From ESPN Insider
Fifty players who could make the most noise in March
John GasawayESPN Insider
All of these guys won't necessarily make the NCAA tournament, of course. When I say these are the players to keep an eye on in March, I'm also referring to heroics I expect to see from this bunch during conference tournaments.
Here are 50 players to watch in March, listed in roughly the order that I expect their teams would be seeded in the field of 68 if they all make the tournament:
1. Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
When people ask whom Hield reminds me of, the correct answer is no one. We simply haven't seen a player do what the senior is doing in terms of both effectiveness and volume. The Wooden Award -- or indeed, any other major award -- is his to lose.
2. Josh Hart, Villanova
For a while, I thought I might be the only observer being blown away by the year Hart is having. Not so. Just last week, head coach Jay Wright's junior popped up in the Wooden Award discussion. Funny how that happens when you're making 63 percent of your 2s as the featured scorer on the nation's top-ranked team. The secret is out.
3. Perry Ellis, Kansas
Ellis has been on a tear in Big 12 play, and the senior has been drawing more fouls this season than at any time in his career. For the better part of four seasons, Bill Self has been able to play the 6-foot-8 Ellis at power forward and get highly efficient scoring in an exceptionally low-foul, low-turnover and low-drama package.
4. Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa
Maybe the 6-foot-9 Uthoff is as good a poster child as any for the "positionless player" trend that has everyone buzzing. The senior was a notable no-show earlier this month when the Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 50 finalists for five positional awards. Possibly, the notion of nominating a 42 percent 3-point shooter for the Karl Malone Award (power forward) was too mind-bending.
5. London Perrantes, Virginia
Malcolm Brogdon is the Cavaliers' leader and leading scorer, but I'm singling out Perrantes here for his Buddy Hield-like shooting on 3s (albeit at a low volume) and calm mastery of the point guard position. The junior has never been an accomplished scorer inside the arc, but he judiciously splits his efforts between delivering the ball to Brogdon or Anthony Gill and seeking his own perimeter looks.
6. J.P. Macura, Xavier
Macura has been termed "annoying in a good way," and for the most part, he comes off the bench for the Musketeers. Then again, maybe head coach Chris Mack will want to revisit that decision. In a closer-than-it-sounds 80-72 win over Marquette on Feb. 6, Macura started and responded with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor.
7. Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
Remember Valentine? He was going to be one of perhaps three or four primary candidates for national player of the year until a December knee injury and Buddy Hield both happened. Be that as it may, Valentine is having precisely the kind of season that was expected of him. Liken him to Draymond Green or Ben Simmons or whomever you please; at 6-foot-5, Valentine distributes the ball and scores from anywhere on the floor. He is the featured player in the best offense that coach Tom Izzo has had in at least a decade.
8. Sheldon McClellan, Miami
I'll confess to being a little puzzled by what I've seen from Miami this season. Here is McClellan having an outstanding individual senior season as a dual-threat scorer, yet his share of the offense has actually decreased a bit since 2014-15. Moreover, in ACC play, the Hurricanes have been good, but by no means great, on that side of the ball, with poor outside shooting being the main culprit. Give your senior the rock, Coach Larranaga.
9. Diamond Stone, Maryland
Never mind all the talk about a "disappointing" freshman class nationwide. With Stone, we have a highly rated freshman who has lived up to his hype and done so on a national-championship contender. At 6-foot-11, he's a post-scoring and offensive-rebounding machine who appears to be improving before our eyes as a shot-blocker. (Ask Nebraska about the eight-block effort he unleashed on the Huskers on Feb. 3.) Stone draws more fouls per 40 minutes than Melo Trimble, and the freshman is shooting 78 percent at the line.
10. Brice Johnson, North Carolina
There have been stretches this season when North Carolina has struggled mightily to make shots, and during those spells, Johnson carried this offense almost single-handedly. His reputedly lackadaisical manner has been known to baffle, bewilder and vex head coach Roy Williams, but the numbers that result from "Brice being Brice" are impeccable. As one of the nation's top defensive rebounders, Johnson is also hitting 61 percent of his 2s and 76 percent of his free throws.
