Giant Killer teams spawn Giant Killer stars.
Some make it to the NBA and remain in our consciousness for years to come. Most capture our attention for just a few weeks. Either way, there will be a player this year on an underdog team who suddenly, in late March, becomes mainstream.
Here at Giant Killers HQ, we generally ask our model to produce the future teams that will go on tournament runs. But today we're introducing the (potential) Giant Killing stars class of 2019, a group of players who lead teams projected by BPI to be No. 11 seeds or worse yet have a good chance of pulling off early upsets. Murray State's Ja Morant would be a prime candidate for this list, but he's big-time enough already that we're excluding him and searching for the less known possible tournament stars.
F Mike Daum, South Dakota State
From a pure volume standpoint, Mike Daum is on the verge of the record books. The 6-foot-9 senior forward sits at 2,883 career points and is closing in on 3,000, a milestone only eight players have hit (although Campbell's Chris Clemons will likely reach it before Daum).
Daum is a two-time Summit League Player of the Year. In other words: In nonmajor circles, he has long been a bona fide superstar.
He's a big in the sense that he has the size, can play with his back to the basket and post up, and grabs double-digit boards per game. But that isn't all he is. He's part of an exceedingly efficient Jackrabbits attack that can score from anywhere, including beyond the arc (he's shooting 35.5 percent from 3 this season) and cutting and driving to the basket.
The Jackrabbits have made the tournament each of the past three seasons (twice as a No. 12 seed, once as a No. 16) and have lost in the first round all three years. Daum dropped 27 points on Ohio State in an eight-point loss last season. BPI projects South Dakota State to be a No. 12 or No. 13 seed this time.
G Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra
For Pride fans, Wright-Foreman is well established as a complete scorer who is the main driver of the team's success this season (Hofstra is 21-4). After earning Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year honors last season, this year he ranks third in Division I in points per game, though that doesn't garner a ton of attention, given his level of competition.
However, should Hofstra go on a little tournament run, Wright-Foreman will quickly become a fan favorite. BPI projects the Pride to be a No. 12 seed if they reach the NCAA tournament.
In terms of putting the ball in the bucket, Wright-Foreman can do it all. He can shoot from outside and has been a little more selective in his shots from beyond the arc this season, which has led to an improved 42.5 percent 3-point field goal rate. He is frequently the Pride's ball handler on pick-and-rolls, from which he can dish it to 6-10 teammate Jacquil Taylor or, more likely, make something happen on his own. When he opts to, Wright-Foreman's handle allows him to dance around defenders and drive to the hoop. To top it off, he's an 87.3 percent free throw shooter this season.
Oh, and he has the buzzer-beater skill locked down: In January, the senior guard knocked down a long 3 in transition as time expired to beat Northeastern.
F/C Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky coach John Brannen recently called McDonald "probably the greatest player in school history," as the sizable forward is about to wrap up his senior season.
Standing at 6-8 and 250 pounds, McDonald generates the majority of his offense down low, with 148 points on 149 post-up plays so far this season. He draws 5.9 fouls per game, per KenPom. As with Daum, McDonald isn't able to score only near the basket. He shoots 4.6 3-pointers per game at a 42.9 percent clip.
He's an asset on the glass, as well, grabbing defensive rebounds at the 13th-highest rate in Division I, per KenPom.
BPI gives Northern Kentucky an average projected seed of 13.1, and our Giant Killers model would give the Norse a 20 percent chance to beat potential No. 4 seed Houston in the first round.
F Scottie James, Liberty
Compared with the other two forwards above, James is much more of a traditional big. The vast majority of his production comes around the rim, in terms of scoring and as a key to Liberty's rebounding efforts on both ends of the floor. Sometimes the skills are combined: He has 56 points on putbacks this season.
Partially a result of where he is shooting from and partially thanks to his overall ability, James has the ninth-best effective field goal rate in all of Division I, per KenPom. To be fair, although James is a legitimate component of the Liberty offense, his usage rate is lower than that of the other players on this list.
Liberty just missed out on an NCAA tournament berth last year when Radford beat the Flames on a buzzer-beater in the conference tournament championship. Now in the Atlantic Sun, Liberty will have to contend with a superior Lipscomb team in the conference, but BPI still gives the Flames a 33 percent chance to reach the tournament.
Jeremy Mills contributed to this article.