Sadly, the NCAA Tournament is over. Gone. Gone Baby Gone like that girl Morgan Freeman scooped up in that movie. That does not mean there’s no time left to discuss the fallout of the Big Dance. Not just who won it all, either. Rather, multiple aspects and angles which would go unnoticed or left untouched if not discussed on a platform like this.
You can find Part I of our NCAA Tournament In Review series, by Matt Zemek, right here.
Today we are talking about players that impressed and disappointed in the NCAA Tournament. Not exactly who helped or hurt their draft stock, either. More of a look at guys who played above or below ability when the madness hit.
It should be noted, though, that is relatively unfair what I am doing. Players who were perceived as being better going into the NCAA Tournament can wind up being deemed as being a disappointment. That would be solely because the bar was set so high for them.
The complete opposite could be said for players who will be tabbed as being impressive. Some, not all, will be guys who many assumed to be just solid players. Nothing spectacular, but a low enough set of expectations were put on them that above-average play may have hurled them in the impressive list.
Also, players for teams who lost early in the NCAA Tournament have a harder time to impresses, but a much easier time to show disappointment. The opposite, as with everything is mentioned, is true as well. Alas, that is the world in which we live in.
Hooray, disclaimers!
Players That Impressed
Grayson Allen
Of course Grayson Allen is on this list. I wrote about him in detail earlier in the week already. Allen had a really solid tournament, but it was actually in the championship game he made the hugest impact. With Duke down and their offense struggling, Allen played with a good kind of reckless abandon.
When it was all said and done, the freshman scored 16 points and ended up being one of the pivotal Blue Devils players — alongside Tyus Jones — to help Coach K earn his fifth national title.
Allen’s success has, unfortunately, resulted people speaking about him in terms of the NBA Draft now, though. That is, you know, not ideal.
Tyus Jones
This isn’t going to be just Duke players. I swear. We are just getting them out of the way.
Jones, like Allen, was really key in the title game. He did struggle a bit earlier in the tournament, but only ended up having eight turnovers in the six Blue Devils games.
Obviously his 19 points in the second half the title game is what will be remembered the most.
Frank Kaminsky
Kaminsky had a great tournament. From the Elite Eight on, the senior scored at least 20 points in each of his team’s games. He also managed to regularly destroy Jahil Okafor whenever the presumed top-two NBA Draft pick was guarding him.
Call it sneaky athleticism (code!), his ability to stretch the floor by hitting from distance, or footwork that would make a ballerina proud, Kaminsky somehow managed to take advantage of the stage he was on and increase his value as a player.
It could be argued that Kaminsky had that best NCAA Tournament of anyone who participated. His team didn’t win it all, though. So all might be lost in the battle of putting his performances on any all-time great NCAA Tournament performance slideshows.
Zach Auguste
Augueste had his best game in the NCAA Tournament against the best set of big men in the country. In Notre Dame’s game against Kentucky, Auguste scored 20 manly points and grabbed nine beastly rebounds.
That wasn’t all of his excellence, though. Auguste also had a solid outing against Wichita State. In that match-up he managed to score 15 points in just 26 minutes of action.
Obviously it will be the Kentucky game that stands out. For good reason too. He wasn’t alone in taking the Wildcats to the brink, but falling just short. Regardless, they wouldn’t have almost knocked them off it weren’t for Auguste playing well above his capabilities.
Players Who Disappointed
J.P. Tokoto
This was tough. Tokoto didn’t exactly play below his average or anything. Maybe it is our fault for having expected too much out of him.
In three NCAA Tournament games Tokoto only managed to break double-figures once. He did do other things well. The junior rebounded and had a solid assist-to-turnover ratio. It was not all bleak.
Still, while North Carolina may have actually overachieved in the Big Dance, Tokoto was given a platform to show he deserved the hype he had previously received. Fair or unfair (it is unfair), he didn’t manage to live up to our expectations.
Stanley Johnson
Another brutal decision. And, again, this has more to do with us than him.
Johnson was a non-factor in Arizona’s loss to Wisconsin in the Elite Eight. That would be a pretty solid reason to hurl him in this section alone. But that wasn’t his lone game of disappointment.
He only scored four points against Ohio State (did manage to grab 10 boards), and somewhat struggled to find a rhythm against Xavier.
It is worth noting that those two games weren’t huge deals since ‘Zona won. But the loss coupled with Johnson’s performance against a good Wisconsin team is what landed Johnson in this group.
Ryan Arcidiacono
Somebody from Villanova had to make the list, right? It could have been a few different guys here, but I went with one of the upperclassmen instead of hurling negative adjectives towards a youngster.
It was Nova’s loss to NC State which Arcidiacono looked wretched. 2-8 from the field, only four assists, while battling foul trouble throughout the game, the junior didn’t help the Wildcats at all in their three point loss.
This really could have been a number of different guys. It is weird to single-out a guy who isn’t a world-beater, but his performance against the NC State really helped the notion that there is something wrong with Villanova come tourney time.
Everyone Who Didn’t Win
It is a perception game. If you win all the games, then you are awesome. On the opposite side, if you lose or lose early, then you are the worst thing since Jenny McCarthy was given a platform to talk about health issues.
Honestly, there are a ton of other guys who could have been hurled in the players who impressed section. Although, say a guy like Sam Dekker was put in that group after a good NCAA Tournament but a bad title game, unless you win it all there would be room to debate the selection.
Same could be said for players who lost early. A guy scored 25 points in their first-round game? Great. But if the team lost then no one gives a darn.
This is the world we live in. Winners get the benefit of the doubt while the losers aren’t granted that luxury.