It's tournament time, and all eyes will be on the NCAA tournament this weekend -- including those of NBA general managers and scouts.
While a lot of the league's prime talent these days is coming either straight from high school or Customs, the majority of NBA rosters still are manned by players with college experience. The tournament in particular is an important barometer because scouts get to see players in a high-pressure environment, and against top competition rather than the Bo Diddly Techs that litter many college schedules.
As a result, some players can improve their stock greatly with a strong performance. A few years ago, Antonio McDyess made himself the No. 2 pick off one big game, and more recently players such as Juan Dixon, Chris Wilcox, Richard Jefferson and Mike Miller have shot up the draft board thanks to eye-opening NCAA tournament efforts.
So who are the scouts watching this year? Start with Syracuse forward Carmelo Anthony, who has about a 1-in-1 chance of declaring for the draft after the season and is the odds-on favorite to be the third overall pick after high school phenom LeBron James and Croatian sensation Darko Milicic. Thanks to his 22 points and 10 boards a night, his Orangemen are the No. 3 seed in the East and could make a deep tournament run.
Another guy who might still be playing in April is Texas sophomore point guard T.J. Ford. His Longhorns are the No. 1 seed in the South, thanks to his ballhandling wizardry, but scouts want to see him against bigger guards and determine if his slight build (5-foot-11, 165 pounds) will be an NBA liability.
At center, a couple of lottery hopefuls may only get one game to impress the scouts. Junior center Chris Kaman of Central Michigan, the 11th seed in the West, won't favored to be on the winning side in his team's opener against Creighton. That bums out scouts that want to see him face quality big men from Duke in the second round before they sign off on using a lottery pick to get him.
Colorado's seven-foot shot-blocker David Harrison faces a similar challenge; his 10th-seeded Buffaloes will have to get past seventh-seeded Michigan State to make the second round.
Besides those two big men, however, scouts will be looking mostly at the guards in this year's tournament. In addition to Ford, the point-guard ranks are loaded with Marquette junior Dwyane Wade, Oregon junior Luke Ridnour, Duke junior Chris Duhon, Connecticut sophomore Ben Gordon and Kansas senior Kirk Hinrich; all five are potential first-round picks.
Other players of note, as far as NBA-watchers are concerned, include Connecticut sophomore center Emeka Okafor, Missouri junior swingman Rickey Paulding, Louisville senior guard Reece Gaines, Xavier senior forward David West, Notre Dame sophomore point guard Chris Thomas and freshman forward Torin Francis, Wake Forest senior forward Josh Howard, Kansas senior forward Nick Collison, Missisippi State junior forward Mario Austin (though he says he's returning to school) and Gonzaga sophomore forward Ronny Turiaf.
But scouts also will have their eye out for the Dixons and McDyesses of the world, who can use their "One Shining Moment" as a springboard to many moments of shining riches in the NBA.
Ron the rotweiler
Pacers' forward Ron Artest continued his erratic ways, earning not one but two suspensions this week. Both were for flagrant fouls after he exceeded the NBA's maximum of five flagrant-foul penalty points. Artest has missed a staggering nine games due to suspension this year, and his next flagrant will earn him a two-game ban.
Surging Sixers
Philadelphia continued its amazing second-half run by coming back from 13 points down to beat the Nets on Sunday, holding New Jersey without a field goal for nearly nine minutes. The Sixers are 14-2 since the break and have climbed within a half-game of first place in the Atlantic.
Hall beckons
James Worthy and Robert Parish were among 21 finalists nominated for the NBA's Hall of Fame, along with their contemporaries and current NBA head coaches Dennis Johnson and Maurice Cheeks. The Hall of Fame nominees will be announced April 7 during the Final Four.
SWISH: Memphis Grizzlies
Break out the champagne! The Grizzlies broke their franchise record with their 24th win of the season Sunday (yes, the team record heading into this year was really 23, as in 23-59. How sad is that?), and set another by winning their sixth straight in a 124-92 ambush of the Hawks. Suddenly, imagining this team in the playoffs next year doesn't seem completely ridiculous.
BRICK: Jamal Mashburn
The Hornets forward tends to run hot and cold, and this week his dial was definitely set on "cold." He shot an abysmal 30 percent on the week, including a 5-for-22 stinker against Indiana and two 4-for-13 nights, which explains why the Hornets failed to clear 90 in any of their four games.
SWISH: Allan Houston
The Knick guard continued his strong second half with a 50-point outburst against the Bucks on Sunday night that came on the heels of a solid 28-point night in Atlanta. At 22.1 points per game, he is blowing away his previous career high in scoring and slowly silencing the many critics he developed last season.
BRICK: Richard Hamilton
The Pistons' leading scorer shot frequently this week, but not well, hitting a Mashburnian 30.7 percent on the week and spiking it with three turnovers a game. Fortunately, the Pistons survived his erratic shooting by winning three out of four to stay on top in the East.
SWISH: Eddy Curry
After playing like a dog for four months, the Bulls
center finally got the memo that the season started and has begun living up to his promise. He put together four straight 20-point games last week -- including 20 in a one-sided win over Shaq and the Lakers -- and hit more than sixty percent in all of them.
