As the March Madness 2010 begins, FanHouse's NBA team looks at the top prospects in each regional.
The West regional kicks off Thursday with some non-traditional powers in effect. In San Jose, the SEC's Vanderbilt will match up with Murray State, with the winner meeting the Butler-UTEP victor. Back in Oklahoma City, Kansas State begins its run across from North Texas while BYU matches up with recent repeat national champs Florida. There may not be lottery talent in this region, but a pair of small forwards should draw the eyes of discerning NBA fans.
Gordon Hayward, SF, Butler 19 years old, 6'8, 200 lbs., Sophomore Probably the best player in the tournament NOBODY knows about, Hayward could be the driving force behind Butler's deepest tournament run ever. The 6'8 sophomore can shoot the three but can also get it done attacking the basket and finishing under control. His handle still needs work as do his shot creation, but the predatory scoring instincts are there. Although not a great athlete, Hayward is a good enough one to grab rebounds and finish against taller players. His stellar play this season has skyrocketed his value into first-round status. -- Jordan Schultz
As the March Madness 2010 begins, FanHouse's NBA team looks at the top prospects in each regional.
Two branches of the South regional kick off just after noon Eastern on Thursday. The New Orleans subregional features a strong Baylor team, along with Sam Houston (that's a college, not a prospect, though I bet he'd be a great shooter), Notre Dame and Old Dominion. Up in Rhode Island, Villanova starts in the Providence pod, which also features Richmond, St. Mary's and Robert Morris (also not a prospect). Let's take a look at the players you might see in the NBA in years to come.
Ekpe Udoh, PF, Baylor 22 years old, 6'10, 240 lbs., Junior Udoh looks like a lottery pick as we enter the tournament, and a great Baylor run can only help that. The versatile but defense-minded big man blocked 11 percent of opponent field goal attempts while on the court this season, good for 11th in the nation and second in the Big 12 (behind only Kansas's Cole Aldrich). The Michigan transfer might not be an NBA scorer, but his superb defensive skills and attitude should buoy him no matter what happens to Baylor in the South regional. -- T.Z.
Apologies in advance if anything I say here is totally wrong. I've spent the last two weeks in Italy, where the closest I came to pro basketball was being emailed a schedule of Luke Jackson's games in town. I did, however, manage to catch wind of an exciting development, years in the making, that causes my heart to swoon: Andray Blatche has arrived.
Now, I'm writing this as someone who has yet to witness one of the Big Bad Blatche's statistical outbursts since the Wizards made him the path to the future. But having monitored that team closely for some time, done my due YouTube diligence, and seen Blatche throw up statement games when Antawn Jamison used to go down, I feel confident in saying the following: Meet the new Blatche, same as the old Blatche.
What's more, there's nothing transformative about this, which makes Blatche's emergence all the more encouraging. He's playing the same game that, over the last five seasons flitting around in the Wizards rotation, has been seen in flashes. Impossibly long and agile, not quite as explosive as you'd think, surprisingly refined jumper, and sneaky with his limbs around the hoop.
Blatche also, as befits all tall, skinny dudes with "potential" written 'cross their brows like in Bum Fight, can put the ball on the floor and make a pass or two. He's no defensive mastermind, but Blatche is active and picks up blocks and steals. Similarly, he'll never be a double-double machine, but rest assured, he could pull down 20 boards some night and only the away announcer would split a nerve.
It's like Christmas in March! As is typical right around conference tournament week in the NCAA, we have our first NBA draft entrant. It's Charles Garcia, yeoman power forward for the Seattle University Redhawks. Garcia, a junior college transfer who spent just one season at Seattle after being denied eligibility at the University of Washington across town, announced his intention to hire an agent and go pro Monday.
Garcia began the season like gangbusters, lighting up the chatter by coming out of nowhere to leap into the national top-10 in scoring and rebounding. A rangy forward compared to Lamar Odom by some, Garcia wowed by taking full control of the Seattle U. offense and leading the team to some solid wins. Scouts were (anonymously) quoted placing Garcia in the first round. DraftExpress.com's Jonathan Givony echoed the sentiment.
But things didn't stay especially buoyant all season. As Kevin Pelton noted last week on Basketball Prospectus, Garcia's play slipped substantially right around the New Year, and the Redhawks suffered for it. Things turned back around -- Pelton credits the growth of Garcia's teammates, which allowed Garcia to better fit in. But the consensus seems to be that the recent uptick for the team hasn't launched Garcia back into the orbit he found himself in early in the season.
The idea that NBA teams tank to win better draft position is a bit overblown. The actual act of tanking, or losing on purpose, happens rarely. Mark Madsen hoisting threes or Doc Rivers benching a hot Ryan Gomes tend to be involved.
But something I'd call "slow-burn tanking" certainly exists. This happens when teams give up a portion of a season -- or in some cases an entire season -- for rebuilding purposes. You don't do this by playing the worst players on your team, or making unsavory in-game decisions. You do it by trading or waiving just about everyone who can play and who doesn't figure figure into your future.
The Kings did it last season, under the guise of saving salary. Trading John Salmons and Brad Miller (two of the team's three most productive players in 2008-09) certainly helped the bottom line, but it didn't free up free agent dollars (Sean May's $800,000 was the biggest offseason expense for the team) and in fact hurt long-term financial flexibility. But it made the '08-09 Kings worse, and the team easily clinched the NBA's worst record, which came with a nice prize: the best chance at Blake Griffin.
As the March Madness 2010 begins, FanHouse's 
As the March Madness 2010 begins, FanHouse's 
It's like Christmas in March! As is typical right around conference tournament week in the NCAA, we have our first 
The idea that 
