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

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


Trey Johnson, 6-5 Senior, Jackson State. Johnson is this year's Adam Morrison, without the crying. A highly entertaining scorer by all accounts. Scored 49 against UTEP. Second in the nation with 27.1 ppg. Why is he off the radar? He focused on baseball until a couple years ago. One of the few reasons to watch a 1/16 matchup this year.
Best Guess: Somewhere between a poor man's Kevin Martin and Brandon Roy.

Chase Budinger, 6-7 Freshman, Arizona. Add another name to the 'Next Larry Bird' comparison list. (He's not it. He's white and gawky, but he's not it.) Budinger can shoot from anywhere he can see the rim, a solid rebounder for his size, and he's great in the open court. And he looks like Ronald McDonald's kid brother. What's not to love?
Best Guess: Mitch Richmond with a dose of Shawn Marion injected into his ass.Corey Brewer, 6-8 Junior, Florida. This is the 'other guy' on the Gators. He's a great defender, but awkward on offense. Looks like Chris Bosh and Rashard Lewis' lovechild. Would excel in a Phoenix-style offense. (Who wouldn't?) The matchup with Trey Johnson on Friday should be a nice battle between two future NBA rotation players.
Best Guess: One step below Tayshaun Prince.

Javaris Crittenton, 6-5 Freshman, Georgia Tech. You can have your Darren Collisons and Mike Conleys and D.J. Augustins -- I'll take Crittenton as the best PG prospect in this draft. He's not a consistent shooter, but that hasn't stopped most NBA fives. Has size on anyone, gets into the lane at will, fearless in the endgame. Very entertaining every time I've watched him.
Best Guess: Baron Davis.

Alando Tucker, 6-5 Senior, Wisconsin. Tucker will be a steal for some lucky team this June. You know how everyone always says there's no player similar to Bonzi Wells? Well, Tucker is the closest thing. A bully in the paint? Check. High-revved motor? Check. Wears an invisible rocketpack on the court? Check. Can't shoot and turnover-prone? Check and check. But watch him create matchup problems over the next two weeks and next year in the bigs.
Best Guess: Bonzi Wells, hopefully without the appetite for newborn babies.

There's Always Europe:
D.J. Strawberry, 6-5 Senior, Maryland
Mustafa Shakur, 6-3 Senior, Arizona
Russell Carter, 6-4 Senior, Notre Dame
Carl Landry, 6-7 Senior, Purdue
Aaron Brooks, 6-0 Senior, Oregon
David Teague, 6-5 Senior, Purdue
Colin Falls, 6-5 Senior, Notre Dame
Kammron Taylor, 6-2 Senior, Wisconsin
Ekene Ibekwe, 6-9 Senior, Maryland
Mike Jones, 6-5 Senior, Maryland
Torrell Martin, 6-5 Senior, Winthrop
Brandon Crone, 6-6 Senior, Butler
Valdas Vasylius, 6-7 Senior, Old Dominion
Nathan Peavy, 6-8 Senior, Miami (OH)
Kevin Kruger, 6-2 Senior, UNLV
Wendell White, 6-6 Senior, UNLV

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