March Madness Megastars to Watch in 2023 Conference Tournaments
By the end of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, more than 75 percent of teams and likely more than half of the sport's brightest stars will be eliminated.
So the time to start watching those stars is now, during the channel-flipping chaos known as conference tournament season.
We'll tackle the six major conferences first, in alphabetical order, followed by a few mid-majors and one wild card to capture a couple of the best players from the other 23 leagues.
For each league, we're going to give you one soon-to-be NBA draft pick to monitor, as well as one player who is much more of a veteran college basketball legend than a guy we expect to see in an NBA All-Star Game some day.
Both are well worth your time, and for each category of player, it may well be one of your last opportunities to watch them compete at the collegiate level.
Statistics current through the start of play Thursday March 2.
Atlantic Coast Conference
1 of 10
Potential First-Round Pick: Dariq Whitehead, Duke
This season hasn't been the pit stop to the NBA that Whitehead had in mind.
He missed a combined total of eight games between two leg injuries and an illness and has never quite looked the part of the No. 3 overall recruit in this year's class. But he has also emerged as a better three-point shooter than advertised coming out of high school, which is a tantalizing addition to the arsenal of a guy who was expected to be more of a slasher and mid-range pull-up guy.
And, who knows, maybe the ACC tournament will be where he unleashes that potential and reasserts himself as a lottery pick.
College Star: Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest
A sixth-year senior who recently eclipsed 2,000 career points, Appleby got his start at Cleveland State, transferred to Florida and transferred again to Wake Forest, where he has become the total package, averaging career-best marks in points, assists and steals per game with the Demon Deacons.
Appleby has scored in double figures in 21 consecutive games, doling out at least six assists in 16 of those contests. It's unlikely he'll edge out North Carolina's Armando Bacot or Duke's Kyle Filipowski for ACC POY, but he's a deserving candidate.
Wake Forest likely needs to win the ACC tournament in order to get into the NCAA tournament. But if the version of Appleby who torched North Carolina for 35 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds shows up in Greensboro, watch out for this potential bid thief.
Big 12 Conference
2 of 10
Potential First-Round Pick: Keyonte George, Baylor
Could also easily go with Kansas' Gradey Dick here, as both Big 12 freshmen are likely to be lottery picks in a few months. But since we'll be highlighting another Kansas player momentarily, let's spread the love around and strongly recommend watching Baylor's star guard.
George suffered an ankle sprain in the recent win over Texas and missed Monday's game against Oklahoma State, but it sounds like a mild injury and he should be good to go for the Big 12 tournament. And if that microwave scorer is reasonably healthy, he could put on quite a show in Kansas City.
George has put up at least 20 points on a dozen occasions, maxing out at 32 in a road win over West Virginia. And though things unraveled after the intermission in the game at Kansas two weeks ago, he was playing out of his mind for the first 20 minutes on the road against one of the favorites to win the national championship.
College Star: Jalen Wilson, Kansas
The Jayhawks lost Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, David McCormack, Remy Martin, Mitch Lightfoot and Jalen Coleman-Lands after winning the title last year, but Wilson blossoming from a key starter into a National Player of the Year candidate has kept the Jayhawks from missing a beat.
Wilson's scoring has tapered off a bit in recent weeks as his teammates—Dick, in particular—have picked up some slack, but the fourth-year junior has scored at least 20 in 16 games, putting the team on his back, when necessary.
He's also leading the team in rebounding and has nine double-doubles, which is mighty impressive for a 6'8" combo forward.
Big East Conference
3 of 10
Potential First-Round Pick: Cam Whitmore, Villanova
Much like Dariq Whitehead at Duke, Whitmore was injured to start the season, missing the first seven games with a thumb injury. And though there have been occasional flashes of greatness, we haven't seen him string together three consecutive strong performances yet this season.
By all accounts, though, he's going to be a lottery pick, and likely a top-half-of-the-lottery pick, as he has the talent to take over a game at any given moment.
With any luck, he's saving his best for last, and he's going to put on a show at Madison Square Garden on par with what Isaiah Whitehead did for Seton Hall back in 2016.
College Star: Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Two years ago, Kolek was a shooting guard at George Mason. But after transferring from the A-10 to the Big East and shifting to point guard, he has become one of the most prolific primary ball-handlers in the nation.
He is still a good shooter. Even better than he was at GMU, in fact, connecting on greater than 39 percent of his perimeter attempts. But now he's averaging close to eight assists per game, running one of the nation's most efficient offenses.
He only has a few double-doubles, though, two of them against DePaul. He had 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the first matchup with the Blue Demons, and then went for 22 points with 14 dimes this past weekend. He subsequently had 21 and 10 in the win over Butler that clinched an outright regular-season title.
He did have 11 assists against both Purdue and Baylor in nonconference play, but he didn't become a consistently assertive scorer until mid-January—9.0 PPG through his first 18 games and 17.8 PPG since.
