NCAA Tournament Manifesto: Star Power

Tom Cruise’s talent gave Goose, Rod Tidwell, and a hooker on a train a part in some of the greatest moments in movie history. He raised the level of their games. The elite players in college basketball do the same.

Andrew Bogut is the Tom Cruise of the Mountain West Conference. Utah’s sophomore center is the most talented post player in America and the favorite to go first overall in June’s NBA Draft. Pro scouts drool like fifth grade boys at Hooters as they fill up notebook after notebook describing the Australian sensation’s skill set. And, just like Mr. Cruise, Bogut makes the Utes around him much better. Utah easily won the MWC title and earned a Top 15 ranking nationally.

Every Championship-winning team from the past six seasons featured at least one legitimate National Player of the Year candidate. Emeka Okafor (UConn, ’04), Carmelo Anthony

(Syracuse, ’03), Juan Dixon (Maryland, ’02), Jay Williams (Duke, ’01), Shane Battier (Duke, ’01), Mateen Cleaves (Michigan State, ’00), Richard Hamilton (UConn, ’99) all led their teams to titles after earning individual accolades during the regular season.

None of them did it alone, though.

Almost as important as the requisite superstar is the second banana. It is very difficult – if not impossible – for one player to play at a consistently high level for six straight tourney games. That’s where the sidekicks come in. Every Flavor Flav needs a Brigitte Nielsen. Okafor had Ben Gordon, Cleaves had Morris Peterson, Hamilton had Khalid El-Amin, and the list goes on.

This year’s NCAA Tournament will be no different. It won’t be decided by stars, it will be decided by their supporting cast.

Hakim Warrick (Syracuse), Craig Smith (BC), Chris Paul (Wake Forest), J.J. Redick (Duke), Adam Morrison (Gonzaga), Francisco Garcia (Louisville), Wayne Simien (Kansas), Curtis Withers (Charlotte), and Salim Stoudamire (Arizona) all share the court with at least one teammate capable of starring on his own. Illinois and North Carolina are tourney favorites because three superstars are better than one.

Some stars aren’t as lucky. Danny Granger of New Mexico and Minnesota’s Vincent Grier are mega-talented scorers, but lack teammates with the potential to pour it on. The same holds true for Bogut. He’s special, but unless he summons the powers of Danny Manning circa 1998, he can’t win the title without help. But like Tom Cruise in Minority Report, it should be fun just to see him try.

Secrets For NCAA Tournament Success:

Each day leading up to the Big Dance, CHN will be unveiling a different Secret for NCAA Tournament Success. Check the NCAA Tournament Manifesto homepage for more info.

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