This particular bracket has plenty of NBA draft caliber talent, with Duke and Texas both featuring numerous lottery and 1st round prospects for this year and the future. Tyrus Thomas will be drawing crowds wherever he goes, and other upperclassmen in this bracket have plenty to gain from the exposure they will be seeing here.
Minneapolis Bracket NBA Draft Prospects
Washingotn Bracket NBA Draft Prospects
The Bracket
#1 Duke
Jonathan Givony
J.J. Redick, 6-4, shooting guard, senior, (lottery pick)
Possibly the player with more to lose in this tournament than anyone else in any bracket, Redick might have to have one of the best individual NCAA tournaments of all-time to top what he already accomplished during the regular season. Helping his team to an outstanding 30-3 record and an ACC championship, Redick has already cemented himself as one of the most prolific scorers to graze the college basketball landscape in recent memory. For Redick's sake, we can only hope that he didn't peak too early, as he did in previous years. Signs of this were already seen down the stretch, but as we all know, it's a completely different ball-game once we reach the NCAA tournament. NBA scouts already know his game inside-out and upside down, and Redick will have to at least maintain the status quo with his phenomenal shooting and scoring ability to not tank his draft stock just before the NBA draft process kicks into full swing, especially considering the fact that he is not your prototypical workout warrior who can quickly repair it with a few windmill dunks or outstanding one on one matchups to 21.
Shelden Williams, 6-9, senior, PF/C, (lottery pick)
The anchor of Duke's defense, Williams is another player who will simply need to continue to do what he's been doing all season long and get through this tournament without taking too many licks to make sure he maintains the draft positioning he's established after four hard fought years of college basketball. Early on in the tournament especially Williams will be able to give his team a huge advantage in the post by using his strength and rudimentary post skills to score around the basket and get the opposing frontcourt players in foul trouble. Staying out of foul trouble himself, knocking down his free throws and being aggressive defending, rebounding and scoring in one on one situations are things NBA scouts will be looking for out of him, even if this sounds like a mighty task for one player to accomplish.
Josh McRoberts, 6-11, freshman, power forward, (future lottery pick?)
After a bit of a disappointing freshman season considering the massive hype going in, McRoberts has another chance to show fans and scouts alike why he was considered the #1 player in the 2005 high school senior class. Part of the reason for his fairly lackluskter showing so far has been by choice, as McRoberts has been very passive in many games, preferring to play a supporting role and not taking much on himself besides crashing the offensive glass and throwing down alley-oop lobs. Part of it also has to do with his overall skill level, which shows flashes but is just still nowhere close to what we heard it was coming out of high school. If McRoberts wants to declare for the draft this year, he surely hasn't done anything on the court to indicate this so far, and it would be a fairly surprising move considering that he could have been a lottery pick last year already and his stock has gone nowhere but down since. A bit of a resurgance towards the end of the year in the ACC tournament might be a sign that McRoberts is becoming more accustomed to his role at Duke and might be stepping up his game when his team needs him most. It's great to see a player being as selfless and ego free as McRoberts has been this year, but the fact of the matter is his team could sorely use a 3rd scoring option to help out when Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick are not in their best form.
Sean Dockery, 6-2, senior, PG/SG, (undrafted)
Yet another Blue Devil who came out of high school with extremely high expectations and lofty recruiting rankings, Dockery has not developed into the type of presence that most Duke fans hoped when he was initially signed. Injury problems have set him back significantly, taking away a bit of his explosiveness, making him a bit more tentative to attack and always giving another of Duke's stable of McDonalds All-Americans a chance to gnaw away at his spot in the rotation. Mostly known as a defensive specialist at this point, Dockery will likely get his chances to show that his offensive game and playmaking skills are further along than we've seen once the NBA draft process kicks off.
Greg Paulus, 6-2, freshman, point guard, (???)
Of the five Duke players on this list, none are as important for Duke's tournament hopes as their freshman stud point guard Greg Paulus. Thrown into the fire immediately, Paulus has had his ups and down as you might expect from such a young and inexperienced player trying to lead one of the top teams in the country against the toughest ranked schedule in the country, but has shown the type of flashes of brilliance that make us think that the NBA is definitely in his future. Few players in the country understand passing angles the way Paulus already does at this point in his career. His ability to thread the needle with highlight reel passes make Duke's halfcourt offense extremely tough to predict combined with the excellent coaching and plays they receive from the sidelines. Paulus has had his fair share of shaky moments in terms of ball-handling and decision making, though, something that will likely be tested and attacked on every step of the road to the Final Four if Duke makes it that far. Just how close they get will depend largely on how well Paulus reacts and handles himself, especially in late-game situations where the names on the front and back of jerseys are nothing more than letters stitched on cloth.