NCAA Tournament 2014: The 10 Most Underrated Players

With the NCAA College Basketball Tournament set to begin this week, I've decided to take a look at the 10 most underrated players in the tournament. 

While watching Cinderella teams knock off powerhouse programs is perhaps the most exciting aspect of March Madness, witnessing talented players finally receive the recognition they deserve on their sport's biggest stage has to be a close second.

In choosing whom to put on this list, I attempted to find a balance between the fairly unknown players who deserve some national recognition and the somewhat known players who simply aren't getting enough.

All of the players on the list have the potential to break out during the tournament, and I expect at least a few of them to do just that.

I love you, March Madness!

10. Chaz Williams, Massachusetts

Stats: 15.8 ppg, 7.0 apg, 1.6 spg

Without Chaz Williams, there is no telling where the Minutemen would be right now. He's the driving force behind everything that they do, setting the tempo with his quickness (very few players are capable of pulling off that double step back move in the video above) and feeding ability.

Often times, when we think of small point guards (Williams is 5'9", 170 pounds) we assume they are Nate Robinson-type players with the ability to get to the rim and score in bunches. While Williams definitely possesses that ability, it's his passing that has led Massachusetts to the NCAA Tournament.

He averaged the third-most assists per game in the entire country this season and had five games with 10+ assists.

If the Minutemen can surprise some people and advance to the Sweet Sixteen or further, America is going to fall in love with this tough and talented senior point guard. 

Here's a great video about Woodson that I highly recommend watching.

9. Langston Galloway, Saint Joseph's

Stats: 17.5 ppg, 43.9 field goal percentage, 43.9 three-point field goal percentage

Langston Galloway isn't a stud athlete or a spectacular scorer, but boy, can he shoot the ball.

While his three-point field goal percentage doesn't blow you away (43.9% ranks 67th in the nation), there is a much more telling statistic that does.

Among the 20 players who have attempted the most three-pointers this season, Galloway has the second highest three-point field goal percentage. 

In other words, he is both a volume shooter from distance, and an efficient one. That's special.

He also leads Saint Joseph's in scoring and steals. He'll be the key to the Hawks advancing. 

8. Shawn Long, Louisiana-Lafayette

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Long is one of two legitimate NBA prospects for 14th seeded Louisiana-Lafayette

Stats: 18.7 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 52.4 field goal percentage

In the case of Shawn Long, it's more about being unknown than being underrated. In fact, he's so unknown that I couldn't even find a solid highlight video to post here for him.

If he plays up to his potential in the tournament, that should change.

Only 16 players averaged double-digits in points and rebounds this season, and of those 16, only three—Long, Julius Randle and Jarnell Stokes—are in the NCAA tournament.

Just a sophomore, Long still has a ways to go to reach his full potential, but he and teammate, Elfrid Payton, possess NBA-type potential.

A strong showing in the tournament would definitely solidify him as a player to watch heading into next season. 

7. Jordan Bachynski, Arizona State

Stats: 11.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.1 bpg

The Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Year has mastered the art of blocking shots. Not only does he lead the nation in blocks per game, but his 132 total blocks are more than the total blocks of 223 Division 1 teams.

Bachynski's defense prowess, in addition to his developing offensive game, have turned him into a legit NBA prospect over the course of the season. With an impressive NCAA Tournament, there's no telling how high his draft stock could potentially rise.

Attention Texas Longhorns: Work on your high-arching floaters before your first-round matchup with the Sun Devils.

6. Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin

Stats: 13.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 52.4 field goal percentage

Have you ever heard of Kaminsky? If you haven't, lie and tell all your friends you have because he's about to become a household name.

A lot of analysts have Wisconsin advancing pretty far this year and Kaminsky's a big reason why. He's a matchup nightmare at 7-foot with the ability to shoot the three ball, plus he was one of the most efficient players in the nation this season (his 29.73 PER rating was eighth-best in D-1).

Looking at the potential opponents for Wisconsin on their road to the Final Four, there are maybe one or two teams that will be able to matchup with Kaminsky. All the others will just have to hope he doesn't come to play.