New Jersey Nets at Boston Celtics, Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
On Feb. 5, the Nets blasted the 76ers 111-85 in Philadelphia to move nine games ahead of them in the standings. My how things change. If the Nets drop this game in Boston on Tuesday, and Philadelphia beats Miami (hardly a daunting proposition), then, unbelievably, the Sixers will have made up nearly 10 games in a little more than a month to take over the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
Los Angeles Lakers at Sacramento Kings, Thursday, 10 p.m. EST
There aren't major implications in this one as far as playoff positioning is concerned. But for crying out loud, it's the Lakers and Kings. This matchup sells itself, regardless of where they are in the standings. And as halftime entertainment, Doug Christie's wife will fight Vanessa Williams in the tunnel.
San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks, Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EST
If Dallas wins, it will be three games up on San Antonio and we can pretty much award the Mavs home-court advantage for the playoffs. But if they lose ... well, then they'll only be one game up in the loss column with 15 to play, and things start to get interesting.
This department brings you thoughts and comments from around the country. Here's what people are saying this week:
Survey says
The race between Amare Stoudemire and Yao Ming for Rookie of the Year is generally considered a toss-up, but this informal survey says that Yao is going to win the award unless a whole lot of people change their mind real fast. More.
Changing of the guard
With Jamaal Tinsley playing erratically, the Pacers reportedly are talking to former Heat guard Tim Hardaway about joining their roster to give them some point-guard help in the playoffs. As a side benefit, it would also guarantee that the marble-mouthed Hardaway stays off the air during ESPN's playoff coverage. More
Stro blows up Stromile Swift has disappointed after being taken with the second pick in the brutally awful 2000 draft, but the athletic forward is starting to get a clue. He's posted six straight double-doubles during Memphis' win streak, and this article discusses how he's overcoming the mental gaffes that plagued him in the past. More.
Loose on the Palouse
Here's the winner of this week's Crazy Rumor of the Week award: An item saying that George Karl could leave the Bucks and take the job at Pac-10 doormat Washington State. More.
About that Iraq thing
While Dallas' Steve Nash continues to speak up when asked about the anti-war stance he took at the All-Star Game (More), NBA scouts are having to reconsider their plans for checking out overseas talent in light of world events. More.
Heat fans are bumming that Eddie Jones likely is done for the season, but the silver lining is that it's opened up minutes for second-round draft choice Rasual Butler. No relation to the Heat's first-round pick Caron Butler, this Butler is a 6-foot-7 slasher who opened eyes with consecutive 20-point games a week ago. He'll need to develop his jumper over the summer, but it looks like Miami has found itselves a piece in its rebuilding puzzle.
Ohio high schoolers get two more shots at LeBron before he moves on to the bigs. Some lucky dogs actually had LeBron's St. Vincent-St. Mary team tied at halftime this week before The Chosen One took over in the second half, so I suppose they can dare to dream.
Meanwhile, the Cavs and Nuggets still dare to dream of LeBron joining their roster, but off in the distance, don't underestimate the genius of Donald Sterling. The Clippers' late-season tank job has them threatening to take over the league's third-worst record (despite Sunday night's unfortunate win over Toronto), positioning themselves well for the draft lottery and meaning The Donald may end up with a winning team in spite of himself.
This is the part where we ask you, the reader, to stop waving that towel on the sidelines, pull off the warmups, get on the floor and take some shots. Each week we'll ask a question and post the best responses a week later.
Last week WAAG asked how far the Lakers will go in the playoffs this year. Many readers feel like they'll be trying on ring No. 4 come June, but others think the Kings will exact their revenge this postseason:
Shaq is the most dominant and Kobe is the best all-around player in the league. (Can you say four-peat). Steve Johnson, Newark, N.J.
The Lakers are hot, right. Still, I can't see them beating the Mavs and the Kings. I think they'll lose in the Western semis to one of these two teams. Martin Siegel, Albuquerque, N.M.
That, clearly, depends on their bench. Unlike years past, I don't see the level of play, from Samaki Walker and company, necessary to go deep this year. Cris Potts, Stockton, Calif.
If Shaq keeps getting into shape, and the role players hit their open shots...four-peat baby! Lamont Newby, Phoenix
With Shaq appearing to return to his dominating form, it's plausible to think they can make it four straight. Jose Avila, Los Angeles
They will go until they play the Spurs. That's where the buck stops for the Lakers. Mark Banning, Falmouth, Va.
Second round. The Lakers will be expelled from the playoffs like the kidney stones surgically removed from Phil Jackson. No surgery can save this team. Kyle McCown, Concord, Mich.
We doubted. They responded. Three years they've done that. I think Phil Jackson's fingers will all be filled with rings this postseason Marvin Manalang, Pampanga, Philippines
The Lakers will ride their playoff experience and spring domination to the Western finals, where the Kings will revenge themselves for last year's seven-game series. Joel Molitor, Burlington, Wis.
This week's topic: Who deserves the Defensive Player of the Year award?
John Hollinger covers the NBA for CNNSI.com. "Week at a Glance" appears each Monday during the season.
Heat fans are bumming that 
