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Kevin Love – Miami Heat

Kevin Love was a bona fide double-double machine back in college.

The sharpshooting power forward played one season of college hoops for the UCLA Bruins and led the team to a Final Four appearance in the 2008 NCAA Tournament – the same year as Curry’s Cinderella run.

He averaged 19.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 2.2 assists per game with the highlight being a 29 point-performance against Western Kentucky in the Sweet 16.

He and teammate Russell Westbrook were both top-five picks in the NBA Draft that year.

Five-time All-Star Love went on to win a chip with LeBron and the Cavs in 2016 after overturning a 1-3 deficit against the Warriors.

These days, the 36-year-old Heat star is towards the back end and seeing limited minutes.