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Sports

Woodbury-Middlebury SportsBeat: Top 10 Best Area Players in March Madness

Which area players had best performances in NCAA Tournament?

 

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10. Wilky Gilmore (New Canaan) to three state basketball championships and still ranks as the school's all-time leading scorer. The rugged center played at the University of Colorado where he authored a solid career in Boulder. In 1962, Gilmore led the Buffalos to the Big Eight championship as the team's leading scorer. After a first-round bye in the NCAA tournament, Gilmore scored 11 points while pulling down nine rebounds in Colorado's 67-60 victory over Texas Tech. In the Midwest regional final against Cincinnati, Gilmore pumped in 15 points and had 7 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Bearcats won easily, 73-46.

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9. John Smyth (Stamford) After a brilliant career at Stamford Catholic (now ) where he garnered all-state honors, Smyth took his basketball talents to Princeton University. In the 1983-84 season, the smooth shooter, led the Tigers to an 18-10 record. In the preliminary round game of the NCAA tournament, Smyth played all 40 minutes, scoring 13 points in the Tigers 65-52 victory over San Diego. In the first round of the West regional against UNLV, Smyth once again played the entire game, but scored only four points as Princeton was routed by the Runnin' Rebels, 68-56.

8. Ryan Gomes (Waterbury) During the 2003-04 season, the Wilby High School graduate averaged 18.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for Providence College. The All-American forward led the Friars into the NCAA tournament with a 20-8 record, earning a number five seed. In the first round against Pacific, a 12-seed, Gomes played big, scoring 25 points while ripping down 13 rebounds. It wasn't enough though as Pacific sent the Friars packing with the 66-54 upset.

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7. Charles Smith (Bridgeport) After a spectacular career at Warren Harding High School, Smith accepted a scholarship from the University of Pittsburgh and put the Panthers on the map. He won Big East and All-America honors while guiding Pitt to national prominence. The Panthers made the NCAA tournament three times but could never past the second round while Smith was there. The future NBA draft had some monster games, though. In the first round of the 1988 tournament, Smith played all 40 minutes while scoring 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in Pitt's 108-90 win over Eastern Michigan. In the 1987 second-round game against Vanderbilt, Smith scored 21 points in 38 minutes of work. In the five games of his NCAA tournament career, the Bridgeport native averaged 21 points a game.

6. Scott Burrell (Hamden) The graduate will be remembered for his length of the court pass to Tate George in the 1990 NCAA regional semifinal that helped beat Clemson at the buzzer. Burrell was good enough to be drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first-round, so he was an easy choice by UConn coach Jim Calhoun throw it the long and difficult pass to George, who hit the shot to win the game. Burrell led the Huskies to three straight appearances in the NCAA tournament. He played in nine games, scoring a total of 99 points. Burrell's best performance came in a 1992 first-round game where he scored 20 points off the bench against Nebraska.

5. Chris Smith (Bridgeport) Jim Calhoun calls Smith one of the most important players in UConn history. The Huskies coach got Smith to stay in state after a stellar career at Smith is still the all-time leading scorer in UConn history. The silky-smooth guard led the Huskies to the NCAA tournament in three straight years (1990-91-92) and in nine total games, Smith averaged 19 points a game.

4. Calvin Murphy (Norwalk) During his senior year at Niagara University, the legend averaged 29.4 points per game while leading the Purple Eagles their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. There were only 25 teams in the "Big Dance" back then and Niagara was a huge underdog to Penn in the 1970 NCAA tournament. The Quakers were ranked seventh in the country and were riding an 18-game winning streak. Murphy dazzled the nation with a brilliant 35-point performance in Niagara's stunning 79-69 upset of Penn. Murphy scored just 18 points in the next round though, as the Purple Eagles lost to Villanova.

3. John Bagley (Bridgeport) After an outstanding career at Warren Harding High School, Bagley took his game to a new level at Boston College. As a sophomore in 1981, he became BC's first-ever Big East Player of the Year while leading the Eagles into the Sweet 16. The following year, the flashy guard averaged 21 points a game, helping BC reach the Elite Eight, where they lost to Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Cougars. Bagley was named to the regional all-tournament teams in both 1981 and 1982.

2. Mike Gminski (Monroe) The former star fromhelped Duke get to the national championship game as sophomore in 1978. In the semifinals vs. Notre Dame, the All-American torched the Fighting Irish for 29 points. In the championship game against Kentucky, Gminski had 20 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Wildcats held off the Blue Devils 94-88. Gminski led all scorers in the tournament with 109 points.

1. Harold Jensen (Trumbull) After an outstanding career at , Jensen was recruited by Rollie Massimino to play for Villanova. As a sophomore, Jensen helped the Wildcats become one of the biggest Cinderella stories in NCAA History. Playing Georgetown in the 1985 national championship game, the 6'5" swingman made all five of his shots from the floor and hit four clutch free-throws down the stretch to help give Villanova a 66-64 win over the Hoyas, which still stands as one of the greatest upsets in tournament history. Jensen, who averaged 4.1 points that season, was named to the All-Tournament team.

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