College Basketball Mid-Majors: Western Carolina Basketball’s Vonterius Woolbright Highlights Top Guards

As the saying goes, March is about guard play.

That's why I took it upon myself to dive into which low-major guards could make noise this year, especially for your potential bets on North Carolina betting apps.

Vonterius Woolbright, Western Carolina

The SoCon is fun.

Each team has superstars, but the conference’s best player is Vonterius Woolbright.

Woolbright is a high-motor matchup nightmare. His size, quickness, toughness and intelligence make the 6-foot-6 point forward impossible to cover.

He slices defenses with powerful drives and precision passing, scoring 14 paint points, dishing out five assists and generating nine free throw attempts per game.

He’s too big for opposing guards and too quick for opposing big men. He sees over the defense to dish away from double teams.

The workhorse plays 36 minutes per night, ranking third nationally in possession rate (36%) and 10th nationally in usage rate (34%) while leading the Catamounts’ isolation-heavy attack in isolation points and efficiency (84 on 88 possessions, .96 PPP).

He guards every position on defense and crashes the glass, snagging 12 rebounds per game while pushing the pace as a grab-and-go guard.

Woolbright has 12 KenPom Game MVPs – tied for eighth nationally – and four triple-doubles. He’s the SoCon Player of the Year and is a must-watch player in the conference tournament and, potentially, the NCAA tournament.

Tucker DeVries, Drake

The Drake Bulldogs were on the ropes, down nine to UIC with 10 minutes left.

Then the MVC Player of the Year arrived.

In the triple-overtime win, Tucker DeVries scored 18 of his 39 across the final 25 minutes. He flashed the three-level scoring ability that makes him a future pro while crashing the glass and leading the playmaking charge.

His high-volume efficiency is impressive, as he's averaging 22 points per game on 45%/36%/80% splits. He can score on-ball (.91 isolation PPP, 65th percentile) or off-ball (1.52 cutting PPP, 92nd percentile) and is a surprisingly elite ball-screen initiator (1.06 PPP, 92nd percentile).

DeVries is the league’s best pure scorer. If Drake unseats Indiana State in the conference tournament, the third-year guard will have led that charge.

Xavier Johnson, Southern Illinois

Last year, Johnson was an excellent shooter (43% from 3), an even better defender (1.5 steals per game) and a relatively solid playmaker (19% assist rate). But he only averaged seven points per game, as major ball-handling issues (28% turnover rate) limited his minutes.

This year, Johnson is averaging 22/6 with a 40% assist rate and a 17% turnover rate. He’s still shooting 37% from deep with 1.5 steals per game.

He hasn’t lost a step in his 3-and-D game, yet has developed into an elite playmaker. He’s arguably the nation’s most improved player.

Like Woolbright, Johnson’s been particularly efficient as an isolation scorer (130 points on 125 possessions, 1.04 PPP) in SIU’s isolation-heavy offense. He’s also become a lights-out ball-screen initiator, leading the country in pick-and-roll points (244 on 276 possessions, .88 PPP).

He’s also excelled as a ball-screen defender. Only Creighton's Trey Alexander has defended more pick-and-roll possessions this year than Johnson’s 176, and Johnson ranks above the 70th percentile in PPP allowed (.67).

He’s a high-usage two-way superstar. If it weren’t for DeVries, Johnson would be the runaway MVC POY.

Shahada Wells, McNeese State

The Cowboys are 25-3 (14-1) with wins over VCU, Louisiana Tech and Michigan.

They have an efficient, transition-heavy offense and own the nation’s best pick-and-roll defense – thanks to their relentless triple-switching.

And they’re led by electric point guard Shahada Wells.

The JUCO product dropped 17 points per game at UT Arlington before transferring to TCU, where he was stuck behind Mike Miles Jr. and Damion Baugh for two seasons.

But, as many high-major transfers do, Wells started dominating against low-major competition.

He’s averaging 17/5/5 on 48%/39%/75% splits. Despite running an up-tempo offense, he boasts a 30% assist rate to an 11% turnover rate.

He’s also the best ball-screen point-of-attack defender for the nation’s best ball-screen defense, holding opposing pick-and-roll ball-handlers to .30 PPP (30th nationally) while leading the nation in steals per game (3.1).

Wells is a devastating two-way perimeter guard who can match up with anyone in the NCAA tournament. As long as McNeese isn’t upset in the Southland Tournament, Wells’ Cowboys are an upset bid.

Tommy Bruner, Denver

I must mention the nation’s leading scorer, as he's an absolute highlight machine.

Summit League basketball is chaos. In a game against South Dakota, Bruner scored 49 points while snagging the game-winning steal-and-assist in a 111-110 double-overtime victory.

I don’t think Denver can overcome the Summit elites and make the Big Dance, but you must watch Bruner as much as possible before the curtains close.

Kezza Giffa & Duke Miles, High Point

High Point was picked to finish eighth in the Big South by Blue Ribbon and seventh by CBB Almanac.

But a particular analyst at Action Network knew differently.

Everything slid into place for Alan Huss. The Panthers ran up-tempo and utilized on-ball screens and off-ball secondary creation to generate plenty of open jumpers (25th nationally in Open 3 Rate). They finished as a top-30 offense by KenPom’s numbers.

The backcourt carried them.

High Point leads the Big South in tempo and turnover rate. Do you know how hard it is to do that? You must sprint the open floor in transition and run quick-strike on-/off-ball actions mistake-free.

Duke Miles and Kezza Giffa are elite in that regard.

Additionally, Miles, Giffa and frontcourt mate Kimani Hamilton aggressively attack the rim and draw fouls at an elite rate. The three average 18 free-throw attempts per game, and the Panthers rank fifth nationally in free-throw rate (46%).

If High Point responds to the pressure of being the top seed in the Big South tournament, I’m excited to see it attempt an NCAA tournament upset.