The shapes, sizes and skills might vary, but the common ground among the 68 NCAA tournament teams is that each will send five players to the floor for its first (and in the case of 34 teams, its only) game of the event. That's 340 players, and since not all will remain a permanent part of tourney lore a la Tate George, James Forrest or Drew Nicholas, we asked Jeff Goodman to record the event by writing a line or two about all 340.
No matter where he ranks, every player on this list is elite by virtue of his imminent appearance in the NCAA tournament. Though somebody has to be 340th, there are 1,415 starters at the 283 Division I schools who didn't make the tournament, and each would likely be willing to take the place of the 340th player on this list and appear in the Big Dance.
1. Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin -- There hasn't been a better player in college basketball this season. He does it all for the Badgers -- scores in the paint, on the perimeter, rebounds, makes his team better and also defends. His season numbers: 18.4 points and 8.1 boards while making 41 percent from long range.