The Best of the Big Dance

Beasley clearly the best player, while Bruins boasts the strongest starting five

To help you fill out your March Madness bracket, here's a list of the some best players, groups and teams in the Big Dance.

 

Best Player: Kansas State F Michael Beasley.

And it isn't close. In fact, if North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough wins any major "Player of the Year" award over Beasley, well, it's ridiculous, a stew of ESPN/CBS hype, ACC elitism and, arguably, implicit racism. Hansbrough is apparently the "face" of college basketball, which is to say ESPN and CBS likes him. Immaterial. To me, his style of play is about as appealing as Dennis Rodman. Also immaterial. Hansbrough is active, irritating and terrific.

He just ain't Beasley.

Beasley's game is both powerful and effortless; he has a gift for snaking his arms around and between defenders for difficult shots while maintaining rare body control, as if invisible water keeps him buoyant amidst human traffic. His jump shot is not just passable, it's gorgeous and nearly unblockable.

Hansbrough, meanwhile, is the beneficiary of generous referees. He's made 40 more free throws than any other player in Division I, in part because he's good at it (83.1 percent) and in part because taken 20 more free throws than anyone in Division I. How does a guy nicknamed "Psycho T" also double as the most physically abused guy in college basketball?

Amidst Division I's top 20 players in free throw attempts, you'll only find three from BCS Conferences: Hansbrough (321), Indiana guard Eric Gordon (259) and Beasley (256).

Gordon plays in the gulag known as the Big Ten, where hacking is practiced and encouraged. And because of his shooting prowess, Beasley draws fouls from all over the court. Hansbrough has a range of about 15 feet - he does not shoot 3-pointers.

Is it a credit to his relentless work ethic? Is it a credit to quick whistles? Hard to say. Hansbrough's always been a lightning rod for fouls, even when the more talented Brendan Wright played next to him in 2007. Free throws accounted for 34 percent of his points last year, and 36 percent this year. Free throws only accounted for 24 percent of Beasley's points.

Still, pundits will claim that Hansbrough's numbers (23.1 points per game, 10.5 rebounds) are close enough to Beasley's (26.5 and 12.5) that the "intangibles scorecard" must be used, and it is heavily in favor of Hansbrough. Well, over a 30-game schedule, 3.4 points and 2 rebounds balances out to 102 points and 60 rebounds - a whole game's worth of production. Throw 1.4 more blocks, and that's another potential 42 points Beasley was worth.

Still think they're close? Fine. Consider their conferences.

Beasley plays in the Big 12. Six teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Eight were among the top 150 in scoring defense, including three in the top 50. The average scoring defense, out of 341 teams, was 116.5.

Hansbrough played in the ACC. Four teams advanced. Just one team - Virginia Tech - was among the top 150 in scoring defense. The average scoring defense is 205 out of 341 teams.

Put Beasley in the ACC, and he might have averaged 30, 32 points.

Still think they're close?

Runners up: UCLA's Kevin Love, Texas' D.J. Augustin, Hansbrough

Best shooter: Vanderbilt F Shan Foster

Foster's gone mostly unnoticed during his four years, but he's one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in recent years. No shot is too deep. Few defenders can bother him. He'll 15 of them, if he has to - if that what it takes for the Commodores to win. That kind of boldness is impressive.

Runners up: Davidson's Stephen Curry, Tennessee's Chris Lofton, Drake's Josh Young.

Best Grinder: Hansbrough.

Is he a little overrated? A bit, considering his range is all of 15 feet. Is it a little too ironic that a guy nicknamed "Psycho T" is also, apparently, the most physically abused player in college basketball, taking 20 more foul shots than any other player during the regular season? Yeah. But Hansbrough works hard to earn the generosity of referee's whistles. Just ask all the basketball analysts. No, seriously - the kid's good for the game, on a team that's fun to watch.

Runners up: Pittsburgh forward Sam Young, Indiana's D.J. White, Georgia's Sundiata Gaines, Temple's Dionte Christmas, Drake's Adam Emmenecker

Best Big Man: Stanford C Brook Lopez

He may disappear at times, but his game is reminiscent of a young Tim Duncan, the way he works around defenders with arms and plays heady defense. He has to stay out of foul trouble, though.

Runners up: Love, Georgetown's Roy Hibbert, Notre Dame's Luke Harangody.