With a coach like Bo Ryan, I wouldn't bet on that.

5. Tyler Haws, Brigham Young

Stats: 23.4 ppg, 41.1 three-point field goal percentage, 88.0 percent free throw percentage

People expected a lot out of BYU this season, but early season losses to Loyola Marymount, Pacific and Pepperdine quieted the buzz around the team. 

The Cougars' underwhelming performance at times this season also seems to have steered the attention away from Tyler Haws, who is one of the best pure scorers in America. 

He is the nation's sixth-leading scorer and has put up seven 30+ point games, including a 48-point performance against Portland (video above).

Can he lead BYU to the Sweet Sixteen? If he gets hot, I don't see why not.

4. Perry Ellis, Kansas

Stats: 13.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 55.7 field goal percentage

On a team with Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, it is understandable how a player like Perry Ellis could get overlooked. However, if Kansas makes a deep NCAA Tournament run, it will be because of Ellis.

Every young team needs a veteran presence, and that is exactly what Perry Ellis has been for the Jayhawks all season. He's reliable, he's consistent and he lets his play do the talking.

While Wiggins and Embiid have supplied the majority of the highlights and have generated much of the hype around Kansas, it has been Ellis who has quietly made them title contenders. 

Can he take Kansas to the promised land? If Embiid's back injury limits his productivity, the Jayhawks are going to need Ellis more than ever.

3. Markel Brown

Stats: 17.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.9 apg

Most people around the country know Markel Brown solely because of his frequent appearances on Sportscenter's Top Ten Plays. He's an incredible dunker.

He's a heck of a basketball player, too. When Marcus Smart got suspended after his altercation with a fan in a game against Texas Tech, Brown became the Cowboys' number one guy. Though Oklahoma State lost all three games during Smart's suspension, it sure wasn't Brown's fault. 

During that span he averaged 23.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 4.7 apg.

If Oklahoma State makes a run in the tourney, they'll need Markel Brown to score. Now that he's experienced being the go-to guy during Smart's absence, he should have no problem being aggressive and doing just that.  

So yeah, I am kind of saying the Marcus Smart suspension was the best thing that could have possibly happened to this team.

Now they have two studs with the confidence to take over a game.

2. Caris LeVert, Michigan

Stats: 13.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.6 apg

While Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III have been getting the majority of the attention in Ann Arbor this season, it has been Caris LeVert who has quietly helped Michigan thrive after losing Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. to the NBA and Mitch McGary to an early season back injury.

He's second on the team in minutes played, second in scoring, second in rebounding, second in assists and first in steals (not counting McGary's stats from the eight games he played in).

LeVert has also had some huge games this season, including a 23-point performance in a win against Michigan State and 24 in a loss to Duke. 

If Michigan hopes to get back to the National Championship game, the Wolverines will need at least one big game out of LeVert to get there.

1. T.J. Warren, North Carolina State

Stats: 24.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 52.5 field goal percentage

Despite winning the ACC Player of the Year award, T.J. Warren is incredibly underrated.

I understand the attention Doug McDermott has gotten all season due to his incredible body of work and the records he seems to break each week, but why has Warren gotten so little? 

Let's compare the two.

Player	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	3-PT FG%	Usage Rate	PER
Warren	24.8 (third in the nation)	7.2	1.1	52.5	27.7	28.0 (highest in the nation)	32.06 (fourth-best)
McDermott	26.9 (first in the nation)	7.0	1.6	52.5	45.4	27.8 (second-highest)	33.68 (best)

So let me get this straight...while McDermott is the unanimous favorite to win National Player of the Year, a player who puts up eerily similar numbers to him (outside of three-point percentage) isn't even included on Sports Illustrated's Second-Team All-America team, let alone First-Team?!

Many people have argued all season long that NC State's mediocrity has hurt the public perception of Warren, and that's fair. However, now that the Wolfpack are in the NCAA Tournament, it's the perfect time for T.J. to make all those critics bite their tongues.

Watch out for this dude.