Ah, March Madness. There is no doubt in my mind that the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is the greatest sporting event in the world. The excitement, the competitive games, the dramatic upsets, everything comes together to make it an amazing spectacle. This has been as depressing a college basketball season as I have ever followed (due to the colossal ineptitude of my beloved Wolfpack), and yet the tournament still sucks me in.

Anyway, here are some of my thoughts on guys that I've been watching in the tourney this year.

O.J. Mayo - A lot of people have been down on Mayo all year, mainly because of the incredible hype he came in with. We've known about him since the 8th grade and he was touted nearly as much as LeBron. However, he didn't have great performances early in the year and people kind of soured on him. Here's the thing though, even if he isn't a one-of-a-kind player, he's still pretty darn good. I think his offensive game is reminiscent of Gilbert Arenas only he's a bit bigger, and he seems to have solid defensive instincts. I think he's moved from being overrated to being underrated during the season.

Kevin Love - It astounds me that people still consider this guy a borderline lottery pick. Seriously? You'd rather have DeAndre Jordan (he of the 5-minute first round appearance)? I watched Love play tonight and he made a play where he grabbed the ball after a made shot, ran down the baseline out of bounds and lofted a pass downcourt that landed right in his teammate's hands after staying just out of the defender's reach. Seriously, he's the best passing big man we've seen come out of college for some time. In addition, he plays with great positioning, is ridiculously strong, has great touch around the basket, and to top it off he has three point range! This guy isn't a top ten pick? Someone please tell me how his ceiling isn't a rich man's Brad Miller.

D.J. White - I didn't really watch him during Indiana's one tournament game, I'm just warning you that, come draft time, I'm going to be harping on how this guy should go much higher than he will. He's really, really good.

Stephen Curry - I can't really put into words how much I enjoy watching this guy play, but I'll try. I've been a huge Curry fan all season, after seeing him do a number on UNC and seeing him in person at the RBC Center near the beginning of the season. If you hadn't caught on by the fact that he's averaging 33.3 in three career tourney games, he's really, really good. I just read a column by Bill Simmons today where he talked about Curry, and he compared Curry to Brandon Roy, which is something that I had thought to myself while watching him. He isn't extraordinarily quick, but he's so shifty in the way he switches speeds that he can get to the rim against most anyone, and he's a creative below-the-rim finisher when he gets there. Oh yeah, and then there's that shot of his. He's not just a spot-up shooter or a catch-and-shoot guy, but he can legitimately get an NBA three off from anywhere under any conditions. He's extremely intelligent using screens to get himself open, and he's also extremely good at freeing himself up for his jumper off the dribble. Of course, it helps that he has one of the quickest releases I've ever seen on his jumper, and he has a high release point. Needless to say, I don't really care that Curry is only 6'3. He's ridiculously talented, and he'll be picked way lower than he should be if he comes out this year.

Earl Clark - I hadn't watched Louisville much this season, but I came away from the game tonight enormously impressed by Clark. He's a 6'9 wing guy who is a tremendous athlete. He comes off the bench for the Cardinals, but he has all the tools to be a really versatile swing forward at the next level. If he sticks around, I'll definitely be keeping my eye on him next year.

In addition to all the NCAA action, I also caught the McDonalds All-American game last night. I hadn't been keeping particularly close tabs on this particular crop of recruits but some of them really jumped out at me. Here are some of the guys you should be keeping an eye out for in college next year.

Brandon Jennings - As I mentioned in my last post, his wicked-awesome flattop haircut has endeared him to me. Pretty early in the game though it became apparent that Jennings is simply a cut above everyone else with his ability to handle and pass the ball. He is extremely quick with the ball in his hands and made some truly spectacular passes look easy, including an off the backboard ally-oop that was actually the best way to deliver the pass due to a nearby defender. He also showed off solid range on his jumper and some surprising defensive intensity that you don't usually see in this type of all-star game.

Tyreke Evans - Despite all his scoring and his MVP award, I wasn't particularly impressed with Evans. Obviously, he can score with anyone, but he showed a complete disinclination to pass the ball at all, to an extent that it stood out even in this chuckfest. He's got great strength and finishing ability inside, and he has the body-type and ability to become a devastating scorer, but he isn't nearly there yet. He overdribbles and doesn't have a great jumper yet. A year or two in college will be a really good thing for him.

JRue Holiday - I was stunned when I saw that he is listed at 6'3/6'4. Watching the game, he's so long that he plays way bigger than that. I would've sworn that he was at least 6'7. He has terrific instincts and seems like a guy who will do the little things to help you win. His great length and ability to use either hand makes him a terrific finisher. He strikes me as a guy who will really impress next year at UCLA.

Willie Warren - In many ways, Warren was the opposite of Evans in this game. He alternated bombing away from deep behind the line and attacking the rim, but usually doing it very efficiently, with few dribbles. He has great quickness and the strength to finish through contact. He impressed me as much as anyone during the game, then I went out and found this clip of him on YouTube. Sick.