Best Point Guard: Augustin

By a hair over Collison, and here's why: Augustin can create his shot out of nothing. On the drive, off a weak screen, away from the ball - Augustin is instant offense. And his passing skills are equal to any player in college basketball. He's a coach on the floor. Since UT Coach Rick Barnes doesn't exactly demand great defense, Augustin is not Collison's equal in that area.

Runners up: Collison, Rose

Biggest enigma: Kansas G Brandon Rush

He's got a textbook jump shot, great range, long arms, and deceptive quickness for his size. And yet Rush, averaging 12 points, is often too content to park himself outside the 3-point line and await kick-out passes from teammates Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson. At times he won't grind - he's only taken 67 free throws all season. He won't consistently mix it up and fight for rebounds. But then he has games, like his recent 28-point outing against Texas A&M, that proves he's capable of taking the Jayhawks on his back.

Runners up: Georgetown's Hibbert, Mayo at USC, UConn's whole team, Duke's Gerald Henderson, Michigan State's Drew Neitzel.

Best 1-2 punch: UCLA G Darren Collison and Love

Collison (14.7 points and 4.0 assist per game) is experienced point guards who draws fouls, makes free throws and can beat almost any opposing defender in a "clear-out" set. He's also a surprisingly disciplined shooter. Love, meanwhile, is an agile, clever freshman who can face the basket or play with his back to it. The two of them, surrounded by a wealth of aggressive athletes, make the Bruins a tough matchup.

Runners up: Indiana's Eric Gordon and D.J. White, Tennessee's Chris Lofton and Tyler Smith, Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose, George Mason's Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas.

Best backcourt: Memphis

One could classify senior Chris Douglas-Roberts (17.2 points and 4.2 rebounds) as a forward, but officially he's a guard, and he certainly has the skills of one. "CDR" is a terrific garbage collector, and he works well in traffic. Point Derrick Rose is a muscular, aggressive freshman who puts his head down, bulls into the lane and draws fouls. Doesn't take a lot of fouls, either. Antonio Anderson, Doneal Mack, Willie Kemp and Andre Allen are all spot shooters and can get hot from 3-point range.

Runners up: The lightning quick Kansas quartet, Drake's fearless bunch, the young-but-brilliant gang at USC, the D.J. Augustin-led Texas group, the run-and-gun units at and North Carolina and Tennessee, and the controlled, heady trio at Wisconsin.

Best Frontcourt: Stanford

And UCLA can make a pretty good argument of its own, considering the Bruins swept the Cardinal during the regular season. But Stanford's twin towers, Brook and Robin Lopez, are the sole reason this team has a puncher's chance in the NCAA Tournament; combined, they average 30 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. Lawrence Hill and Taj Finger are mid-size guys who gobble up minutes, fouls and loose balls.

Runners up: A big, defensive-minded unit at UCLA, the giants at Connecticut, the multi-talented bunch at Vanderbilt and the high scorers at Notre Dame.

Most Depth: Tennessee

Not that it matters that much - Florida, after all, won two straight national title playing little more than seven guys, not mention UCLA, who reached the Final Four with much the same makeup - but the Volunteers can play nine or 10 guys. Given Bruce Pearl's harried style, they probably need to. Kansas consistently plays eight guys, and can go to nine. Duke does the same.

Grittiest Team: Pittsburgh

The Panthers have battled through key injuries and a tough slate in the Big East to win the conference tournament title despite not having a key player taller than 6-7. Pitt can win at just about any tempo, isn't afraid to mix it up and coach Jamie Dixon knows how to steal minutes with bench player to save his starters for the endgame. Pitt's got the look for a Sweet 16/Elite Eight kind of run.

Runners up: Duke, Drake, Kentucky, Georgia, Butler and Georgetown.

Best Starting Five: UCLA

All things considered, the initial unit that the Bruins typically put out on the floor - Collison, Love, guard Russell Westbrook, forward Josh Shipp and forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute - is the best tip-off roster of any team. That five has everything: Shooting, size, aggression, experience, versatility, savvy, toughness and speed. And some mean defensive attitude.

Runners up: Memphis comes closest, but the tie goes the team that's actually made it to the Final Four two straight years. On a given night, maybe Kansas is better. If the shots are falling, maybe North Carolina is. Texas won almost 30 games as, essentially, a six-man team.

 

Email Samuel McKewon at sam@ne.statepaper.com

 

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