Committee Chairman
Five Players To Watch for During March Madness
With March Madness fast approaching, fans should look for the best players. Here are five players to watch for in the NCAA Tournament.
March Madness is fast approaching, and every team, from the top 5 ranked teams to little-known mid-majors, is scratching and clawing for position. As the tournament gets closer, fans need to know what players will impact the competition most. Let's look at five players to watch this NCAA Tournament.
Dalton Knecht | Guard, Tennessee
A 6'6" senior guard out of Thornton, Colorado, Dalton Knecht took the long way to big-time Division I basketball success. Originally a guard/forward hybrid, Knecht was undersized for that latter position at 6'4" after his senior year. As a result, he didn't receive an offer from a Division I school. So, Knecht spent a year at Northeastern Junior College, growing another two inches. He was a late bloomer, going from 5'8" his sophomore year of high school to 6'1" as a junior, 6'4" as a senior, and eventually 6'6" as a freshman at Northeastern Junior College.
The growth spurt and a big sophomore season that saw him average 23.9 points and 7.5 assists got him an offer to Northern Colorado, where he averaged 20.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a senior. He received an extra year of eligibility due to the shortened 2020 season, making him one of the hottest prospects in the transfer portal, eventually landing with Tennessee. The 5th year senior has combined experience and toughness to become one of the best scorers in the nation, averaging over 20 points per game and leading the Volunteers to a top 5 ranking in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll. Tennessee is a favorite among the best online sportsbook platforms. Knecht will surely be a factor come March, with Tennessee keeping an eye on a #1 seed.
Cam Spencer | Guard, Connecticut
Another senior guard, Cam Spencer, took a similar route to Knecht. Not highly recruited, the 6'4" guard wound up at Loyola (Maryland) after failing to make ESPN's top rankings. The small Patriot League school was the only Division I offer on Spencer's table.
After a solid junior season, Spencer was named a first-team All-Patriot league player and transferred to Rutgers for his senior season. Like Knecht, he took advantage of the extra season of eligibility and transferred one last time to UConn to play his 5th season with the defending NCAA Tournament champions.
It took a while for Spencer to come alive, but he has been vital in the second half of the season, bringing versatility and toughness to a UConn team on track for a #1 seed. The Huskies are attempting to be the first repeat champions since the 2006–07 Florida Gators, and Spencer will need to be in peak form for them to have a shot.
Kyle Filipowski | Center, Duke
Duke landed Kyle Filipowski in the 2022 class, a consensus five-star recruit as a 7'0" center. Unlike Knecht and Spencer, Filipowski is the type of player you expect to see on a list like this, coming in at #7 on ESPN's 2022 recruiting rankings. However, we expected to see less of him. As a freshman, Filipowski was named the ACC Rookie of the Year, the second-team All-ACC and the ACC tournament MVP. He averaged 15 points and just under nine rebounds per game and was projected as a first-round pick in the NBA Draft.
Despite that, he returned to Duke for his sophomore season, a decision that has paid off for the Blue Devils. Filipowski is averaging 17 points and eight rebounds per game, leading the way for a #10 ranked Duke squad attempting to redefine itself after the retirement of the legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils will need Filipowski firing on all cylinders as the tournament approaches.
RJ Davis | Guard, North Carolina
RJ Davis is no stranger to the spotlight. The point guard is a former McDonalds All-American and nearly led the 2021–22 Tar Heels to another national championship. While he didn't have the draft resume Filipowski had, he still opted to return for his senior year to finish his college career off strong.
North Carolina is a top-10 team in the country and could be poised for a long tournament run. For that to happen, Davis will need to be their guiding light and leading scorer, something he did with a career-high 42-point performance in a 75-71 win over Miami on February 26.
Zach Edey | Center, Purdue
After a dominant junior season, Zach Edey was named the 2023 National College Player of the Year and won several more awards last season, including the Big Ten Player of the Year and being named a consensus first-team All-American.
The center is destined to be an NBA lottery pick, but following last year's Purdue squad being just the second No. 1 seed in NCAA history to lose to a 16-seed, Edey returned for one more season.
Edey and the Boilermakers are attempting to do what the Virginia Cavaliers did in 2018–2019: win the national championship the year after being upset as the #1 seed. If Purdue is going to do it, Edey will have to lead the way.
