Wake Forest's Ishmael Smith

After going through the Midwest, South, and West regions, we’ll wrap up the NCAA Tournament Players to Watch with four from the East region:

ISHMAEL SMITH, Wake Forest, PG, Sr.
These past four years must have felt like 10 for Smith. He came to Wake as the heir apparent to Chris Paul, but after leading the ACC in assists as a freshman — something CP3 never did in college — he and the program were rocked by the death of coach Skip Prosser. Under replacement Dino Gaudio, Smith was a starter and team captain as a sophomore, but his numbers went down. The next year, Jeff Teague blew up as an NBA prospect, and Smith was moved to the bench during a wild season that included a No. 1 national ranking and a first-round Big Dance upset. Now a senior, Smith is back in the starting role and is a respected veteran leader. Smith (13.3 ppg, 6.0 apg, 1.8 spg) is one of the fastest players in the country with the ball, whose game resembles Rajon Rondo; his jumper needs a lot of work (20% 3PA, 50% FT), but he thrives on athleticism, defense, savvy and playing to his strengths.

DA’SEAN BUTLER, West Virginia, SG/SF, Sr.
No player in America is hotter than Butler right now. The Big East tournament MVP dropped game-winning buckets in the quarterfinals over Cincinnati and in the final over Georgetown, and averaged 19.6 points for the tournament. The 6-7 wing has six game-winners total this season, and even that number doesn’t fully reflect what he means to the Mountaineers. Butler (17.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg) isn’t the most athletic guy on the team or the highest-ranked NBA prospect, but he’s the one who can carry West Virginia to the Final Four and beyond. The areas where WVU struggles the most — getting out to a good start and late-game execution — can be directly affected by their senior leader.

Washington's Quincy Pondexter

QUINCY PONDEXTER, Washington, SF, Sr.
Another four-year standout and a testament to listening to the right people and being patient. Pondexter was a highly-touted recruit who could have gone pro after his freshman year, but even he’ll tell you now that he wasn’t ready back then. He went through ups and downs over his sophomore and junior seasons, and now as a senior has blossomed as a complete player. Pondexter (19.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg) was arguably snubbed in Pac-10 Player of the Year voting, but made up for it by leading UW to the conference tournament title. Projected as a late first or early second-round draft pick, “Q-Pon” might have a dumb nickname, but his game draws comparisons to Grant Hill (current version) and Luol Deng.

ANTHONY JOHNSON, Montana, SG, Sr.
In the Big Sky tournament final against heavily-favored Weber State, Johnson dropped 42 points — 34 in the second half and each of Montana’s last 21. The 6-3 JUCO transfer isn’t a one-game wonder, either; he averaged 19.6 points during the season on 50 percent shooting from the field, 46 percent beyond the arc, and 88 percent at the free-throw line. In other words, it doesn’t take a lot for Johnson to get hot. If he does, first-round opponent New Mexico is in danger of a 14-over-3 upset.