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Freshmen seeds in bloom for March Madness
The big stories at this year's NCAA basketball tournament are young stars and surprising teams without basketball tradition.
By Erik Spanberg | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the March 9, 2007 edition
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March Madness never disappoints, but prospects for a fresh-faced, vertiginous ride seem even more promising this year. The main reason: a freshman class some analysts have declared as the best in the sport's history.
Those newcomers, along with some unexpected rising teams – always a staple of the NCAA basketball tournament's allure – have the hoops-happy salivating at the prospects of Selection Sunday (March 11, CBS), when the 65 schools invited to the tournament will be announced.
Thirty-one schools will earn automatic bids, with the remaining spots awarded by the selection committee.
No one doubts the prospects of Ohio State and Texas, schools boasting the best freshman players in the country. Ohio State spent much of the year ranked near the top of the weekly polls. When the Buckeyes nabbed the No. 1 spot late last month, it marked Ohio State's first top ranking in men's basketball since 1962. The Longhorns can't match those rankings, but a solid 22-win season in the rugged Big 12 all but assures them of a post-season bid.
Seven-foot center Greg Oden leads Ohio State, though his freshman year may be his last. His prospects for a pro career are strong enough that many experts consider Oden's chances of a sophomore jinx impossible. This season, Oden lived up to mammoth expectations, swatting shots and scoring inside despite playing with an injured wrist all season.
As good as he is, Oden, whom many scouts consider to be a lock as the top NBA draft pick if he decides to leave school this year, isn't the nation's best freshman. That honor belongs to Kevin Durant, a sinewy forward with a résumé boasting nine games with 30 or more points this season.
"They are absolutely phenomenal," says ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale. "They are great team players. I really expected them to be as good as advertised – and they have been."
They're not alone, either. All across the country, first-year players fill the highlight reels, eliciting cheers – as well as attendant fears of an early departure for the NBA.
Traditional power North Carolina boasts three stellar freshmen: Ty Lawson, Brandan Wright, and Wayne Ellington. At Villanova, it's freshman guard Scottie Reynolds, who recently set a single-game school record for a first-year player by scoring 40 points. Out west, seven-footer Spencer Hawes of Washington draws as much attention from pro scouts as he does from defenders in the paint.
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