What To Expect From March Madness
The NCAA Tournament is inching closer, and fans can expect a thrilling slate of games. What can we expect? If we have learned one thing about March Madness, it can't be predicted. These players, though, will undoubtedly play a significant part in the action.
26. Blake Snell
When a front office orchestrates a major blockbuster trade for a reigning award-winner, they are deliberately aiming for an exceptional, almost rare achievement. In December 2020, the San Diego Padres did exactly that by making a large deal involving multiple prospects with the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire left-handed starter Blake Snell. Known for his fastball and a sharp mix of breaking pitches that earned him the American League Cy Young Award in 2018, Snell was welcomed in Southern California with high expectations. Although his early time there was marked by inconsistency and mechanical issues, it eventually culminated in one of the most dominant single-season pitching performances in modern baseball history.
To be equitable, his 2021 introductory campaign with the Padres was notably challenging, marked by shorter innings and inconsistent command. Snell endeavored to establish a consistent rhythm in his new milieu, often grappling with his delivery, ultimately finishing the summer with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.322 WHIP across 27 starts. Despite these mechanical difficulties, his innate ability to induce swings and misses persisted unequivocally, as evidenced by his accumulation of 170 strikeouts in merely 128.2 innings of play.
The 2022 schedule showed a steady, middle-ground progression as he settled into his surroundings. Though his traditional 8–10 record didn't turn heads, he flashed elite frontline capabilities in the second half, lowering his ERA to a sharp 3.38 and striking out 171 batters over 128 frames, helping anchor a deeper postseason run.
The third year was what they paid for. While he issued a major-league-leading 99 walks, his skill in deep counts and his unhittable stuff allowed him to eliminate traffic on the bases. He finished with a 14–9 record, leading the league with a stunning 2.25 ERA, a formidable 182 ERA+, and just 5.8 hits allowed per nine innings. He also achieved a personal best with 234 strikeouts, ending the summer by allowing only 2 earned runs over his last 23 innings. His command in tough situations earned him widespread national recognition, and Snell won the 2023 National League Cy Young Award. By securing this trophy, he joined an elite group of just seven pitchers in baseball history who have won this award in both leagues.
The Padres would make the playoffs in 2024, but did so without Snell, who left the club for their NL West rival, San Francisco, in free agency. In San Diego, he had a 30–29 record, 575 strikeouts in 436.2 innings, and a sharp 3.22 ERA across 83 career starts.
Our All-Time Top 50 Pittsburgh Pirates Have been revised to reflect the 2023 Season
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out, and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Pittsburgh Pirates.
As for all of our top 50 players in baseball, we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in Major League Baseball.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, the Pirates got off to a good start but were unable to hold that momentum, and they again missed the playoffs. There were no new entrants but one small elevation.
As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:
1. Honus Wagner
3. Paul Waner
4. Arky Vaughan
You can find the entire list here.
The only change was the returning Andrew McCutchen, who went up one spot to #11.
We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.
RIP: Ole Anderson
Born Alan Rogowski, Anderson made his professional debut in the late 60s, and it did not take long for him to make his way to the Carolinas, where he adopted the Ole Anderson name as the kayfabe brother of Lars and Gene Anderson, the latter of whom he had a regular tag team with. They won multiple tag team titles, and Ole also established himself as a singles star. As Anderson gained knowledge, he took over as the booker in both Jim Crockett Promotions and Georgia Championship Wrestling. When Jack and Jerry Brisco sold their interest in GCW to Vince McMahon, Anderson created the Championship Wrestling from Georgia.
Ole's promotion would merge with JCP, and Anderson remained a fixture. He gained a new tag team partner (and kayfabe brother) in Arn Anderson, and they would later form the Four Horseman with Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard. Ole entered semi-retirement in 1987 when he was kicked out of the group.
He returned to reform the group with Flair, Arn, Barry Windham, and Sid Vicious, but was used as the mouthpiece for the group for a short time before he went backstage as a booker. He would leave the promotion for good in 1994.
Anderson was as intelligent as he was curmudgeonly and was one of the few who legitimately did not care whether you liked him. He was one of the better bookers of his era, and though not all of his ideas worked (Black Scorpion), he was undoubtedly creative.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends, and family of Ole Anderson.
