Many of us know the 'big names' that we can expect to step up on center stage as March Madness get rolling early Thursday afternoon...Sports Illustrated's national Player-of-the-Year, Michigan's Trey Burke; the Sports Illustrated cover boys this week: Indiana's Victor Oladipo and Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk, CBS Sports.com's POY; Georgetown's remarkable Otto Porter, even the nation's second leading scorer...the coach's son Creighton's Doug McDermott to name a just a few...but here are three more to watch that you probably won't know as well...until Thursday.
Sim Bhullar, 7'-5" Freshman Center, New Mexico State- The WAC Tournament MVP averaged 10.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.4 bpg. as the WAC Freshman of the Year; improving by leaps and bounds as the season progressed. Bhullar propelled the 13th seeded Aggies to the WAC Tournament championship with a 16 point, 15 rebound, and 5 block shot effort, his second consecutive double-double. Needless to say the young man from India via Toronto,Canada, alters shots as a rim protector. New Mexico State coach Marvin Menzies calls Bhullar a very cerebral player and an excellent passer with very good hands. The Saint Louis Billikens will likely have to make some in game adjustments to account for him, many teams have gone to double teams when Bhullar gets the ball in the low post.
Steven Adams, 7'-0" Freshman Center, Pittsburgh- A member of the Big East's All-Rookie team, Adams (7.1ppg, 6 rpg, 2 bpg) has been one of those big skill players that shines when he shows up, but spends entirely too much time bogged down in foul trouble on the bench. The New Zealand native, the last of 18 children, has a older sister who is a two-time Olympic gold mealist in the shot put. He is now recovered from an ankle injury suffered in practice in early March. Adams came to campus as the most heralded recruit in the coach Jamie Dixon era. If he stays on the court and gets some early touches and blocked shots, look out for his Panthers!
Nate Wolters, 6'-4" Senior Guard, South Dakota State- The Summit League's POY scored 53 points against IPFW, tops for a single contest in DI this season. Athletic with great anticipation and a great marksman that is good at creating his own shot, Wolters averaged 22.8 ppg and 5.7 apg for the Jackrabbits. Wolters is a quiet midwestern kid who really doesn't like the spotlight; but the point guard is only the fifth player in DI history to amass 2000 points, 600 rebounds and 500 assists. Teams will try to keep the ball out of the wizard's hands...good luck with that!!
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