ESPN's Jay Bilas, Jay Williams identify players they'll be watching in 2024 NCAA Tournament

Stars are born in the NCAA Tournament. Sometimes, those stars are players who nobody expected to catch the college basketball world by storm amid a deep run into March. Other times, those are excellent players who everyone comes into the tournament excited to watch.

ESPN analysts Jay Williams and Jay Bilas pointed out a couple of those star players who they’re excited to watch going into the 2024 NCAA Tournament. That started with Williams praising Tennessee star Dalton Knecht.

“You just talked about him and it was Dalton Knecht,” Jay Williams said on SportsCenter. “I think one of the reasons why is also the way he’s entering the Tournament. He got benched in that loss in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament against Mississippi State because he wasn’t defending. So, whenever a player of his caliber has extra motivation to be more incredible than he’s been throughout the course of the regular season, I’m gonna go with that because Tennessee is built on defense. That’s what we know about them.”

This season, Knecht has averaged 21.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. All of that came in his first season with Tennessee, having transferred into the program from Northern Colorado. The Volunteers need him to be at his best to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament.

“So, when Rick Barnes sat him, and the other team the way they got blitzed in the quarterfinals, I think they’re gonna be a team on a mission,” Williams said. “Look, I don’t think there’s a better story in college basketball. We can talk Zach Edey all day long, this was a guy that was on no draft boards last year and now could be a top-five pick in this upcoming NBA Draft. That’s how talented he is.”

For his part, Jay Bilas turned to Illinois and its star guard, Terrence Shannon Jr.

“For me, it’s Terrence Shannon Jr. at Illinois. Left hander, a downhill driver,” Bilas said. “And before he had a legal problem, he was charged with a felony in Kansas, he was right with Zach Edey for Big Ten Player of the Year.”

As Bilas pointed out, Shannon has been limited this season to just 27 out of 33 games this season. He was suspended by Illinois following a rape charge was brought against him in Kansas. However, a judge later overturned his suspension and he returned to be one of the most talented players in the Big Ten.

“Just had 40 points in the semifinal of the Big Ten Tournament against Nebraska. He can shoot it. He’s an outstanding defender. He is great in transition and Illinois is a team that has a bunch of individual playmakers. They can isolate you, take you one-on-one, and get into backdowns,” Bilas said.

“Guys like Marcus Domask and Terrence Shannon Jr. They have each gone for 30 in a particular game together and Terrence Shannon Jr. just had 40. He can do it again in the Tournament.”