Kansas' Marcus Morris

Granted, watching basketball all the time is part of my job, but it still amazes me how many people don’t (or rarely) watch college hoops until the NCAA Tournament. Because of such inexcusable ignoring of America’s best spectator sport (if you ask me), during the Big Dance I usually get peppered with “Who is that guy?” or “Who does [Team X] got?” questions.

Some of them make sense — even I can’t say I’ve seen Wofford or UC Santa Barbara play this year — but a lot of the players who slip under the mainstream radar don’t deserve the anonymity. So in the days leading up to the Tournament, we’ll be giving you four Players To Watch for each region, starting with the Midwest:

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MARCUS MORRIS, Kansas, PF, Soph.
The No. 1 overall seed is obviously stacked, but if there is an X-factor among the group, it’s the slightly more talented Morris brother. (Marcus wears #22, twin bro Markieff wears #21.) Nine times this year, Marcus pulled down more offensive rebounds in a game than defensive boards. In fact, his tenacity on the offensive glass helped save KU from an upset loss at Colorado last month. The 6-8, 225-pound Marcus (12.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg) has six double-doubles this season, and put up 18 points and eight boards in the Big 12 title win over Kansas State. Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich should take care of business well enough to get the Jayhawks through the early rounds unscathed, and while this team is deep enough to withstand a night where one of the stars doesn’t show up, Morris is one of the guys who needs to bring a consistent effort if KU is going to win its fourth national championship.

AUBREY COLEMAN, Houston, SG, Sr.
The Cougars were headed straight for the NIT until going on an improbable run to win the Conference USA tournament, knocking off nationally-ranked UTEP in the finals. For Coleman, that means he gets to finish his career on a big stage. The NCAA’s leading scorer is averaging 25.6 points per game, which includes not a single night under double-digits and nine occasions on which he’s dropped 30-plus points. Coleman’s shooting percentages aren’t great (42% from the field, 32% from three), but keep in mind he always has opposing defenses keyed in on him. He’ll go bucket-for-bucket with Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez in the first round in what should be one of the most entertaining shootouts of the tournament.

Tennessee's Scotty Hopson

SCOTTY HOPSON, Tennessee, SG, Soph.
Pound-for-pound, Hopson is the Volunteers’ most talented player, and is tied for the team lead in scoring at 12.5 points per game. However, the ’08 high school All-American has battled inconsistency — he scored two points against LSU a couple weeks after dropping 20 on Florida — and was briefly yanked from the starting lineup last month after coach Bruce Pearl said Hopson lacked a “sense of urgency.” He’s also currently in a slump, shooting 6-for-29 from the field (20 percent) in the SEC Tournament. But when he’s on and focused, Hopson gets buckets. At 6-7, he can score off the dribble and with his jumper, although he struggles at the free-throw line, making just under 60 percent from the stripe. And his raw talent alone has his projected as a first-round NBA Draft pick in 2011. Before even thinking about potential second-round opponent Georgetown and their suffocating defense, Tennessee has to get past San Diego State. The Aztecs will try to slow the pace and neutralize Tennessee’s full-court pressing and running system. If they’re successful, Hopson’s ability to knock down shots will be crucial.

RAYMAR MORGAN, Michigan State, SF/PF, Sr.
No college player has been described as an “enigma” more often than Morgan. Up-and-down performances are one thing, but over four years in East Lansing, the 6-8 Morgan (11.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) has gone through periodic extremes of being brilliant and then invisible. Right now he’s brilliant, averaging 19.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in his last four games. Viewed as a national title threat going into the season, the Spartans (24-8) are now a longshot at best. But if they do have another deep tourney run in them, it will only be if Morgan plays big.