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ESPN analyst and College Basketball expert Jimmy Dykes is the man to talk to in March. As a man who played ball at the University of Arkansas and went on to become an assistant coach at his alma mater, Sacramento State, Appalachian State, Kentucky, University of Arkansas-Little Rock, and Oklahoma State; he knows the game inside and out. He then served two seasons as a college scout for the Seattle Supersonics, so there is no one better to evaluate talent and give us some impact players we should all look forward to watching during March Madness. We kicked with Jimmy and he gave us his thoughts on the wide-open Wooden Award race.
Who are some players to look for during March Madness this year?
Who is going to be the guy? Who wants to be the guy? And who untimely produces and ends up being the guy?
There are some terrific individual talents, that’s why that Wooden Award race is still wide open as we head into the conference tournaments. Burke and Porta, Oladipo and McDermott, Kelly Olynyk, a lot of guys are still fighting for that spot. There is a handful of guys that are going to have a major impact on the NCAA Tournament. No one guy jumps out, that is why that Wooden Award is such a tight race right now. There are six or seven guys who have a legitimate chance to win it. That's what's going to make this NCAA Tournament such an interesting watch. Who's going to be the guy? Who wants to be the guy? And who untimely produces and ends up being the guy.
Is there a favorite at this time?
I don’t think we have a favorite. I think this is a year we go into the Tournament without a favorite. Whoever plays their way through this thing and wins it is really going to have to earn it. I think from the opening weekend there are about five or six teams that are built to win it more consistently than anyone else. Indiana would certainly be one of them. Louisville would be in that conversation. I think Gonzaga is for real. Georgetown is built to get there. I still like Duke with Ryan Kelly healthy. I like Duke’s chances but none of them I would say is a favorite, none of them have much separation from the field at all.
If you had to go with your gut, whom would you take this year in the big dance?
In no particular order I would say Indiana, Louisville, Duke, and Michigan State. I trust those four teams probably more than anyone else. Michigan State is a well-rounded team, Keith Appling has to be really good he’s a point guard; everybody’s point guard has to be terrific if they want to advance. No team is going to go deep if your lead guard can’t handle the moment.
Check out what he had to say about his top eight favorites to watch during the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Deshaun Thomas
School: Ohio State
Position: Power Forward
Year: Junior
2012-2013 Stats: 19.5 PPG 6.2 RPG 1.3 APG
"He's from Ohio State, if you don't guard him, he's going to get 30. He's absolutely going to get 30 on you on a neutral floor."
Cody Zeller
School: Indiana
Position: Center
Year: Sophomore
2012-2013 Stats: 16.9 PPG 8.2 RPG 1.2 APG 1.1 SPG 1.3 BPG
"He's a 7-footer. You have to gameplan for a guy like that. Not every team is going to be able to guard him one-on-one on the box, and he can pass the basketball. He also puts tremendous pressure on your conversion game from offense to defense because he can really run, catch and finish on the fly."
Russ Smith
School: Louisville
Position: Guard
Year: Junior
2012-2013 Stats: 18.1 PPG 3.6 RPG 3.0 APG 2.0 SPG
"He's why I like Louisville. I have them picked as one of my teams to get to the Final Four because I think the guy values winning as much as anyone in the Tournament. I like how hard he plays. He's got a gambler's mentality about him, everything he does is trying to win ball games. Yeah, he'll make some plays that maybe you really don't want from a coach's standpoint but its completely offset by how hard he plays and by how dangerous he is on both sides of the floor. He can make something out of nothing as well as anybody in the college game right now."
Kelly Olynyk
School: Gonzaga
Position: Forward
Year: Junior
2012-2013 Stats: 17.5 PPG 7.2 RPG 1.7 APG 1.2 BPG
"From Gonzaga, he's a hard matchup as a 7-footer. He's a guy I think the nation is going to get introduced to very quickly. Kelly is versatile and very good."
Marcus Smart
School: Oklahoma State
Position: Guard
Year: Freshman
2012-2013 Stats: 15.4 PPG 5.7 RPG 4.2 APG 2.9 SPG
"From Oklahoma State, just a freshman but he's a power guard and he just impacts winning in so many ways."
Otto Porter
School: Georgetown
Position: Forward
Year: Sophomore
2012-2013 Stats: 16.3 PPG 7.4 RPG 2.7 APG 1.9 SPG 0.9 BPG
"Porter is such a smooth fluid scorer right now, shooting high percentage from threes. He's a real big guard. He's a forward playing guard and that's a tough matchup. Those kids that are 6'7" and 6'8" are hard to matchup with in the NCAA because not everybody has that size, so I think Otto Porter from Georgetown could be huge."
Victor Oladipo
School: Indiana
Position: Guard
Year: Junior
2012-2013 Stats: 13.6 PPG 6.4 RPG 2.1 APG 2.2 SPG
"He is going to impact any game that he is in, in a lot of different areas. Whatever you need that night, Oladipo can do it. He can make threes, tough twos, he can get offensive rebounds, he can defend the heck out of people, he can hit a high percentage of his shots, he makes big time steals. I like the way he plays around the rim, he plays with a great motor."
Trey Burke
School: Michigan
Position: Point Guard
Year: Sophomore
2012-2013 Stats: 19.2 PPG 3.1 RPG 6.7 APG 1.6 SPG
"It's a guard's game and the kid's proven to be the best point guard in college basketball this year. He's got a flair about him, he's a coach on the floor, he makes winning plays, you trust him with the ball in his hands. I think it starts there from a coach's standpoint: Who you trust and Trey Burke has certainly earned that right."