With the 2014-15 Lakers season D.O.A., it's time to turn our attention to who will be donning the purple and gold for Los Angeles next year. Here's a guide for three games to follow during today's NCAA Tournament action.
First, a moment for the fallen Harvard Crimson. They put up a valiant fight, but alas, Jeremy Lin wasn't spared the ruthless teasing from his teammates.
"Who haven't I heard it from?" - Lin on teammate razzing him on the close Harvard loss to UNC
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) March 20, 2015
At least Jeremy's not from LSU or SMU. Now, on to today's games.
1. Louisville vs. UC Irvine 1:10 p.m. PT, TBS
This game's on here for one reason and one reason only: Mamadou Ndiaye. It's not often you get to see a 7-foot-6 behemoth patrolling the paint, even if it's for one of the lesser teams in the Tournament. If Ndiaye - who, let's face it, is barely worth a second-round flier at this point - can get in a defensive groove and keep Louisville out of the lane, this game could get ugly in a hurry: There aren't many things worse than watching the Cardinals in a jump-shooting contest. Don't forget to check out Louisville's Montrezl Harrell, one of the toughest forwards in the country who has some downright mean finishes at the rim.
2. Duke vs. Robert Morris 4:10 p.m. PT, CBS
Duke's had some trouble with opening round games in the past few years, so there's potential for this to get interesting if Robert Morris can hang around for a little while. Then again, the Colonials don't have a true center, so Jahlil Okafor could put this out of reach in a hurry. More than likely, we'll see Tyus Jones easily conducting the offense and Justise Winslow doing his thing in transition before the Blue Devils' first big test Sunday.
3. Wisconsin vs Coastal Carolina 6:20 p.m. PT, TBS
Frank Kaminsky probably won't fall in the Lakers' pick range and he plays the same position as Julius Randle, but he's likely the National Player of the Year and is as offensively skilled as anyone else in this Tournament, which makes him a treat to watch. L.A. fans should have their eye on Sam Dekker, a 6-foot-9 small forward who's athletic enough to defend the position and can shoot well.