The NCAA basketball season is coming to a close. Only sixteen teams remain. Each team only needs four more wins to claim the championship. There is plenty of talent remaining in the tournament for those who enjoy watching NBA prospects. But I decided to list the players for each team that are the most important to their quest for a championship, as opposed to simply the most talented.

Aaron Harrison – Kentucky



Harrison’s game winning shot in last year’s Final Four (Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports)

Kentucky might be the hardest team to identify which individual player is the most important to their success. How do you pick one player out of a team made up of nine future NBA draft picks? You could make a good argument for just about any of them. Karl-Anthony Towns is probably the most talented of the group. Willie Cauley-Stein is the most important player for the Wildcats when they’re on defense. The offense runs through Tyler Ulis and Andrew Harrison. However, I would pick Andrew’s twin, Aaron, as Kentucky’s most important player. He led the team in scoring and minutes played this season. He just about single-handedly carried them to the championship game a year ago. If the team is struggling through a cold shooting night, Aaron almost always seems to hit a clutch shot to get his teammates going. I think they would struggle the most if they were to lose Aaron Harrison than any of the other stars.

Devin Williams – West Virginia

Coach Bob Huggins adopted the full-court press strategy this season when he saw the roster he had to work with. Out of the 13 players that saw substantial time for West Virginia, only four of them were taller than 6’7″. Huggins knew that with a team this small, he had to use it to his advantage. Implementing the press meant constant energy and effort out of everyone on the court. Therefore, only three players for West Virginia saw more than 22 minutes per game. One of those players was 6’9″ Devin Williams. For a player of Williams’ size to play more than 24 minutes per game at an energy level that high is insane. Williams is even more important to the Mountaineers because he leads the small team in rebounding. With a team whose average height is a little more than 6’3″, Williams big frame is extremely important. He may have never been as important as he will be on Thursday when they play Kentucky, the tallest team in the nation.

Jerian Grant – Notre Dame



How did Notre Dame go from a 15-17 team last year to a 31-5 record and ACC tournament champions this season? There was one key piece missing last season. Jerian Grant only played 12 games before being suspended for an academic issue. Grant came back this year with a vengeance. If it wasn’t for the consensus number one NBA draft pick being in the same conference, Grant would’ve won ACC player of the year with ease. Grant played nearly 37 minutes per game, led the team in scoring and finished with the seventh most assists in the entire nation. Notre Dame goes through Grant and they probably wouldn’t have made the tournament without him.

Fred Van Vleet – Wichita State

Out of the players remaining, Fred Van Vleet has the fourth highest points per game in the tournament with 22 a game. This is unexpected because Van Vleet only averaged 12.7 points per game during the regular season, which didn’t lead his team. He tied his career high in points with 27 in their first round game against Indiana. On top of his recent scoring streak, Van Vleet finished the season with a top ten assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation. This offense runs through Van Vleet, and when leading scorer Ron Baker has an off night, the Shockers turn to Van Vleet to provide a spark. He’s been that and then some this postseason.

Frank Kaminsky – Wisconsin



Photo: Todd Rosenburg for Sports Illustrated

The Naismith player of the year award should go to Kaminsky. Frank the Tank has been a force all season long for the Badgers. He had a 18.2/8.0/2.7 split (points/rebounds/assists) and 59.6/39.5/75.9 percentage split (FG/3PT/FT). For those keeping score at home, that is ridiculous. Everything Wisconsin does goes through Kaminsky. Defense’s entire game plans are to stop him, and they still fail. Other Badgers like Sam Dekker and Nigel Hayes get so many open looks because teams are so focused on Kaminsky. Frank missed only one game this season, and Wisconsin lost to the worst team in their conference in that game. No player is more important to their team than The Tank.

Brice Johnson – North Carolina

For any other game of the season, I would’ve picked Marcus Paige as the most important player for the Tar Heels. Paige leads the team in scoring and minutes, and UNC is a much better team when Paige is hitting his shots. This is because the Tar Heels get a combined 24.9 points out of their front court combination of Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks. However, Meeks is highly questionable for Thursday’s game against Wisconsin with a knee injury. Even if Meeks responds well in practice and suits up, he will more than likely be less than 100%. This makes Brice Johnson extremely important for North Carolina. Johnson now has less help to stop Kaminsky on defense and must make up for the 11.7 points per game and 7.5 rebounds that the team would lose without Meeks.

Dee Davis – Xavier

Xavier is a well balanced team. They have six players that average more than eight points per game. This makes it difficult to pick one as most important. I decided to go with Dee Davis, the team’s assist leader. When you have a team with so many scoring options, it is important to have a point guard that can distribute the ball to all of the scorers equally. Davis is the only Musketeer that plays more than 30 minutes a game. He is their primary ball-handler and the key to their success.

