March is upon us, and while the NCAA Tournament is the main attraction, die-hard college basketball fans know that Champ Week is when the real entertainment happens. When else can you watch two teams playing with their season on the line at 11:30 PM on a Thursday in front of a few hundred fans in Pensacola, Florida, or stay up until the wee hours of the morning watching a pair of Big West teams duke it out in a multi-overtime thriller?
This enthralling two-week span also features some of the the best mid-major talents in the country as they play in their biggest games of the season. Here are four mid-major stars to keep an eye out for during Champ Week this year.
Dillon Jones (Weber State)
In terms of all-around play, few players in the country compare to Dillon Jones. The Weber State forward averages a double-double with 20.8 PPG and 10.1 RPG, plus is dishing out 5.1 assists per contest. At 6-6, 235, Jones has the strength to get to the rim with ease but also the craftiness and touch to be a weapon in the mid-range game.
Against Northern Colorado on February 29, Jones had a performance for the ages, finishing with 30 points, 23 rebounds, and nine assists in a Wildcats win. It was his third 30-point game of the year and it tied a season high for assists. Dillon Jones is a legitimate NBA prospect who can will his team to the NCAA Tournament.
Enrique Freeman (Akron)
Another overlooked big man, Akron's Enrique Freeman has been one of the best players in the country during conference play. Freeman is the nation's leading rebounding at 12.9 boards per game on the season and he has an offensive rating of 129.0 against MAC opponents. The fifth-year senior has recorded a double-double in 15 of 17 conference games and has not scored less than 14 points in a MAC game.
The Zips are atop the league and Freeman will hope that he can get a much-deserved chance to play on the national stage in March.
Shahada Wells (McNeese State)
Shahada Wells has played at just about every level of college basketball during his six years, and he has been consistent at every stop. Wells was an NJCAA Division I First Team All-American at Tyler Junior College, then was in the All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team in his only season at UT-Arlington.
Last year, the six-foot guard was a key sixth-man for TCU, coming off the bench to put up 17 points and four steals in a 23-point win over Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. For his final collegiate season, Wells transferred to McNeese, we he has established himself as one of the best mid-major guards in the country from Will Wade's team.
Offensively, Wells is averaging 17.9 PPG, second in the league. He put up 30 in a road win at Michigan and 36 in a road victory over UAB. He is also second in the Southland with 4.7 assists/game. On defense, the sixth-year guard is nothing short of a terror. Wells is second in the country with a defensive rating of 87.0 and the runner-up with 2.9 steals/game. Thanks to Wells, McNeese is 28-3 on the year and poised for its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2002.
BJ Freeman (Milwaukee)
One of three players in the country to average at least 20 PPG, 6 RPG, and 4 APG (along with Dillon Jones), Milwaukee's BJ Freeman still somehow only made the All-League Second Team in the Horizon League. That is unfortunate for UWM's Horizon League Tournament opponents because Freeman has proven he is among the best players in the league — if not the country — in the postseason.
The junior has surpassed 30 points in each of the Panthers' first two Horizon League tourney games while averaging five assists and ten rebounds. While known primarily as a scorer in the past, Freeman's ability to open up the floor for his teammates and find them with pinpoint passes shows an impressive level of growth from the JUCO product this year. BJ Freeman has led Milwaukee to the Horizon League Semifinals — where they will be a team that no one wants to face.
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