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NCAA Tournament Roundtable: Can NBA Guys Predict March Madness?

By Michael Saenz

Mar 10, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II (2) controls the ball against Duke Blue Devils guard Frank Jackson (15) during the first half of an ACC Conference Tournament game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II (2) controls the ball against Duke Blue Devils guard Frank Jackson (15) during the first half of an ACC Conference Tournament game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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The name that everyone will know by the end of the NCAA Tournament is…

Saenz: UNC’s Joel Berry. You’ll understand this reasoning later.

Huberman: Brandon Goodwin. After transferring from UCF, the Florida Gulf Coast guard is averaging over 18 points per game on 51% shooting, including 36% from beyond the arc. If they are to reach the Sweet 16, Goodwin will have to keep up his hot shooting and lead the way.

McFee: Wenyen Gabriel. When I’m not watching NBA basketball, I’m trying to watch as much college basketball as possible. Obviously the marquee matchups typically feature one of the powerhouses of college basketball, so I’ve seen my fair share of Big Blue Nation this year. While guys like De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, and ‘Bam’ Adebayo are electrifying to watch, the guy that consistently impresses is Wenyen Gabriel.

Gabriel plays a decent amount of minutes (19.1 MPG) on yet another stacked Kentucky roster, so you’d think his stats would mirror that. SPOILER: they don’t. Gabriel averages a mere 5.1 PPG to go with 5.3 RPG. Dig deeper, and he only averages 0.8 APG, 1.0 BPG, and 0.3 SPG. Those numbers don’t scream ‘key contributor’, but believe me – he does. He’s what the basketball community calls a ‘glue guy’.

Gabriel’s season averages probably won’t increase much during the tournament, in fact, they might dwindle. I just have a feeling that the Wildcats are making a deep run, and Gabriel is going to be a big reason why. Watch some tape on him. Get to know him, because he might start getting noticed by NBA scouts by the end of the tourney.

Pontin: Virginia Freshman guard Kyle Guy is in for a big tournament. Guy is a streaky shooter who has improved drastically throughout this season and plays on an underrated Cavalier team. If he can put a string of successful shooting games together and gets UVA into the Sweet 16, he will be a nationally renowned player.

Webb: Monte Morris Iowa State. The Nation’s best point guard that not many talk about.

Macri: Bam Adebayo. Not only is Kentucky a solid bet to make it all the way to the Final Four, but Adebayo can play himself into the NBA Lottery discussion with a nice tournament run. Plus, his name is Bam, which is really, really easy to remember.

Dator: Lonzo Ball. Whether he performs well or ends up choking, everyone will get to know who this kid is after the tournament. Some people who do not care about the tournament may take a sneak peak just to see who this Lonzo Ball kid really is. If you have a dad who goes on record to tell the world that you are better than Steph Curry, then for sure, people would really get to know you very quickly.

Gonzalez: Lauri Markannen. Most people who following college hoops or NBA draft prospects know him already, but the casuals don’t. Lauri and Arizona are real final four threat.

Piers: Lonzo Ball is probably the biggest household name in college basketball, but the guy that might go number one in the NBA draft is Malik Monk from Kentucky. Expect him to have a huge tournament.

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