Fifty players who could make the most noise in March
John GasawayESPN Insider
All of these guys won't necessarily make the NCAA tournament, of course. When I say these are the players to keep an eye on in March, I'm also referring to heroics I expect to see from this bunch during conference tournaments.
Here are 50 players to watch in March, listed in roughly the order that I expect their teams would be seeded in the field of 68 if they all make the tournament:
1. Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
When people ask whom Hield reminds me of, the correct answer is no one. We simply haven't seen a player do what the senior is doing in terms of both effectiveness and volume. The Wooden Award -- or indeed, any other major award -- is his to lose.
2. Josh Hart, Villanova
For a while, I thought I might be the only observer being blown away by the year Hart is having. Not so. Just last week, head coach Jay Wright's junior popped up in the Wooden Award discussion. Funny how that happens when you're making 63 percent of your 2s as the featured scorer on the nation's top-ranked team. The secret is out.
3. Perry Ellis, Kansas
Ellis has been on a tear in Big 12 play, and the senior has been drawing more fouls this season than at any time in his career. For the better part of four seasons, Bill Self has been able to play the 6-foot-8 Ellis at power forward and get highly efficient scoring in an exceptionally low-foul, low-turnover and low-drama package.
4. Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa
Maybe the 6-foot-9 Uthoff is as good a poster child as any for the "positionless player" trend that has everyone buzzing. The senior was a notable no-show earlier this month when the Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 50 finalists for five positional awards. Possibly, the notion of nominating a 42 percent 3-point shooter for the Karl Malone Award (power forward) was too mind-bending.
5. London Perrantes, Virginia
Malcolm Brogdon is the Cavaliers' leader and leading scorer, but I'm singling out Perrantes here for his Buddy Hield-like shooting on 3s (albeit at a low volume) and calm mastery of the point guard position. The junior has never been an accomplished scorer inside the arc, but he judiciously splits his efforts between delivering the ball to Brogdon or Anthony Gill and seeking his own perimeter looks.
6. J.P. Macura, Xavier
Macura has been termed "annoying in a good way," and for the most part, he comes off the bench for the Musketeers. Then again, maybe head coach Chris Mack will want to revisit that decision. In a closer-than-it-sounds 80-72 win over Marquette on Feb. 6, Macura started and responded with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor.
7. Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
Remember Valentine? He was going to be one of perhaps three or four primary candidates for national player of the year until a December knee injury and Buddy Hield both happened. Be that as it may, Valentine is having precisely the kind of season that was expected of him. Liken him to Draymond Green or Ben Simmons or whomever you please; at 6-foot-5, Valentine distributes the ball and scores from anywhere on the floor. He is the featured player in the best offense that coach Tom Izzo has had in at least a decade.
8. Sheldon McClellan, Miami
I'll confess to being a little puzzled by what I've seen from Miami this season. Here is McClellan having an outstanding individual senior season as a dual-threat scorer, yet his share of the offense has actually decreased a bit since 2014-15. Moreover, in ACC play, the Hurricanes have been good, but by no means great, on that side of the ball, with poor outside shooting being the main culprit. Give your senior the rock, Coach Larranaga.
9. Diamond Stone, Maryland
Never mind all the talk about a "disappointing" freshman class nationwide. With Stone, we have a highly rated freshman who has lived up to his hype and done so on a national-championship contender. At 6-foot-11, he's a post-scoring and offensive-rebounding machine who appears to be improving before our eyes as a shot-blocker. (Ask Nebraska about the eight-block effort he unleashed on the Huskers on Feb. 3.) Stone draws more fouls per 40 minutes than Melo Trimble, and the freshman is shooting 78 percent at the line.
10. Brice Johnson, North Carolina
There have been stretches this season when North Carolina has struggled mightily to make shots, and during those spells, Johnson carried this offense almost single-handedly. His reputedly lackadaisical manner has been known to baffle, bewilder and vex head coach Roy Williams, but the numbers that result from "Brice being Brice" are impeccable. As one of the nation's top defensive rebounders, Johnson is also hitting 61 percent of his 2s and 76 percent of his free throws.
