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.

I'm convinced that there are very few things in the basketball world more depressing than being an N.C. State basketball fan. For the uninitiated, let me give some background. State's history includes the man who basically started the ACC (Everett Case), one of the 5 greatest college basketball players of all time (David Thompson), 2 of the most iconic NCAA championships ever (Thompson's '74 team ending UCLA's run and the '83 Cardiac Pack), the first player ever to tally 1000 career assists (Chris Corchiani) ,and one of the most famous personalities in the history of college athletics (Jim Valvano). Thompson and teammate Monte Towe basically invented the alley-oop while at State, and the strategy of fouling at the end of close games was popularized largely by Valvano (who used it to great effect in the miracle run of '83). Up through the 80s, the Wolfpack were a perennial ACC contender and a national power. The original Tobacco Road rivalry was, in fact, not Duke and UNC, it was State and Carolina. However, my beloved Wolfpack have fallen on hard times since Valvano left the program. A once proud program has ranged from awful to mediocre over the last 15 years, we've watched our rivals dismiss us and our athletic department apparently be happy with an occasional appearance in the top 25. Now, you're probably thinking "a lot of teams would be happy with a few top 25 appearances, what's this guy whining about?" Well, most teams don't have the history State has, and most teams also don't play in the shadow of two colossi of the college basketball world, Duke and UNC. Why am I bringing all this up? Well, this year I thought would be the year. The Wolfpack returned all but one starter from a team that had finished on a great run last year, almost winning the ACC tournament and making a run deep into the NIT. Not only that, but we added stud recruit J.J. Hickson (the best recruit the Pack have brought in in decades) to a roster already loaded with talent. New coach Sidney Lowe (the point guard for the '83 title team) had done a fantastic job last year managing a team that was picked to be last in the ACC and really only had 6 players for most of the year. This was going to be our year, how could things possibly go wrong? Well, I should've known better, as a State fan, something can ALWAYS go wrong. Through 13 games this year, a team that has every reason in the world to be hungry has looked complacent, and the result is that they've lost to New Orleans and ECU, gotten absolutely embarrassed by Michigan State on national TV (the worst basketball game I've ever seen a team play, and that's saying something), and trailed at the half to both Presbyterian College and Western Carolina (a combined 5-28 record). I've lost faith in this team, and we haven't even played a conference game yet. I'm fully expecting to see us get beat by 40 at UNC to open the ACC season, and we'll probably be NIT-bound again this season. Oh well, there's always that old fallback that State fans have been using for the last decade, "We'll be better next year." (I promise, we will be).

Other College Basketball Thoughts

- One thing that constantly irritates me when I listen to and read college basketball analysts is the idea that Tyler Hansbrough is the leading candidate for national player of the year. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the way Hansbrough plays. He's a self-made player, not exceptionally gifted but works harder than almost anyone, and he's the kind of guy who I'd love if he didn't play for the Tarheels. I wouldn't have any problem with Psycho T if he weren't a media darling, but the fact is that he's the single most overrated player in America. I fail to see how you can name a player the national player of the year if he is the third most important player on his own team. Make no mistake, other elite teams are FAR more scared about Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington than they are about Hansbrough. His game is based entirely on effort, he doesn't have great post moves (no matter what the talking heads may try to tell you) and he isn't a very good athlete. As a result, Psycho T struggles against high-level teams that have athletic big men. Point in case, against UNC's 4 toughest opponents so far (Davidson, Ohio State, Kentucky, Clemson), he has averaged 13.25 PPG on 35% shooting. Hansbough's 22 PPG average looks gaudy, but he's done most of his work against inferior competition and he plays on one of the nation's highest-scoring teams. He's also not a good defensive player outside of his ability to rebound the ball. I've read several analysts saying that Deon Thompson and Alex Stephenson need to step up their interior defense to give Hansbrough some help, but the fact is that he just isn't a very good defensive player. Again, don't get me wrong here, Hansbrough is a very good college player, and I respect how hard he works, but there's no way he should be leading any player of the year discussion.

- For those of you who haven't seen them yet this year, Davidson is legit. I'd be shocked if they don't win some games in the tournament. Stephen Curry is absolutely an NBA player sometime down the read, as a sophomore he already has a great understanding of how to use screens both off the ball and off the dribble, and he has one of the quickest releases I've ever seen.

- A lot of teams are going to pass on D.J. White in the next draft, and I think they're going to regret it. He absolutely dominated a good Georgia Tech frontline, and he's already got the versatile game to be effective as an undersized PF. I'm just gonna go ahead and commend the team that picks White in the second round right now.

- Speaking of Indiana, Eric Gordon is all kinds of good. Right now, I'd take him over almost any player in the nation. He can get his shot off against anyone, but he's also really strong going to the rim. He's got that extra gear in the open court, and you're not stopping him once he gets his shoulders past you. I've watched Gordon, Rose and Mayo this year, and Gordon was by far the most impressive of the three. With Gordon and White, along with underrated freshman Jordan Crawford, the Hoosiers are a team that could have a legit shot at making a run deep in the tourney.

- Can someone please tell me how Memphis isn't the number 1 team in the nation? They've played at Oklahoma, at UCONN, USC on a neutral court, Georgetown (the most impressive win of the season by any team), and Arizona and they're 13-0. Seriously, it's ridiculous that they aren't the unanimous number 1 right now. I know it might seem like I'm knocking on UNC right now, but that's not it. I don't know if Memphis will end up being the nation's best team, but there is absolutely no arguing that they have played a MUCH harder schedule than the Tarheels right now, and have a lot more impressive wins.

- Not really a college basketball thought, but more a thought about basketball in general. One of the things that really irritates me is that officials don't ever call the switching pivot foot anymore. Footwork on the catch has become almost inconsequential, because players are allowed to slide and switch their pivot foot with impunity. This video really stood out for me lately as a particularly egregious no-call (at about the halfway mark, watch where Pierce's left foot starts and where it is before he takes his first dribble). Course, that reminded me of this classic video.