City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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From No. 1 seeds to the last four-in, there is plenty of local talent to watch in this year’s NCAA Tournament. With the play-in games over. Here are the 18 area players to look out for in Thursday and Friday’s 32 games:

Brandon Randolph (Fr./Arizona)

Randolph looked like he might be a key piece for the Wildcats earlier this season. He played 20-or-more minutes seven times in a nine game stretch from Nov. 24 to Dec. 18, including four starts. However, the Westtown product saw 10-or-more minutes once in Arizona’s final eight contests. Still the 6-foot-6 guard is averaging 3.8 points and 11.7 minutes per game for a very talented Arizona squad that many expect to make some noise in the tourney. The No. 4 seed Wildcats start out with a game against No. 13 seed Buffalo at 9:40 p.m. on Thursday.

Horace Spencer (Jr./Auburn)

Spencer will be making his NCAA Tournament debut when the No. 4 seed Tigers take on No. 13 seed College of Charleston at 7:27 p.m. on Friday. The 6-foot-8 forward is averaging 4.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per contest. Spencer, who spent his first two high school seasons at William Tennent, became an even bigger part of the Tigers’ rotation down the stretch when the team’s leading shot blocker Anfernee McElmore went down with an injury. Spencer spent the team’s last five games in the starting lineup and expect him there again when the tournament starts.

Trevon Duval (Fr./Duke)

As expected, Duval has come in and made an immediate impact for a loaded Duke squad. Though he doesn’t have the star status of fellow freshmen Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter Jr., the Delaware product is fifth on the team in scoring at 9.9 ppg and first in assists with 5.5 apg. Duval has been quiet in the scoring category as of late, not reaching double figures since Feb. 18, but he tallied 11 assists in the Blue Devils’ win against Notre Dame in the ACC quarterfinals.  No. 2 seed Duke one of the favorites to make a title run will face No. 15 seed Iona at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday.

Quade Green (Fr./Kentucky)

Green and Duval play very similar roles for their respective teams. Another former five-star point guard, Green is one of the Wildcats’ primary ballhandlers. He’s averaging 9.6 ppg and 2.7 apg for Kentucky. The Neumann-Goretti product started 13 of his first 15 games but has come off the bench. That hasn’t done much to lessen Green’s role as he is still averaging 27 minutes per game. If Green and the No. 5 seed Wildcats can get past No. 13 seed Davidson in their first round game at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday, they could face Randolph and Arizona in the second round, in what would be a star-studded matchup.

Ja’Quan Newton (Sr./Miami)

Newton is fortunate enough to be making his third NCAA Tournament appearance with the Hurricanes. Though he shouldered a much larger load for Miami last season, the Neumann-Goretti product has put together another solid season, averaging 8.7 ppg. 2.7 apg and 2.5 rpg. With sophomore guard Bruce Brown Jr. expected to miss the tournament with a foot injury, the Hurricanes will rely on Newton’s experience even more if they want to make an NCAA run. No. 6 seed Miami has a tough first round matchup with No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago at 3:10 p.m. on Thursday.

Lonnie Walker (Fr./Miami)

An expected one-and-done, the Reading High School product came to the Hurricanes with very high expectations as a freshman. While the 6-foot-4 guard started slow, reaching double figures just four times in his first 15 games, he has reached the mark on 13 occasions in his last 16 contests. Walker is Miami’s leading scorer at 11.5 points per game. LIke Newton, with Brown out, the Hurricanes will likely need a big effort from Walker if he wants to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament before a likely first round NBA draft selection.

Ryan Betley (Soph./Penn)

After missing nine games with a hand injury to begin his freshman year last season, Betley played in 18 of Penn’s final 19 games, including 15 starts, averaging 11.8 ppg. The 6-foot-6 wing didn’t sneak up on anyone this year though as he finished the season averaging 14.5 ppg and added 4.6 rebounds per game as a 33.5 mpg starter. The Downingtown West product will be making his tournament debut on Thursday at 2 p.m. as the No. 16 seed Quakers take on No. 1 seed Kansas. Betley delivered for the Quakers in the Ivy League Championship, finishing with 17 points, knocking down two threes and hitting the foul shots to give Penn at three-point lead with seconds left. He will have to be at the top of his game, both offensively and defensively, if the Quakers want to be the first 16 seed ever to knock off a No.1.

Devon Goodman (Soph./Penn)

With Antonio Woods back in the mix and Caleb Wood having a breakout season, Goodman’s role hasn’t quite taken the expected jump in year two. The Germantown Academy alum is averaging four points and 1.5 assists in 14.1 minutes per contest. HIs offense has been relatively quiet this season with just three double-digit efforts in 24 games. However, he did drop a season-high 23 points against Columbia on Feb. 16. Penn coach Steve Donahue has used his rotation differently throughout the season, so who knows what kind of role the 6-foot guard might have in the team’s first round game against the Jayhawks.

