Minnesota Timberwolves: 10 players to watch during March Madness
By Zach Lung
De’Andre Hunter – Virginia, SG
The Virginia Cavaliers look to bounce back after their infamous loss to 16-seed UMBC last season.
This year’s squad enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed in the South region and boasts only three losses on the season, two of which came against front-runner Duke. However, a double-digit loss against Florida State in their last game have brought back memories of what happened last March. Virginia has their eyes set on the championship game in Minneapolis and will hope to get their by utilizing an elite defense led by their breakout sophomore, De’Andre Hunter.
The ACC defensive player of the year, De’Andre Hunter, has certainly impressed this season. Hunter is averaging 15.1 points and 5 rebounds per game while giving nightmares to the opposing team’s backcourts. Virginia will look to Hunter to lead with dreams of a national championship title at the end of the road.
The Minnesota Timberwolves desperately need 3-point shooting and defense. The answer to both problems may be found in De’Andre Hunter if Minnesota can find a way to draft the shooting guard projected to go in the top 10. Hunter is one of the top defenders in college basketball and has shot over 45 percent from deep this season, profiling as Robert Covington 2.0 at the pro level.
A Final Four run by Virginia would make De’Andre Hunter a hero among Cavaliers fans and a likely early pick in this summer’s NBA draft.
Other players to watch for on Virginia: Ty Jerome
Opening game: vs. Gardner-Webb on Friday at 2:10 pm CT