Players to watch

Its that time of the year again, March Madness baby, its tourney time. This is where the great teams rise to the occasion and where Cinderella stories are born. The NCAA tournament could possibly be the best four weeks of basketball any fan could appreciate. Its not what a team does in the regular season, it what they do leading up to the tournament. With all the teams in the tournament there are the superstars such as potential Naismith Player of the Year Anthony Davis from Kentucky, Harrison Barnes from UNC, Perry Jones III, and Austin Rivers of Duke. With all the bright lights on them, there are the players that become house hold names because of the NCAA tourney. Here are my under the radar players to watch for in this years NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.


Baylor's Perry Jones  III

Lets start with Creighton Forward Doug McDermott (Soph.). He is a scoring machine for the Blue Jays and led his team to a Missouri Valley Conference Championship this season. He can shoot from all distances shooting over 49% from long range and has a field goal percentage of 61. He is a tough cover for any defender because of his 6'7", 225 pound frame. McDermott has great footwork from the low post and can finish well with both hands. He is capable of putting up 30+ each game. McDermott is also a very underrated rebounder, he averages over 8 rebounds a game and loves to crash the glass. Lets see if Creighton can be a legit bracket buster team because of Doug McDermott.






South Dakota State point guard Nate Wolters is one of the best all around players in the country and his Jackrabbits are dancing for the first time in school history. He is averaging Naismith-esque numbers with 21.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 6 apg, what cant Wolters do for SDSU? He wills his team to victory and clinched a birth in the NCAA tourney by winning the Summit League tournament. Scouts compare Wolters to a Steve Nash type point guard with better rebounding skills, although he is a streaky shooter from the outside he will find many ways to score. SDSU's chances of becoming another 14 over 3 upset match up relies in the hands of Wolters.



wolters bringing up the ball

Remember last season when Kemba Walker led his team through the Big East Tourney which led to a Nat'l Championship? Well this seasons Kemba Walker has to be Louisville's point guard Peyton Siva. Siva took a reeling Louisville team that has been so inconsistent through out the year and turned them into the 2012 Big East Champions. He might be undersized (listed at 6 foot) but he has the heart of a lion. His numbers will not jump out at you (9.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 5.5 apg) but his leadership ability carries Louisville throughout the game. He has made Louisville one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament.

Murray State has been a really good story this season, winning 30 games and being ranked in the top ten. The Racers are led exciting guard Isaiah Canaan. Canaan is another player to watch throughout the tourney becuase of his take over ability in crunch time. He can stroke it from outside extremly well shooting over 47% from the three. Canaan led the Racers to a huge victory over St. Marys to prove the doubters wrong about Murray States success. Watch for the Racers to make a deep run this seasons tournament. With Isaiah at the helm, Murray State always has a chance to get the W. I expect Canaan's Racers to make it at least to the Sweet 16 round.













Which one of these players will become the next Stephen Curry or Jimmer Fredette? The NCAA tournament is always filled with surprises and you never know which team will make that Cinderella run. Maybe we will see one of these players and their respective teams in the Final Four. Good luck to all these players and the rest of the 64 teams in the Tournament.














Credit: all images belong to Google.com (google images) i do not own any of them, all stats belong to ESPN.com