Texas Tech basketball: 5 players to know from the West Region

Today, the West Region of the NCAA Tournament begins play as St. John’s and Arizona State meet in a “first four” game.  So to help Texas Tech basketball fans get ready for March Madness, here are five players that could play a huge role in the Red Raiders’ quadrant of the bracket.

As play in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament gets under way, Texas Tech basketball fans are dreaming of a run to the Final Four.  And as we discussed Sunday when the bracket was revealed, the West is the most wide-open of the regions with no truly dominant team meaning that Tech is a somewhat trendy pick to reach Minneapolis.

But another reason that the Red Raiders are a trendy pick to win the West is that they have arguably the best player in the region in Jarrett Culver.  Though Tech has had some tremendous players in their other NCAA Tournament seasons, there has always been a player on another team in that was the clear-cut best player in Tech’s quadrant such as Allen Iverson of Georgetown in 1996 or Jalen Brunson of Villanova last year.

But this year, a case could be made that Culver is the best player in the West.  He is one of only two prospects in this region projected by virtually everyone to be a top-10 NBA Draft pick this summer and numerous sites have him listed as a top-5 prospect.  (We will get to the other prospect in a minute and discuss why he may not be a better overall player, especially at the collegiate level.)

Consider how that differs from how former Texas Tech greats like Keenan Evans or Andre Emmett were viewed.  Evans was not selected in last year’s draft despite earning numerous All-American honors and Emmett was only a second round pick in the 2004 draft despite leaving school as the Big 12’s all-time leading scorer.

And we have seen time and time again that individual players can carry teams to deep runs in March.  Whether it was Kemba Walker scoring 23.5 points per game in leading UCONN to the national title in 2011 (the Huskies, like Tech this year, were a 3-seed that year) or Carmelo Anthony carrying Syracuse to the title in 2003 as a freshman, a host of great players have elevated their play in March to take their team to new heights.

But Culver is only one of a handful of players in the West that could join that group.  Let’s take a look at the other players in the region that could end up being a legend after this year’s tournament.