demarcus cousins

DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky)

Derrick Favors (Georgia Tech)

Wesley Johnson (Syracuse)

Evan Turner (Ohio St)

Other (Aldrich, Aminu, Monroe, etc..)

 

While the NCAA Tournament is ultimately about team success, you can't win games without star players. But which players will be the heroes of the 2010 NCAA Tournament? Look below:

Based loosely on the quarterly Collegehoops.net Top 100, I rank the 65 best players in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.  This is not a fantasy stats ranking, although many of the players listed put up monster numbers. This is also not an evaluation based on pro talent-level, but a ranking of the best players right now.

Player of the Year Evan Turner and super-freshman John Wall highlight CollegeHoops.net's 2010 All-America teams. Turner averaged 19.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg, and 5.8 apg while helping Ohio St finish tied atop the Big Ten standings. Wall averaged 16.8 ppg and 6.2 apg, helping lead Kentucky to an impressive 29-2 record and an SEC title. They are joined on the First Team by Wall's teammate DeMarcus Cousins, Villanova leader Scottie Reynolds, and Big 12 Player of the Year James Anderson.

Every year, CBS concludes their coverage of the NCAA Tournament with “One Shining Moment”, the sappy video montage that shows the highlights, lowlights, emotions and passion that make March Madness so great. Monster dunks. Clutch three-pointers. Buzzer-beaters. Teary-eyed players and coaches. You name it- it's on there.

If you weren't fortunate enough to be in the fine city of Starkville, Miss., Tuesday night, I hope you were at least able to watch on television the Mississippi State Bulldogs take No. 2 Kentucky to overtime before letting the Wildcats escape with the win.

 

Remember Greg Oden?

Of course you do. He was one the most hyped big men to enter college in the last 10 years, billed as a superstar long before he ever even made his college decision. He graced magazine covers as a sophomore in high school, and was compared to everyone from Patrick Ewing to David Robinson to Tim Duncan. In his one and only year in college, he averaged 15.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, and helped lead Ohio State to the national championship game before departing to the NBA, where he was the top overall pick.

Led by future #1 NBA pick John Wall, this year's freshman class will be one to remember. What makes it particularly interesting is that not all of the top performers are at power conference schools. The WCC, CUSA, A10, MWC, WAC, and others have top-level rookies that can play with the best in the country. Here's a list of the Top 25 freshman in the country so far, with a bias on actual performance as opposed to potential. While players like UNC's John Henson may one day tear up NBA harcourts, this list focuses on the guys who are getting it done right now.