Big Ten Conference
4 of 10
Potential First-Round Pick: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Indiana
Michigan's Jett Howard might get drafted before JHS, but the freshman star of the Wolverines has been out recently with an ankle injury, while Hood-Schifino just had one of the best performances of the entire season.
Hood-Schifino walked into Mackey Arena and lit up Purdue for 35 points in polishing off a sweep of the Boilermakers. He also had 16 points and four assists in the first win, twice outplaying Purdue's backcourt well enough to make up for Zach Edey substantially outproducing Trayce Jackson-Davis in the paint.
JHS also had a 33-point game earlier this season against Northwestern. It almost feels inevitable that he'll go off in at least one game if the Hoosiers are going to make a deep run in this tournament (or in the subsequent, more important one).
College Star: Zach Edey, Purdue
The college star of all college stars.
Purdue has been sputtering to the finish line, but don't blame the big man who is going to win all of the National Player of the Year honors. Edey averaged 25.3 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in the Boilermakers' four February losses.
Edey has scored in double figures in every game played, amassing 22 double-doubles.
Go back in time 10-15 years and he would have been the no-doubt-about-it No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. But the pro game has changed so much that it's unclear if he'll even get drafted.
That might be great news for college basketball fans, though. (Well, college basketball fans who don't root for Big Ten teams other than Purdue.) Oscar Tshiebwe came back for another year after winning NPOY, and maybe Edey—who still has two years of eligibility remaining—will do the same.
Pac-12 Conference
5 of 10
Possible First-Round Pick: Kel'el Ware, Oregon
The Pac-12 has produced a lottery pick in 11 of the past 12 NBA drafts and at least one first-round pick in every year dating back to 1989. But a lottery pick is highly unlikely this year, and Ware is the only strong candidate to be taken in the first round.
Moreover, Ware's projected draft status is based way more on his potential than on anything he has shown in Eugene lately.
Ware hasn't started a game since early December, and he hasn't scored in double figures since getting to 10 points against Utah in early January.
All the same, it's not hard to see why NBA teams want him. He's 7'0" with legitimate three-point range and a plus shot-blocking presence in the paint.
College Star: Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA
Jaquez is one of those classic college stars who seems to have been around for a full decade and yet who just gets better with each passing season.
A present-day Perry Ellis, if you will.
With Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard out of the picture this year, Jaquez has become a more assertive scoring presence. Likewise, with Peyton Watson, Myles Johnson and Cody Riley no longer at UCLA, Jaquez has really stepped up his game both on the glass and on the defensive end of the floor—where UCLA has become an almost impenetrable force.
He's a borderline first-team/second-team All-American, but he's easily one of the most important players in the country. If UCLA is going to make another run to the Final Four, Jaquez will be at the forefront of it.
Southeastern Conference
6 of 10
Possible First-Round Pick: Nick Smith Jr., Arkansas
Quite a few different options here, as the SEC is liable to produce up to five lottery picks this year in Smith, Brandon Miller, Cason Wallace, Anthony Black and GG Jackson.
But Smith is the most intriguing of the bunch, because he's just now finally able to shine.
Arkansas' freshman phenom missed the first six games of the season with a knee injury, and played in just five nonconference games before returning to the shelf for nearly two full months. He's back now, though, and he scored 24 points while playing all 40 minutes of a three-point road loss to Alabama.
If he can remain healthy and continue to perform like that, there's still a good chance he'll be the first college player taken in the draft.
College Star: Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
People sort of forgot about the reigning National Player of the Year while Kentucky was floundering on the bubble, but Tshiebwe is back in the mix for first-team All-American honors now that Kentucky is back in the mix for a protected (top four) seed in the dance.
Tshiebwe has amassed 17 double-doubles, most notably the Herculean performance in the mid-January victory over Georgia in which he went for 37 points and 24 rebounds.
He has recorded at least 14 points or at least 14 rebounds in all but two games played since the beginning of December, and the two exceptions to the rule were, not coincidentally, the blowout losses to Alabama and Arkansas. When he has an off night, it's next to impossible for Kentucky to beat a competent foe.
American Athletic Conference
7 of 10
Potential First-Round Pick: Taylor Hendricks, UCF
You might have the entire NCAA tournament to watch Houston's star duo of Jarace Walker and Marcus Sasser, so we're going to give you two non-Cougars to keep an eye on during the AAC tournament.
The first is Hendricks, who continued to thrive in February while Walker seems to have hit the proverbial freshman wall in recent weeks. Granted, UCF hasn't been thriving, dropping hopelessly out of the at-large conversation after a 10-game stretch, in which it lost eight games. But Hendricks has scored at least a dozen points in all but one game played since New Year's Eve.