T.J. McConnell – Arizona



Photo: rushthecourt.net

McConnell is the backbone for this Arizona team. He is the lone senior in the Wildcats’ rotation and his leadership is vital to their success. He finished the season in the top ten in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. There are many talented mouths to feed on Arizona’s roster and McConnell makes sure they all get their opportunities. McConnell might be the only starter for Arizona that doesn’t see the NBA, but he is also the key reason they have an excellent shot at a championship.

Trevor Lacey – NC State

NC State might be the closest thing this Sweet Sixteen has to a Cinderella team. UCLA is the highest seeded team remaining, but NC State registered the biggest upset when they defeated top seeded Villanova. The Wolfpack had a very up and down season, but wins against top teams like Duke and North Carolina got them into the tournament. The team is full of talent, but it has been difficult at times for them to all mesh. Lacey, a transfer from Alabama, is the leading scorer and the team looks to him when they need a big shot. For the Wolfpack to have a chance at seeing the Elite Eight, Lacey needs to hit jump shots against the strong defense of Louisville.

Wayne Blackshear – Louisville

Blackshear is nowhere near the most talented player on Louisville. If you asked Louisville fans who the most frustrating player on the team is, they would probably yell Blackshear’s name before you could finish your question. In a way, this makes him the most important piece. When Blackshear’s game is on, Louisville can be as dangerous as any team in the nation. Since Chris Jones’ dismissal, the team has heavily relied on Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier, both of whom are NBA prospects. Blackshear is a senior that will never wear an NBA jersey, but if he steps his game up when defenses are keyed in on other players, then the Cardinals can get to the Final Four.

TaShawn Thomas – Oklahoma

Oklahoma is the home to the Big 12 player of the year, Buddy Hield. You would think the guy who was awarded as the best player in his conference would be the most important to his team, but I disagree. Hield is no doubt the most talented player on the team, but I think the Sooners have enough talent to make up for the scoring lost if Hield is shut down by an opposing defense. Last season, the Sooners were ousted in the first round. The difference this season is the addition of TaShawn Thomas. Thomas gives them another big body down low to offset the plethora of shooting Oklahoma has. Going against Michigan State and the beast that is Branden Dawson, Oklahoma needs all the size they can get.

Travis Trice and Branden Dawson- Michigan State



Photo: http://msutoday.msu.edu/

OK, I cheated. Instead of picking the one most important player for Sparty, I had to pick the two seniors that are playing in their fourth career Sweet Sixteen. Trice is the main ball-handler, leads the team in assists and is a deadly shooter that can spark the entire team. Dawson only stands at 6’6″, the average size for a small forward, but he’s an animal who plays like he’s 6’10”. He snags more than nine rebounds a game and brings an energy that nobody can imitate. If Michigan State makes the Final Four, it will be behind their senior leadership.

Quinn Cook – Duke

Jahlil Okafor is the consensus number one NBA draft pick and probably the most talented player in the nation. Tyus Jones runs the offense and led the team in assists. Justise Winslow is likely a top ten draft pick, plays excellent defense and brings energy to the entire team. So why is Cook my most important player for Duke? There’s one thing that sets him apart from Okafor, Jones and Winslow: he’s a senior. For as talented as those three guys are, Cook brings leadership and hits big shots to settle down his young teammates. He has made a three-point shot in a school record 45 straight games. To set a record at Duke for anything is crazy impressive. Cook plays the most minutes for Duke and their freshmen will look to him if they are in a tough spot during this tournament.

Delon Wright – Utah



Delon Wright is one of my favorite players in the tournament. He’s a senior leader that leads Utah in minutes, points, assists and he’s second in rebounds. Utah wouldn’t be close to where they are today without Wright. The only knock on Wright has been that he is too passive. Wright has boatloads of talent, but is constantly trying to set his teammates up. He has struggled to score so far in this tournament, but his ability to make the players around him better have kept the Utes alive. I expect him to have a big game against Duke. If not, Utah is in trouble.

Bryce Alford – UCLA

When Alford went to UCLA, nobody turned their head. He is the head coach’s son and many thought he only got the scholarship for that reason. He wasn’t highly ranked or recruited, but got to attend one of the most historic basketball schools because his father was the coach. Now in his sophomore season, Alford is the most important Bruin. In their first round game against SMU, Alford went 9-11(!!!) from the 3-point line and carried UCLA to the second round. Going into the second round, Alford knew the defense’s mission would be to stop him from shooting. So he let his teammates do the work and recorded five assists. Alford can beat teams single-handedly with his shooting and simultaneously opens up opportunities for his teammates.

Kevin Pangos – Gonzaga

Kyle Wiltjer had a dominant season for the Zags, but Pangos runs the show. Pangos is a senior that feels like he’s been at Gonzaga forever. He has started every game of his college career except one, which was the very first game of his freshman season. Pangos had the second best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation while shooting 44.4% from 3. Pangos is the backbone to Gonzaga and needs to play exceptional in order for Gonzaga to shake the overrated title they’ve carried all season long.

I think this would be good for Bleacher Report or Grantland.