Daron Russell (Fr./Rhode Island)

Russell, Imhotep Charter’s all-time leading scorer with 1,813 points, played more than 25 minutes just twice this season. But in his limited time off the bench on a guard-heavy team, the 5-10 guard has been incredibly efficient. Russell averages  6.5 pppg off the bench and is often looked to in big situations. In the Rams’ 90-87 Atlantic-10 Tournament semifinal victory over Saint Joseph’s, Russell scored 14 points, including three crucial threes down the stretch in the comeback win. In the quarterfinal against VCU, he added 11 points in 18 minutes of a nine-point win including a 3-for-6 shooting day from three. Russell’s teammates trust the 28.1 percent 3-point shooter to hit big shots and he will be a go-to guy if the Rams need a crucial three late in a tight game.

Izaiah Brockington (Fr./St. Bonaventure)

Brockington had an 18-point and 20-point performance early in the Bonnies’ season. He added a 16-point effort against St. Joe’s early in A-10 play. However, he’s seen less playing time as the conference slate has progressed. In his first season out of Archbishop Ryan, Brockington is averaging 4.3 ppg and 1.2 rpg in 33 games. St. Bonaventure started its NCAA Tournament in Dayton as one of the last four at-large teams to make it in. Brockington played nine minutes in the Bonnies’ win against UCLA. No. 11 seed St. Bonaventure will play its second tournament game on Thursday against No. 6 seed Florida. The Bonnies are one of the trendy upset picks in this year’s bracket.

Mohamed Bamba (Fr./Texas)

Another local five-star freshman, Bamba highlights the list of area alum. The 7-foot freshman center is averaging a double-double, 12.9 ppg and 10.4 rpg. With his 7-foot-10 wingspan, Bamba comes into the tournament as the country’s second leading shot blocker at 3.72 blocks per game. The former Westtown star has done a bit of everything for the Longhorns, which includes knocking down the occasional 3-pointer. He is 14-of-50 from 3-point range this season. Bamba and No. 10 seed Texas take on No. 7 seed Nevada on Friday. If the Longhorns are to get past the Wolfpack or even further, it will likely take a big performance from Bamba.

Mikal Bridges (Jr./Villanova)

Fresh off of winning the 2018 Big East Tournament’s most outstanding player, Bridges is looking to add another accolade to his impressive collegiate resume: Two-time National Champion. The quest for Bridges’ second title in three years begins on Thursday night as No. 1 seed Villanova takes on No. 16 seed Radford in Pittsburgh at 6:50 pm. The former Great Valley star is most likely going to declare for the draft and stay in the draft pool as some mock drafts have him projected as a top-10 pick and rightfully so. The 6-foot-7 Bridges averaged 18 points per game with 5.4 rebounds a game and a NBA-ready body as well.

Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree (Fr./Villanova)

Cosby-Roundtree turned into a nice piece for the Wildcats off the bench this season as he averaged 3.1 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game. The first big off the bench if Omari Spellman and Eric Paschall get into foul trouble, the former Neumann-Goretti big man will eat up some minutes if need be. Cosby-Roundtree already had to fill in for Paschall this season when he was sidelined with a concussion in early February.

Donte DiVincenzo (R-Soph./Villanova)

DiVincenzo is a man of many traits. He can shoot it, slam it, and dish it on offense. He is also a man of many nicknames. “The Big Ragu” as Gus Johnson calls him, went on to average 13.1 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per game on 47 percent shooting from the field. Also known as “The Michael Jordan of Delaware” DiVincenzo took home the Big East Sixth Man of the Year award for the 2017-18 season. The former Salesianum guard was on the Villanova roster when they won the NCAA Tournament two years back but he was sidelined with a fractured foot.

Collin Gillespie (Fr./Villanova)

After winning the Philadelphia Catholic League title last year, and winning the Big East Tournament this year, Gillespie can complete a trifecta that not many, if any, had every accomplished as he looks to win a national title. The 2017 Catholic League player of the year averaged 4.5 points per game on 47 percent shooting from the field in his first season with the Wildcats. When fellow guard Phil Booth went down with a broken hand injury, the former Archbishop Wood superstar received additional minutes as Gillespie became the first guard off the bench as Donte DiVincenzo was promoted to the starting lineup.

DeAndre Hunter (R-Fr./Virginia)

De’Andre Hunter’s impressive freshman campaign was cut short on Tuesday as it was announced that he has a broken wrist which will keep him out for the entirety of the NCAA Tournament. The former Friends' Central star averaged 9.2 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game on a Virginia squad who took home the ACC Tournament title and earned the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.