For lovers of basketball at its highest form, the NCAA Tournament can be a frustrating slog through some pretty ugly play. Picking teams in your bracket is fun and of course rooting for "your" team is a must, but for many people March Madness is all about watching the NBA Prospects. Basketball fans in Cleveland and Detroit will be keeping a close eye on those top prospects while here in Arizona we are eyeballing players projected to go anywhere from 13 to 25 in the up-coming NBA Draft.
For those NBA Draft loving, prospect watchers we have put together a viewing guide just for you. Today's action includes three of the bigger names in this year's draft discussion: Jimmer Fredette (BYU), Kemba Walker (UCONN) and Kawhi Leonard (SDSU) are all in action today along with a handful of other guys that should be playing in the NBA next season.
Thursday
No. 9 Terrence Jones
No. 16 Brandon Knight, Kentucky vs. Princeton (2:45 PM, CBS)
Jones and Knight are John Calipari's latest one-and-done prospects. Jones is a bombastic scorer in the mold of early Paul Pierce. Knight is the embattled Kentucky guard who is far more Tyreke Evans than John Wall, only smaller than both. Bonus! Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel will likely discuss ineligible Kentucky frosh Enes Kanter, No. 8 on DX's board.
No. 25 Jeff Taylor, Vanderbilt vs. Richmond (4:10 PM, TBS)
The junior Commodore is one of the SEC's better scorers, but needs to show more perimeter polish to move up draft boards.
No. 13 Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State vs. North Colorado (4:40 PM, TNT)
We wrote about Leonard on Wednesday.
No. 27 Patric Young, Florida vs. UC Santa Barbara (6:50 PM, TBS)
Young is Billy Donovan's latest young big man plays under 20 minutes per game, but is a physical specimen in the mold of Al Horford. Keep an eye on him when he's in the game.
No. 17 Jimmer Fredette, BYU vs. Wofford (7:15 PM, CBS)
You know all about The Jimmer, BYU's extraordinary scorer. Is he J.J. Redick? Adam Morrison? Ray Allen? Watch and make up your own mind!
No. 7 Kemba Walker, Connecticut vs. Bucknell (7:20 PM, TNT)
We wrote about Walker on Monday.
March Madness resources: Printable 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket ... Full 2011 NCAA Tournament schedule.