10 Players to Watch For in This Year's NCAA Tournament

Image via Complex Original

School: Duke
Position: Small Forward
2014 tournament debut: March 21, 12:15 p.m. vs Mercer
2013-14 Stats: 19.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.2 APG

Speaking of freshmen who have turned it on late, Duke's Jabari Parker is also riding a hot streak into the NCAA tournament. The 6'8" wing can put the ball on the deck, finish in the paint, and stick open jumpers-skills that not only make Parker one of the country's most dynamic scorers but were also on full display when he posted a career-high 30 points in Duke's March 8 win over North Carolina. Mercer may boast a senior-laden starting lineup, but no amount of experience can prepare a player to stop Parker when he's in a groove.

School: Oklahoma State
Position: Point Guard
2014 tournament debut: March 21, 4:40 p.m. vs. Gonzaga
2013-14 Stats: 17.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.7 APG

While many of the elite players on this list will have a chance to ease into tournament play with opening round matchups against less talented opponents, Marcus Smart will be tossed right into the thick of things. Smart's No. 9 Oklahoma State team will get things started against a 28-6 Gonzaga squad that some felt deserved better than a No. 8 seed. Smart, known for his tenacity on the defensive end, will have a challenge going up against Gonzaga guard Kevin Pangos, who is scoring 14.1 points per game. If Smart can turn in one of the stingy defensive performances he's known for, the sophomore and his teammates will have a good shot to advance.

School: UCLA
Position: Point Guard
2014 tournament debut: March 21, 9:57 p.m. vs. Tulsa
2013-14 Stats: 14.9 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 6.6 APG

A large guard out of Los Angeles who can handle the rock and hit teammates with dimes? Sound familiar? No, we're not talking about Magic Johnson, but there is some magic in Kyle Anderson's game. How else can you explain the UCLA sophomore's ability to break down defenders without breaking a sweat? Or at least that's what it looks like. Anderson has earned the nickname "Slow-Mo" because, well, he appears to move in slow motion. But at 6'9" Anderson can cover a lot of ground in a few steps, which makes it tough for opponents to stay in front of him. Just ask Arizona. In the Pac-12 championship Saturday night, Anderson hung 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists on a team some consider the favorite to win the championship. Anderson's run of success should continue Friday when UCLA takes on 13-seed Tulsa: the Hurricanes start three guards, none of whom is over 6'4".

School: Harvard
Position: Point Guard
2014 tournament debut: March 20, 2:10 p.m. vs. Cincinnati
2013-14 Stats: 11.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 4.7 APG

Tommy Amaker-head coach of Harvard, one of this March's trendy picks to pull off a 12-5 upset-is fond of calling point guard Siyani Chambers his team's "most important" player. Amaker is choosing his words carefully. Chambers is not the team's best, nor its most talented player. Those distinctions go to Harvard wing and Ivy League Player of the Year Wesley Saunders. But the Crimson goes where Chambers goes-and that's usually up and down the court, fast. Unlike previous Ivy League representatives (see Tigers, Princeton), Harvard likes to push the ball. Chambers, a Cousy award semifinalist, is a one-man fastbreak.

The lefty boasts a deadly floater and has a penchant for finding sharpshooter Laurent Rivard spotted up in transition. Chambers will likely need to stick a handful of floaters and connect with Rivad a couple times on Thursday for Harvard to get past Sean Kilpatrick and Cincinnati. But pulling off an upset would be nothing new from the Crimson: last season, with Chambers-then a freshman-running the offense, Harvard took down third-seeded New Mexico.

School: UConn
Position: Point Guard
2014 tournament debut: March 20, 6:25 p.m. vs. St. Joseph's
2013-14 Stats: 17.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.9 APG

When Kemba Walker led UConn on a breathtaking, 11-game run to the Big East and national championships in 2011, Shabazz Napier was a freshman. As the Huskies' sixth man during that run, Napier chipped in with 6.0 points per game off the bench. Since the Huskies cut down the nets in Houston, Walker left for the NBA, Jeremy Lamb left for the NBA, Alex Oriakhi left for Missouri, and Roscoe Smith left for UNLV. But Napier stuck around. And now in his final year in Storrs, Conn., Napier is the Huskies' leader. The 6'1" point guard's scoring numbers have ballooned from the 7.8 he averaged as a freshman to 17.4 today. But it's not just the gaudy scoring total that make Napier a must-see player this March: it's the way he does it. Like Walker, Napier has a flair for the dramatic and seems to save his best for crunch time. Napier will have his hands full on Thursday, though, when the Huskies take on St. Joe's. Hawks guard Langston Galloway also knows a thing or two about putting the ball in the hoop: he's averaging 17.5 points per game on 43.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

