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Tampa subregional
Four players have a chance in Tampa to turn potential into national stardom.
By PETE YOUNG, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 20, 2003
Wake Forest senior forward Josh Howard was the Associated Press ACC player of the year.
St. Joseph's junior Jameer Nelson has been a premier point guard for three seasons.
Auburn senior forward Marquis Daniels was named SEC player of the year by some media outlets.
Colorado sophomore center David Harrison was a McDonald's All-American who has made a big impact in two seasons.
They are talents, no doubt. But household names? Hardly.
That soon could change. Howard, Nelson, Daniels and Harrison arguably are as talented as any quartet at any opening-round venue. Friday they step into the spotlight of the NCAA Tournament, which can vault local and regional legends into national stardom in a weekend.
Every year it happens to players, such as UConn's Richard Hamilton in 1999, Florida's Mike Miller in 2000 and Maryland's Juan Dixon the past two seasons.
Howard probably has the most impressive resume of the players in Tampa this weekend and is the leading breakout candidate. It's hard to imagine the best player (20 ppg, 8.1 rpg) on the best team in the ACC flying under the radar, but his senior season followed three solid but unspectacular seasons at the league's smallest school, and his national profile is lagging.
"He was one of the best players in the league last year, but he got hurt," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He was always playing from much less than 100 percent health, and then at the end of the year probably less than 50 percent. He's the best player in our league. He's a beautiful player to watch on both ends of the court. Everyone talks about his offense, but he'll guard whoever is hot.
"He's a great college basketball player and hopefully he'll get the recognition nationally that he deserves."
Against No.15 seed East Tennessee State, a showcase game by Howard might not be necessary for Wake Forest. But perhaps it could come in the second round against No.7 St. Joseph's or No.10 Auburn. Unless, of course, Nelson or Daniels steals the show.
Nelson, generously listed at 6 feet, teamed with Marvin O'Connor to form one of the nation's best backcourts his first two seasons at St. Joseph's. This season the junior has been the main man with a strong supporting cast, including O'Connor's replacement, Delonte West.
"(Nelson is) far beyond most of the point guards in the country as far as I see it," Temple coach John Chaney said.
Like Howard and Daniels, Nelson does it all. Despite usually being the smallest guy on the court, he averages five rebounds in addition to his team highs of 19.3 points and five assists.
"There's nobody I'd trade him for," St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said.
Daniels, like Howard, is a smooth senior small forward who emerged as a sophomore (15.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and capped his career with a stellar senior season. Like Howard, he also is a standout defender who led the SEC with 2.3 steals a game. Daniels, who played for Orlando Edgewater before transferring to North Carolina for his senior year of high school, leads Auburn in scoring (18 ppg) and assists (3.4) and is the Tigers's second-leading rebounder (6.1).
"He is a huge leader for this basketball team," Auburn coach Cliff Ellis said. "I think his leadership has had an impact on this team all year, and I don't think that will change as we go to the NCAA tournament. This will be a homecoming for him. What a great way to go back to your home (state)."
"He scores, rebounds. Marquis does everything for us," Auburn power forward Marco Killingsworth said.
Harrison isn't a do-it-all whiz like Howard, Nelson and Daniels, but he is Colorado's most imposing presence, leading shot blocker and most prodigious talent.
And the sophomore 7-footer is improving. Against Nebraska in the regular-season finale Harrison had 20 points, 10 rebounds and a Dikembe Mutombo-esque 11 blocks. He is second in school history in blocks.
Against Kansas State in the Big 12 tournament he had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks before fouling out. He averages 13.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks and has a team-high 54.7 shooting percentage. His 63.8 field-goal percentage as a freshman, when he averaged 13.9 points and seven rebounds, was a school record.
A third-team All-Big 12 selection, Harrison is a matchup nightmare. If No.10-seed Colorado slips past Michigan State in the first round, the Buffaloes likely face Florida. Harrison could give the modest-sized Gators frontcourt fits.
"He didn't do a good job blocking last year, but now he is quicker to the ball because of his conditioning," Colorado coach Ricardo Patton said.
So remember the names: Josh Howard, Jameer Nelson, Marquis Daniels and David Harrison.
By the time the games are over Sunday evening, a few in this splendid quartet might have played their way into the national spotlight.
-- Staff writers Brian Landman and Keith Niebuhr contributed to this story.