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Many college basketball teams that punch their ticket to March Madness get there with the help of players who cemented themselves as starts well before the NCAA Tournament got underway. However, it’s also served as a platform that’s thrust some previously unheralded names into the spotlight.
These relatively unknown college basketball players took full advantage of their March Madness opportunity
The NCAA Tournament has a tendency to spawn at least a couple of players who will end up being remembered as March Madness legends due to their performance. That includes these guys who found themselves thrust into the spotlight at some point since the start of the century.
Jai Lewis—George Mason
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George Mason was a true Cinderella, beating power programs like North Carolina and UConn en route to the Final Four as an 11-seed in 2006. Big forward Jai Lewis was a fan favorite on a team that featured balanced scoring, and put up 20 points in the team’s miraculous Elite Eight upset win over the Huskies.
Luke Hancock—Louisville
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Louisville was no Cinderella story in 2013, as they were a #1 seed in the tournament that year.
However, it looked like they would finish as the runner-up in the national championship game against Michigan until Luke Hancock caught fire in the National Championship Game against Michigan. He hit four straight three-pointers to get the Cardinals back into the game, and he finished with 22 points in the 82-76 victory.
Ali Farokmanesh—Northern Iowa
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The Kansas Jayhawks were considered by many to be the favorite to win it all heading into the NCAA Tournament in 2010.
However, Ali Farokmanesh had other ideas, as he hit a dagger three-pointer in the final minute of Northern Iowa’s historic Round of 32 upset.
Doug Edert—Saint Peter’s
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15th-seeded Saint Peter’s was an afterthought heading into the 2022 tournament. However, they knocked off two powerhouses by beating Kentucky and Purdue en route to the Elite Eight.
Doug Edert was the star for the Peacocks. He scored 20 points against the Wildcats, including the game-tying free throws to send the first-round game to overtime.
Max Abmas—Oral Roberts
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Abmas was as good of a scorer as anyone in the country in 2021, and he showed that by racking up a total of 55 points in his team’s wins over Ohio State and Florida to make the Sweet 16 as a #15 seed.
TJ Sorrentine—Vermont
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Vermont was sneaky-good in 2005, as Sorrentine and forward Taylor Coppermouth formed a fantastic duo. It’s Sorrentine who is best remembered for hitting a 30-footer with just over a minute left in overtime in the team’s upset win over Syracuse.
Thomas Walkup—Stephen F. Austin
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Walkup was an all-around stud on a fourteenth-seeded Stephen F. Austin team that was frankly under-seeded heading into the tournament in 2016. He scored 33 points in an upset win over Bob Huggins and West Virginia in the first round.
Kris Jenkins—Villanova
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The 2016 Villanova team had a bunch of impact players, Jenkins being one of them.
He hit arguably the most famous shot in NCAA Championship Game history, knocking down a 30-footer to win the title just seconds after UNC’s Marcus Paige hit a circus shot to tie the game after a furious Tar Heel comeback.
Juan Dixon—Maryland
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Dixon was the best player on Maryland’s national title team in 2002. Alongside Steve Blake, he formed one of the best title-winning backcourts in recent memory, and averaged over 25 points per game in the team’s tournament run.
R.J. Hunter—Georgia State
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R.J Hunter and his dad Ron (Georgia State’s coach) gave us one of the all-time great tournament moments in 2015. RJ hit a deep game-winning three to upset third-seeded Baylor in the first round.
The shot sent his dad, who had an injured foot and was sitting on a stool, to the ground in jubilation.