School: Creighton
Position: Power Forward
2014 tournament debut: March 21, 3:10 p.m. vs. Louisiana Lafayette
2013-14 Stats: 26.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.6 APG

OK, catching Pete Maravich for the all-time scoring record probably won't happen, but watching Doug McDermott in action is still a must. McDermott (aka Mr. 3,000) has been pretty much impossible to stop this season. When a 6'8", 225 lbs. forward with a nice touch around the rim also shoots 45.4 percent from deep, what is there to do? Not much, which is why McDermott is currently leading the nation with a scoring average of 26.9 points per game. Need any more reason to catch McDermott in action? Well, the senior seems to be saving his best for last. In Creighton's last four games McDermott has upped his scoring average to 34.8 per game. And with opening-round opponent Louisiana-Lafayette, a team allowing 75.1 points per game (for the record, that gives them the No. 296 defense in the country), McDermott's average might get even higher.

School: Kansas
Position: Small Forward
2014 tournament debut: March 21, 4:10 p.m. vs. Eastern Kentucky
2013-14 Stats: 17.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.6 APG

Catch him while you still can. Andrew Wiggins's time with the Jayhawks could be coming to an end any day now-and that's a shame because Wiggins, projected to be a top pick in June's NBA draft, is just hitting his stride. After a solid but unspectacular start to his college career, the freshman phenom has been on a tear in March. Against West Virginia on March 8, Wiggins went for 41. Before a full week had passed, Wiggins had dropped another 30 on Oklahoma State and 22 on Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament. That brings us to Friday's matchup against Eastern Kentucky. Earlier this season the 15-seeded Colonels surrendered 30 points to another 6'8" wing-N.C. Sate's TJ Warren-so a big game from Wiggins could certainly be in the cards.

School: Arizona
Position: Power Forward
2014 tournament debut: March 21, 2:10 p.m. vs. Weber State
2013-14 Stats: 12.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.8 APG

Why watch Aaron Gordon? The obvious answer is because he can do things like this. But don't let the hops fool you: Gordon is more than just an athlete. The 6'9" forward can finish at the rim and has a knack for grabbing rebounds (his 7.8 per game are a team high). The Wildcats like to spread the ball around, so it's unusual for Gordon to have huge scoring nights. Then again, it's hard to imagine that No. 16 Weber State will be able to do much to slow a 6'9", 225 lbs. forward who can run the floor and jump through the roof, so Friday could be an exception.

School: Baylor
Position: Shooting Guard
2014 tournament debut: March 21, 12:40 p.m. vs Nebraska
2013-14 Stats: 11.8 PPG, 1.3 RPG, .8 APG

47.3-that's Baylor guard Brady Heslip's mark from three-point range, which makes him the most dangerous shooter in the NCAA tournament field. Heslip's shooting percentage is no statistical fluke, etiher. No, the sample size is legit: so far this season, Heslip has taken 237 three-pointers, more than every other play in the NCAA but 19. He'll try to tack on a few more before Baylor's season is over, starting this Friday when the Bears take on Nebraska. But it won't be easy. Nebraska boasts one of the nation's top three-point defenses, holding opponents to 31.9 percent shooting from deep. Something's gotta give this Friday.

School: UMass
Position: Point Guard
2014 tournament debut: March 21, 2:45 p.m. vs. Tennesse/Iowa
2013-14 Stats: 15.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 7.0 APG

If Kyle Anderson is at one end of the point guard spectrum, UMass's Chaz Williams is at the other. Generously listed at 5'9" Williams is small, even for a point guard. Getting buckets, though, has never been a problem for Williams, who finished eighth in the Atlantic 10 with 15.8 points per game this season. His quickness is the first thing you'll notice, but Williams's toughness may be his biggest asset. The senior has always played like he has a chip on his shoulder, and he doesn't seem to have an off switch. The first time I met Williams was during his sophomore season after a game in which he went head-to-head with Florida State's Michael Snaer.

I asked Williams about Snaer's performance, to which Williams replied that he wasn't one to praise opponents (he eventually offered a couple platitudes). I have no doubt that Williams has been hearing all the talk about UMass being susceptible to an upset this Friday, and I bet he's taking it personally. Don't be surprised if Williams puts the Minutemen on his back-just like he has for the last three years.