A Local Spin on the Big Dance

It comes as no suprise to any life-long New Englanders that the sports landscape in our pocket of the Northeast is ruled by professional athletics. With a few minor exceptions, college sports take a back seat to the goings on of the Celtics, Red Sox, Bruins, and Patriots.

However, this time of year the headlines are dominated by college basketball. Whether you are eagerly filling out an office-pool bracket or simply annoyed by the six straight channels displaying "College Basketball" in your TV Guide, it is difficult to find a local team to cheer for sometimes.

Although not a lot of emphasis is placed on collegiate athletics around here, a great many talented young athletes do call this area home in the off-season. Here are a few locals to keep your eyes on throughout the next few weeks when the NCAA Tournament reigns supreme.

First off we must pay respect to the three New England colleges who will be competing in the tournament.

The University of Vermont, University of Connecticut, and Harvard University all earned spots in this years field. Their seeds are all those of an underdog, however March is a time of upsets and the Catamounts, Huskies, and Crimson all have a shot of winning a game or more.

As far as players with local ties, Harvard boasts three Massachusetts natives in Kyle Casey (Medway), Andrew Van Nest (Weston), and Tom Hamel (Methuen)

Casey, a junior, is the Crimson's leading scorer with 11.3 ppg. The 6-7 forward also chips in over five rebounds and a block each night. He will lead Harvard into an opening round matchup with fifth seeded Vanderbilt on Thursday afternoon at 4:40. You can see these local boys battle on TNT.

Vermont's roster is stacked with five New Englanders, though none hail from the Bay State. You can catch the Catamounts in the First Four series against fellow 16 seed Lamar University at 6:40 Wednesday night on TruTV.

Longtime UCONN head coach Jim Calhoun is a native of Braintree, where he was a star athlete at Braintree High. After winning his third NCAA Championship last season, Calhoun is back at the helm of the Huskies and looks to gather a few upsets early as the team will face eight-seed Iowa State at 9:20 Thursday night on TBS. If victorious UCONN will probably face number one overall Kentucky and former UMASS head coach John Calipari in the second round. Calipari has recruited locally as well, as freshmen Scituate native Sam Malone has seen time for the Wildcats.

Connecticut is also the school of Roxbury native Shabazz Napier. Napier is a sophomore guard and averages 12.7 points and six assists per game.

Another place to look for Bay Staters is the 14 seeded Loyola Greyhounds who's head coach Jimmy Patsos was born in Boston, MA. As a student at Marist College, I had the "priveledge" of watching Patsos work for four years and trust me, his intensity is something to witness. Flip over to TNT Thursday night around 9:50 to see Patsos' drenched suit fly off during one or two screaming tirades as the Greyhounds face two-seed Ohio State.

Notre Dame is an interesting team to get behind. The Fighting Irish have earned a seven seed thanks in part to the play of Arlington native Pat Connaughton. The freshman sees around 24 minutes of playing time a night and averages seven points and 4.5 boards. Notre Dame is an even more appealing option for Marlborough residents as it is the landing spot of former MHS standout Zach Auguste. The 6-9 forward will enroll there in the Fall. 

You can catch Auguste's future teammates against 10 seed Xavier on Friday night at 9:45 on CBS.

Massachusetts players are popping up all throughout the tournament, from star scorers to role players off the bench.

The fifth-seeded Wichita State Shockers second leading scorer Joe Ragland calls West Springfield home. One-seeded Syracuse's rookie Michael Carter-Williams is from Hamilton. Worcester native Naadir Thorpe has played in 30 games this season for the powerhouse Kansas Jayhawks.

The pride of Reading, Evan Smotrycz will try to keep the fourth seeded Michigan Wolverines off the upset watch in a first round matchup against Ohio University. Also, the surprising LIU Blackbirds' roster includes Pittsfield native Michael Culpo.

The player with the closest proximety to Marlborough is Georgetown's Nate Lubwick. Lubwick is a sophomore who played his high school ball at Southboro's Saint Mark's School. He sees about 18 minutes of action off the bench for the Hoyas.

If none of these strike your fancy, you could always go the family route and cheer on the Duke Blue Devils. Duke's star guard, Austin Rivers is the son of Boston Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers.

There are many options to choose from when scheduling your NCAA Tournament viewing. So tell me, where do your allegiances lie?