College Eye for the NBA Guy: Midwest Regional, Part I

The FanHouse realizes that not everyone digs March Madness. Some of us enjoy our basketball on a taller, more expensive, professional level. Even so, it's almost impossible to completely ignore the media buzz around the tournament, so we present you with this handy guide to potential 2007/2008 NBA prospects who will be, for a couple of more weeks anyway, playing basketball and filling CBS airtime for free.

Also see:
East Regional, Parts One & Two
Midwest Regional, Parts One & Two
West Regional, Parts One & Two
South Regional, Parts One & Two

Likely to one day wear an NBA uniform:

Joakim Noah, 6-11 Junior, Florida. Noah is well-known throughout the basketblogosphere. He picked a fight with a Kentucky cheerleader, he's a far worse dancer than Mark Madsen, he tells opponents that he's their daddy. If you walk into a sports bar this weekend anywhere other than Gainesville and announce "Joakim Noah is a douche," you'll probably get some free drinks. But take off the hater goggles and you'll see Noah could be a very good pro. Douche or not, his defense is top-notch, he won't be outworked by anyone, and he seems to have that thing all the great roleplayers do.
Best Guess: Andrei Kirilenko with biceps, ADD, and bad hair. Already an evolved Anderson Varejao.

Al Horford, 6-9 Junior, Florida. Horford should end up as the best pro player out of the Florida bunch. He might be as good as Al Jefferson right now. Tremendous hands for a big, fully developed physically, excellent rebounder and defender. If some coach can teach him some of Karl Malone's moves, Horford has a real chance to be 2007's clear third banana behind Oden and Durant.
Best Guess: A tougher Chris Webber minus the jumper.Thaddeus Young, 6-8 Freshman, Georgia Tech. Young is one of those players you have to watch to understand. Best athlete since the 2004 draft, probably. Death-defying leaper, explosive, atomic, radioactive, all that jazz. Can't shoot, but has Ron Artest Syndrome -- he thinks he's Fred Hoiberg. Under the right coach, he could become the wing edition of Amare Stoudemire. I'd doubt it, though. The world just isn't that fun.
Best Guess: Antawn Jamison wearing Moon Shoes.

Marcus Williams, 6-7 Sophomore, Arizona. Most pundits say Marcus Williams has maintained his stock over the past year: He would've been a mid-1st guy after his freshman year, and he'll be a mid-1st guy this draft. But to this observer, the vanishing of his deep-shooting ability has put a question mark on his pro future. He needs to shoot well behind the arc to give Zona a chance and to be a good pro player.
Best Guess: John Salmons with Josh Howard as a longshot.

Also see:
East Regional, Parts One & Two
Midwest Regional, Parts One & Two
West Regional, Parts One & Two
South Regional, Parts One & Two