NCAA Eye for the NBA Guy: West Regional, Day 1

As the March Madness 2010 begins, FanHouse's NBA team looks at the top prospects in each regional.

The West regional kicks off Thursday with some non-traditional powers in effect. In San Jose, the SEC's Vanderbilt will match up with Murray State, with the winner meeting the Butler-UTEP victor. Back in Oklahoma City, Kansas State begins its run across from North Texas while BYU matches up with recent repeat national champs Florida. There may not be lottery talent in this region, but a pair of small forwards should draw the eyes of discerning NBA fans.

Gordon Hayward, SF, Butler
19 years old, 6'8, 200 lbs., Sophomore
Probably the best player in the tournament NOBODY knows about, Hayward could be the driving force behind Butler's deepest tournament run ever. The 6'8 sophomore can shoot the three but can also get it done attacking the basket and finishing under control. His handle still needs work as do his shot creation, but the predatory scoring instincts are there. Although not a great athlete, Hayward is a good enough one to grab rebounds and finish against taller players. His stellar play this season has skyrocketed his value into first-round status. -- Jordan Schultz

Jeff Taylor, SF, Vanderbilt
20 years old, 6'6, 200 lbs., Sophomore
Detroit's Jonas Jerebko has ensured Commodore Taylor won't be the NBA's first Swede, but the Vandy prospect might end up being the league's best in the end. Taylor didn't improve much in his sophomore season by the numbers -- he still has no three-point range, even at the NCAA level -- but continued to show impeccable athleticism. That tends to matter a whole lot in the NBA. Taylor is fairly underhyped, so we may have to wait another year to really begin to analyze his NBA potential. But let's just say the emergency of Corey Brewer in Minnesota is a big plus. -- T.Z.

Jimmer Fredette, PG, BYU
21 years old, 6'2, 195 lbs., Junior
Stroke, stroke, and more stroke. That's Jimmer Fredette for you. The junior guard can fill it up in a hurry for the kids from Provo, especially from long range, where he shoots an outstanding 45 percent. Whether in transition or in the half-court set, Fredette can demoralize teams who fail to close out on him. Once he gets across midcourt, stay alert. He has seven 30-plus points games this season, and could be BYU's best shot to make a run since a fella named Danny Ainge donned the dark blue and white. -- J.S.

Derrick Caracter, PF, UTEP
21 years old, 6'9, 265 lbs., Junior
The once-troubled big man has found the light, or something like it, in El Paso. After bad times under Rick Pitino at Louisville, Caracter has rebuilt his reputation and let his always-evident talent shine through. But there will always be worry the bad side will strike back, and his talent can't overcome that in a good draft for big men. He looks like second-round material, but a shocking run for UTEP could improve things. -- T.Z.

And Five More ...

Randy Culpepper, SG, UTEP -- The Minors are as dangerous a 12-seed as I can recall, and much of it has to do with Mr. Culpepper, who has scored 30 or more points on three occasions this season. At his best, Culpepper is an aggressive slasher who loves to attack the hoop from all angles of the floor, but is also a dangerous three-point shooter who can really get hot and lead UTEP to a Sweet 16 (think Courtney Lee at Western Kentucky on that one). If Butler guard Shelvin Mack doesn't contain him early, watch out. -- J.S.

Andrew Ogilvy, C, Vanderbilt -- The Aussie tank is the prototypical stud college player who figures to struggle at the NBA level ... which means he'll probably hang out at Vandy one more year, barring an explosion of NBA interest. But hey, Aaron Gray has an NBA job! (Wait, he's still in the league, right?) -- T.Z.

Chandler Parsons, SF, Florida -- Parsons has some mainstream notoriety thanks to Gator heroics, but he could actually be an NBA role player in time, too. He figures to be a defensive-minded strong small forward if he makes the league. Typically, these NBA players come from legit powerhouse schools (Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Arron Afflalo at UCLA, Dahntay Jones from Duke), status Florida lost with the exit of Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer. But Parsons is a hard-worker. We'll likely see him make the second round in 2011. -- T.Z.

Wally Judge, PF, Kansas State -- KSU is the rare top-flight team without many NBA prospects. But Judge, the freshman big man, counts as one. Not expected to declare until at least 2011, Judge has played less than a dozen minutes per game for Bill Martin, but oozes with talent. Hopefully NBA fans watching the Wildcats will get to see his glimmers. -- T.Z.

Jermaine Beal, SG, Vanderbilt -- Beal is just a really good basketball player, plain and simple. We know guard play rules in March, so having a senior lead guard like Beal will be instrumental to Vandy's success. His 15 points per game are vital, but it's his ability to get into gaps and distribute the ball to talented forwards A.J. Ogilvy and Jeffery Taylor that will determine whether the Commodores make it through the first weekend. -- J.S.