When Bleacher Report gave me the idea to write about the unknown superstars of NCAA basketball–the players that fly under the radar–I was so excited! Figured I’d put my own spin on it and it would be so much fun! So sick of hearing Tyler Hansborough every two minutes on ESPN. I mean of course he is good, he’s on UNC. That’s what they do there, breed big-names.

But what about the quiet teams? The ones that suddenly show up on the March Madness brackets and make people* say “Where the f&R%^ is Austin Paey. Or MSM/Coppin State.” (*by people I mean those of us who only tune in to college ball in March because we have lives. But you can’t fool me, I know my 50 states and there is no Coppin!).

Then, I realized I know absolutely nothing about college basketball or the players this year except for the super-big names because I only tune in during March Madness because I have a life.

Yes, I know, duh, that is the point of the article to find the others. But most sports writers or college b’ball fans would have an inkling of where to start. I, on the other hand, can name 5 players off the top of my head: Hansborough, Michael Beasley, Stephen Curry. Okay maybe three. So let’s say I come across a great sounding player from Oklahoma that I had never heard of. I’d put him in the article right? WRONG. Turns out Blake Griffin was exactly who I was not supposed to write about.

You see my dilemma?

So I did what any smart Stiletto Chick would do. I asked my guy friends to do the legwork while I did fun stuff! So if you don’t like my picks, talk to Shelton and Mark. (If you do approve, however, don’t I totally rock at this? )

This will be broken down into 3 articles because it’s long. They will post Saturday, January 17 in the Featured Posts section at:

Part I: 4:00 p.m. EST

Part II: 6:00 p.m. EST

Part III: 8:00 p.m. EST

About the author: Jennifer Taglione is the owner of this fabulous website Stiletto Sports. Despite writing well over 500 posts, she still maintains that she is not a sports writer! She is however a huge fan of Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Mark Sanchez, the Celtics, and totally kicks butt on March Madness brackets! Connect with her by following her on Twitter @StilettoSportsJ and subscribing to her weekly newsletter. For more info check out the About the Editor page!

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