65 Players To Watch In The NCAA Tournament
The 2009 NCAA Tournament is upon us and in this space we examine 65 players who (in vast degrees of varying likelihood) could be soon playing in an NBA arena.
65. Alabama State, Brandon Brooks (14.3): Teammate Chief Kickingstallionsims undoubtedly has the best name in the entire tourney and also is pretty darn effective in the 20 minutes per game he receives as a very good shotblocker and efficient scorer, but Brooks is the focal point. He is averaging 13.8 points, 6.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game.
64. Morehead State, Kenneth Faried (23.0): The Eagles average 38.9 rebounds per game and Faried grabs 12.8 of those. The sophomore also adds nearly two steals and two blocks while shooting 56.6% from the floor.
63. East Tennessee State, Kevin Tiggs (15.2): Tiggs is averaging 21.5 points per night on a very good 1.58 points per shot.
62. Chattanooga, Nicchaeus Doaks (15.3): Doaks is averaging 13.9 points on 51.8% shooting, along with 8.7 rebounds.
61. Radford, Artsiom Parakhouski (19.3): The 6-11 center from Minsk averages 16.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per game on 55.2% shooting.
60. Robert Morris, Jeremy Chappell (16.6): Chappell is a senior that does just about everything for the Colonials, leading the team in points, rebounds, assists and a very impressive 2.5 steals per game.
59. Binghamton, D.J. Rivera (13.1): Rivera only played in 13 games as a sophomore and gave little indication of bursting into a 20.0 point per night scorer this season. The southpaw is incredibly active and scrappy.
58. Cal St. Northridge, Tremaine Townsend (13.7): Townsend averages 10.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
57. Morgan State, Reggie Holmes (11.3): More than half of Holmes' attempts in 08-09 were from beyond the arc.
56. North Dakota State, Ben Woodside (17.6): The 5-11 redshirt senior averages 22.8 points per game on 1.52 points per shot.
55. American, Brian Gilmore (10.7): Gilmore is a far more effective scorer than the high volume Garrison Carr.
54. Cornell, Jeff Foote (15.8): He might not be a Nathan Ford, but Jeff Foote is a 7-0 center who averages 11.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.
53. S. F. Austin, Matt Kingsley (15.3): Kingsley is a 6-9 senior averaging 16.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on a very tidy 55.6% shooting.
52. Cleveland State, J'Nathan Bullock (12.7): With 15.3 points and seven rebounds per game, Bullock is the centerpiece of the Vikings. Teammate Cedric Jackson averages 3.0 steals per game, which is as prolific as any player in the country.
51. Portland State, Julius Thomas (14.3): Another Vikings school, Portland State has good balance in their scoring attack, but Julius Thomas is the most efficient while also being effective on the glass.
50. Mississippi State, Jarvis Varnao (21.7): Varnado is undoubtedly one of the nation's best shotblockers with 4.7 per game. He hasn't been quite as efficient as a scorer, but his usage rate has increased and he has had to work harder for his buckets.
49. Akron, Nate Linhart (11.6): Linhard averages 10.1 and 6.2 for the Zips.
48. Arizona, Jordan Hill (17.1): Hill should be a top-five pick in the 2009 NBA draft, while Chase Budinger has been a first rounder for three years running. Despite the talent, the Wildcats don't have a lot of depth and probably qualified for the tourney based on legacy.
47. Wisconsin, Marcus Landry (11.0): The senior is averaging 12.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
46. Northern Iowa, Jordan Eglseder (18.8): The 7-1 junior averages 10.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game despite only 19.2 minutes of floor time. He had an excellent February.
45. Western Kentucky, Jeremy Evans (14.9): Courtney Lee is gone and A.J. Slaughter has picked up much of the scoring duties, but the 6-9 Evans is shooting 63.2% from the floor.
44. Dayton, Chris Johnson (16.7): Johnson only averages 16.6 minutes per game, but has very good per minute numbers.
43. VCU, Eric Maynor (16.4): Maynor has been on the radar of draftniks for a while now. The senior averages 22.4 points on a career best 1.42 points per shot.
42. Utah State, Gary Wilkinson (15.5): Wilkinson averages 17.1 points on 58.6% shooting to go with 6.9 boards.
41. Temple, Lavoy Allen (17.0): Dionte Christmas is the bigger name and one familiar in mocks, but Lavoy Allen is a 6-9 sophomore who averages 10.9 points, 8.9 boards and 1.6 blocks per night while shooting 57.9% from the field.
40. USC, DeMar DeRozan (10.6): Taj Gibson unsurprisingly has better numbers and should fill in on some NBA bench, but DeRozan still has star appeal despite more modest expectations before he arrived on campus.
39. Minnesota, Damian Johnson (13.8): Johnson averages 9.7 points, 4.2 rebounds plus 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals for the Gophers.
38. Maryland, Greivis Vasquez (13.6): Vasquez is Maryland's do everything guard with 17.2 points, 5.5 boards and 5.1 assists.
37. Michigan, Manny Harris (15.6): The Wolverines don't have a lot of depth behind Harris and DeShawn Sims.
36. Siena, Ryan Rossiter (17.6): Rossiter is a sophomore from Staten Island, who averages 10.0 points (on 63% shooting), along with 7.8 boards and 1.9 blocks.
35. Tennessee, Tyler Smith (13.7): My expectations on Smith have decreased this season, but I think he does enough things well to find his way onto an NBA roster.
34. Texas A&M, Josh Carter (13.1): Where would the Aggies be if they still had DeAndre Jordan? Where would DeAndre Jordan be if he still had the Aggies? Carter is a nice wing that looks like an NBA player on certain nights.
