Twelve months ago, Sindarius Thornwell was in the midst of a very strong senior season at South Carolina. He was known by college basketball fans, sure, but it wasn't until the Gamecocks' Giant Killer run to the Final Four that Thornwell became a household name.
Just as everyone loves an underdog team in March, everyone also loves an underdog team's star. While players like Villanova's Jalen Brunson and West Virginia's Jevon Carter will get plenty of praise come tournament time, today we're interested in the face of the next underdog darling. And no, for the sake of this exercise, potential top-10 picks like Trae Young don't qualify, even if his team is rapidly descending into Giant Killer territory.
Keep an eye on these names, because one or two of them will be busting brackets in the near future.
Jock Landale, C, Saint Mary's
Landale isn't quite discussed in the same breath as players like Brunson or Young in terms of production this season, though he probably ought to be. According to ESPN's opponent-adjusted win shares metric -- which estimates a player's total value based on an amalgam of box score statistics -- Landale ranks second this season behind only the Oklahoma star. That isn't a function of an easy schedule: remember, that is an opponent-adjusted statistic. That's just how good Landale has been.
A senior from Australia, Landale uses his imposing 6-foot-11 frame to post up defenders and is effective at getting to the bucket on the pick-and-roll. Currently he's the first player since Blake Griffin in 2008-09 to score 20-plus points per game on 65-plus percent shooting from the field. Those numbers aren't opponent-adjusted, but are impressive nonetheless. And, no surprise given his size, Landale is a force on the glass on both ends of the court.
Landale might be the best comparison to Thornwell in that, like the former Gamecock, he has dominated this season but just doesn't get the attention because of the school he plays for. A run to at least the second weekend of the tournament could change that. Depending on the matchup, Saint Mary's could have a good shot at that. If the Gaels end up a No. 7 seed, our Giant Killers model gives them at least a 39 percent chance of beating potential No. 2 seeds Tennessee, North Carolina and Texas Tech.
Nick King, F, Middle Tennessee
In 2013, King was ESPN's No. 37-ranked recruit, four spots ahead of Thornwell. Unsuccessful stints at Memphis and Alabama followed for King, but now he has found his niche at MTSU, where he has been given the reins of the offense and succeeded with the opportunity. He ranks 15th in Division I in percentage of possessions used, per KenPom, and much of the time he's taking the shots himself.
Offensively, King can do it all. He drives to the hoop, can take a midrange jumper and can knock down a few 3-pointers. The rate at which he succeeds from beyond the arc isn't great -- 36.4 percent this season and 32.3 percent over his career -- but at least the option is there. King isn't just an offensive weapon: He's valuable on the boards, too, especially on the defensive glass.
Jaylen Adams, G, St. Bonaventure
If anyone out there is looking for a reason to bank on the Bonnies for an upset in March, just go ahead and watch the highlights from St. Bonaventure's win over Saint Louis earlier this month. Here's the abridged version: Adams, a 3-point-shooting point guard, decides to gradually push his range farther and farther. If there is a limit, he didn't find it that day, when he dropped 10 3-pointers on 13 shots, including one from the midcourt logo.
That game might have been an extreme example, but it also wasn't an aberration. Adams is shooting 50.8 percent from beyond the arc this season, and he's throwing up 6.4 per game. But Adams isn't just a shooter: He's a distributor, too.
Chandler Hutchison, G, Boise State
Hutchison also thrives in carrying such a large amount of the offensive workload. What separates the Boise State senior wing is his special ability as a slasher, which is augmented by palatable shooting from beyond the arc.
Defensively, Hutchison's long wingspan allows him to come away with steals and be a big contributor on the boards. And his play is expected to translate to the next level: Jonathan Givony ranks Hutchison 19th in his latest draft rankings.
The Broncos aren't the most dangerous Giant Killer out there, but if they can make the tournament (75 percent chance, per BPI) they would have a shot against a top team. It's not hard to imagine the Broncos as a No. 11 seed with, per our Giant Killers model, a 35 percent chance against Michigan or a 31 percent chance against West Virginia (with a high GK factor) in the first round.
Mackenzie Kraemer contributed to this report.