This 6'9" wing-forward is the prototypical player the NBA is looking for these days. He made multiple triples in each February game, but he's so much more than just a spot-up shooter. Hendricks is also a great defender, a plus rebounder and a player who can score from all over the court.
Feels like a guy who absolutely should be a lottery pick, but maybe he won't be because he plays at UCF. If that's the case, congratulations to the playoff team that gets to add this instant-impact player to its 2023-24 roster.
College Star: Kendric Davis, Memphis
So much Jameer Nelson in Kendric Davis.
The former star of SMU (who was formerly underutilized as a freshman at TCU) is going to finish his career with at least 2,200 points, 700 assists and 200 steals, and he has been so pivotal to Memphis' at-large dreams all season long.
Davis missed the first game against Houston, but he had a combined 80 points, 20 assists and nine steals during the three-game stretch against SEC foes Auburn, Alabama and Texas A&M back in December. He's going to show up in a big way for the regular season finale against the Cougars, and he may well be the MVP of the AAC tournament.
Mountain West Conference
8 of 10
Potential First-Round Pick: None
It's unlikely the Mountain West will produce a single draft pick this year, let alone a first-rounder. But it's not for lack of talent or production, so let's highlight two college stars here.
College Star No. 1: Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State
Losing David Roddy after last season was apparently more than Colorado State could handle. The Rams are going to enter the MWC tournament with a sub-.500 overall record.
But they still have one heck of a potent lead guard in Isaiah Stevens.
He missed the first seven games of the season with a foot injury, but he has scored in double figures in every game and has five points-assists double-doubles since making his return to the court.
Stevens had 23 points and five dimes in CSU's stunning upset of Saint Mary's, had 16 and 11 in taking San Diego State to overtime and put up 17 and 12 in a near win over Boise State. The Rams could be a bid thief if he's in his bag.
College Star No. 2: Jaelen House, New Mexico
Speaking of guys who played well against Saint Mary's and San Diego State, House had 17 points and six steals in New Mexico's road win over the Gaels, as well as 29 points, six rebounds and four steals when the Lobos went on the road and defeated the Aztecs.
Here's your fun fact of the day: New Mexico is 18-0 this season when House posts an O-rating of 106 or greater.
The Lobos probably need to win the MWC tournament in order to punch their ticket to the dance. But if House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. are doing their thing, anything's possible.
West Coast Conference
9 of 10
Potential First-Round Pick: Maxwell Lewis, Pepperdine
Don't blink or you'll miss him.
Pepperdine had the worst record in WCC play and is probably going to lose its Thursday night conference tournament opener against Pacific.
But with any luck, Lewis will at least put on a show on his way out the door as possibly the first non-freshman college player taken in the 2023 NBA draft.
In the first meeting with Pacific, Lewis matched a career high with 30 points and set a career high with 14 rebounds. He also had 20 points in each of Pepperdine's two games against Gonzaga.
His shooting percentages have dropped off a cliff over the past six weeks as WCC foes have put all of their eggs in the "don't let Lewis beat us" basket. He still scores in double figures far more often than not, though.
College Star: Drew Timme, Gonzaga
Speaking of career highs set against Pacific, Timme scored 38 of his nearly 2,200 career points in Gonzaga's lone meeting with the Tigers this season.
It was one of 14 times that Timme scored at least 22 points in (what might be?) his final collegiate campaign.
If you haven't watched much WCC action this season, now's the time to get reacquainted with the star big man who has eclipsed 20 points in seven of Gonzaga's last eight NCAA tournament games.
Other Conferences
10 of 10
Possible First-Round Pick: DaRon Holmes II, Dayton
Maybe put Emoni Bates here if Eastern Michigan manages to qualify for the Mid-American Conference tournament, where only the top eight teams earn a spot in the quarterfinals. But with Dayton guaranteed at least one conference tournament game, we're going with Holmes.
The Flyers have disappointed since opening the season in the AP Top 25, but this big sophomore has done his darnedest to keep them pointed in the right direction.
He's averaging 18.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, but there was a seven-game winning streak from mid-December through mid-January in which he put up 25.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. And he seems to be on another one of those hot streaks as of late.
College Star: Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy and Darius McGhee, Liberty
I can't decide between the two, and Tuesday night was a great reminder why.
McGhee shot 9-of-11 from the field and 8-of-10 from beyond the arc... in the first half of a win over Bellarmine. He's up to 148 made three-pointers on the season, closing in on Steph Curry's single-season record of 162.
So is Davis, though, who put up 38 points in a win over Purdue Fort Wayne. At 155 triples, not only could he break Curry's single-season record in his next game, but he's 25 points away from passing Pete Maravich for first place on the all-time points leaderboard.
Watch them both play Thursday night if you can. But if you have to choose between the two, go with Davis in the game against Youngstown State that Detroit Mercy is probably going to lose, and plan to watch McGhee in the A-Sun title game on Sunday.
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