March Madness kicks into its next stage Thursday night with the first four of eight Sweet 16 games. The action gets underway at 7:15 on CBS with Connecticut vs. San Diego State, and continues with BYU vs. Florida at 7:27 p.m. on TBS, Duke vs. Arizona at 9:45 on CBS and Wisconsin vs. Butler at 9:57 p.m.
Jimmer Fredette, Derrick Williams Among Prospects To Watch In Sweet 16 Games
And with all due respect to the teams playing Friday, those are four really fun matchups. Not only do we get to see some really good teams in action, but we also get to see some of the best stars of college basketball playing. Jimmer Fredette, Derrick Williams, Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving and Kahwi Leonard are among the big names in action on Thursday night, which gives college fans a chance to gush and NBA fans a chance to nitpick about their pro potential.
Since it’s hard to use many words to gush over players, let’s instead nitpick them. Here are what NBA fans and scouts should keep their eye on when watching these guys.
Jimmer Fredette: Fredette put together two of his most Fredette-like games in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, scoring 32 and 34 points while shooting 23 and 25 shots and still getting assists. He’s a gunner, which isn’t a bad thing as much as a reality. BYU needs him to be a gunner and he does it well. Tonight, the big test is whether he can duplicate the kind of performance he had against Florida last year in the NCAA Tournament. Fredette had 37 points in a first-round win last season, but Florida’s defense is improved and its team in general is more balanced. Can Fredette star against a team that can run a number of guys at him? If the answer is yes, it’ll help his pro prospects.
Derrick Williams: Williams’ spectacular game-winning layup against Texas makes people forget that the Longhorns really held him in check most of the game. He shot just 4-14, struggling against the length of Tristan Thompson, and also missed six free throws. Against Duke, Williams will need to be more aggressive for Arizona to win. His game is all about efficiency, but he needs to attack Duke’s big men and not settle like he did against Texas. NBA scouts will certainly be impressed if he can stamp his mark on the game earlier than the final seconds.
Kemba Walker: Walker was his usual spectacular self in the first two rounds, but San Diego State will be an interesting challenge. The Aztects have the nation’s second-best defense, and they do it with a team effort that closes off driving lanes. Walker’s strength, of course, is finding driving lanes and getting himself space to take any shot. If he can do it against a team as tough defensively as San Diego State, it bodes well for his ability to do it against pro defenses.
Kahwi Leonard: By contrast, Leonard disappeared far too often in the Aztects first two games, and that must change. Connecticut doesn’t have a ton of big names to stop him, but they are solid and they do their job. Leonard needs to be more assertive, especially driving to the basket. Leonard shot just six free throws in 46 minutes against Temple, and that’s not enough if he wants to be a wing scorer in the pros.
Kyrie Irving: Irving clearly looked out of rhythm in Duke’s two wins last weekend, but he did make a huge play to seal the game over Michigan. He also got to the free throw line 10 times, as many of his quick drives that would have been layups before his injury were instead ending in fouls. In this game against Arizona, Irving needs to start turning those drives into layups like they were earlier in the season. The problem? He may not get a ton of opportunities to do so, given the rhythm the Blue Devils have developed with Nolan Smith leading the charge.
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