33. Butler, Matt Howard (16.9): Howard, a 6-8 sophomore, is averaging 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds while scoring 1.75 points per shot.
32. Ohio State, Evan Turner (14.6): B.J. Mullens has been a highly touted prospect ever since he was in high school and continues to be, but Turner has become one of the nation's most impressive wing players seemingly out of nowhere.
31. Oklahoma State, James Anderson (14.7): Anderson averages 18.6 points and 5.8 boards per night as a 6-6 sophomore wing.
30. BYU, Lee Cummard (17.0): The Cougars were knocked off in the Mountain West tournament by San Diego State, but Cummard will get one final chance to display his versatile game in the big dance.
29. LSU, Marcus Thornton (16.3): The 6-4 guard averaged 20.7 points and 5.5 rebounds this season, essentially the same production as last season.
28. Boston College, Tyrese Rice (13.1): On certain nights, Rice is good enough to lead the Eagles to a victory over just about any team in the country.
27. Texas, Damion James (16.0): James is one of the grittiest undersized power forwards in the country.
26. California, Jerome Randle (13.8): The junior guard scores 18.4 points per game at a highly efficient clip despite being just 5-10.
25. Clemson, Trevor Booker (21.2): Booker took a big step forward this season as a junior and is shooting 56.7% from the field while grabbing 9.7 boards and blocking 2.0 shots per game.
24. West Virginia, Devin Ebanks (14.3): Ebanks has come on very strong since late January and is one of the nation's best freshmen.
23. UCLA, Darren Collison (14.5): You could insert Jrue Holiday or even Drew Gordon in here instead, but this sendoff for Collison seems appropriate and I think he'll become a highly valuable backup NBA point guard for the next decade. With his defense and improving decision-making and shooting, he should have at least a Jacque Vaughn type of career.
22. Marquette, Jerel McNeal (14.4): McNeal is still the same impact defender he first was when he arrived at Marquette and he has improved significantly as a scorer.
21. Arizona State, James Harden (15.6): Harden gets 20.8 per night at an efficient 1.58 points per shot despite being the constant focal point of opposing defenses.
20. Utah, Luke Nevill (18.9): Nevill shoots 60.7% from the floor while grabbing 9.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.
19. Florida State, Toney Douglas (13.5): The fifth-year senior is not the most efficient scorer in the country, but considering how much of the load he takes on for the Seminoles, he has been very impressive this season.
18. Purdue, JaJuan Johnson (15.9): Depending on who you talk to, the opinions on Robbie Hummel will be wide ranging, but I like the potential of sophomore JaJuan Johnson, who is improving on both ends of the floor.
17. Illinois, Mike Davis (14.0): The sophomore power forward burst onto the Big 10 scene after being nearly entirely M.I.A. in his first season on the Champaign campus.
16. Wake Forest, Jeff Teague (14.8): James Johnson and Al-Farouq Aminu has been better on a per minute basis, but neither could match Teague's impact, nor his draft value.
15. Xavier, Derrick Brown (14.8): Brown averages 13.8 points and 6.1 boards for the well-balanced Muskateers.
14. Washington, Jon Brockman (16.9): The senior scored less this season, but he was every bit as good on the glass.
13. Gonzaga, Austin Daye (15.2): Daye will be every bit as good as his frame allows him to be on the next level, while Josh Heytvelt looks like a nice rotation player.
12. Kansas, Cole Aldrich (21.6): Aldrich's stats are too impressive to ignore, but I'm more interested in keeping watching how Tyshawn Taylor performs in the tourney.
11. Villanova, Dante Cunningham (14.6): Cunningham posts a very solid 16.0 points and 7.2 boards per night on 52.9% shooting.
10. Missouri, Leo Lyons (17.9): The senior Lyons is still a fringe prospect.
9. Syracuse, Jonny Flynn (13.3): Flynn is one of my personal favorite players in this year's tournament.
8. Michigan State, Raymar Morgan (13.0): Morgan averages 10.8 points and 5.7 boards per game in just 23.4 minutes of work.
7. Duke, Gerald Henderson (14.8): Henderson has improved his decision-making as a junior while being more explosive all-around.
6. Memphis, Tyreke Evans (15.3): The consensus for Evans is sharply split, but the way he has willed the Tigers to this winning streak in what was very much a transition season has been undeniably impressive.
5. Oklahoma, Blake Griffin (24.8): Griffin is clearly the best player in the tournament, but the Sooners will need steady play from the very impressive Willie Warren in order to win it.
4. Pittsburgh, DeJuan Blair (26.4): It is doubtful Blair will be able to do the same things at 6-7 as he does in the Big East, but 15.6 points and 12.2 rebounds on 59.9% shooting in 26.4 minutes per night is impressive regardless.
3. North Carolina, Ty Lawson (20.2): Lawson has been outstanding in his junior season, improving his assist/turnover rate to 3.3 and shooting 53.8% from the floor. It is difficult to imagine the Tar Heels advancing past the Sweet 16 unless he's healthy.
2. Connecticut, Hasheem Thabeet (21.2): Thabeet is one of those rare players who has improved his draft stock substantially by staying in school He averaged 4.6 blocks per game to go with 13.7 points and 10.9 boards while topping out his field goal percentage at 64.3%.
1. Louisville, Terrence Williams (17.7): One of college basketball's most under-appreciated talents. He has excellent athleticism, a good handle, a great feel for game and should have an Antonio Daniels type of career in the NBA as an incredibly productive combo guard.
Konu: 2009 NBA Draftı (Okunma sayısı 9055 defa)