All-Tournament 1st Team of Surprises

Before I get into my post, I wanted to say that I am confused on what is the first and second rounds of the tournament.  Apparently, the Thursday and Friday games that are now past us are the second round.  Yet that is when 95% of the teams play their first game.  They say the First Four is the play-in game, but  somehow it is the first round as well.  I have seen announcers get confused many times on what the first round is.  To laugh at this, I have prepared a skit about it.

Announcer 1: In my bracket so far, I have gotten 22 of the 32 first round games correct.
Announcer 2: I don't mean to correct you, but I think that it is considered the second round.
Announcer 1: Well.... Then what is the 1st round?
Announcer 2:  I'm not really sure.  It has not been made clear yet.  I would expect the first round to be the play-in games.
Announcer 1:  That makes no sense!  A play-in game is a play-in to the tournament, but somehow that is the first round?
Announcer 2:  Well... I just know that the rounds go: First Four, Second Round, Third Round, Fourth Round, Fifth Round, etc.  I don't see the first round.
Announcer 1:  Maybe there is a typo on the sheet.
Announcer 2:  Let's go down to our sideline reporter for a second opinion.
Sideline Reporter:  It looks like the Tar Heels will win their first round game.  Well... I think it is their first round game.  It says on my bracket it is the second round.  But then why are both of these teams playing their first round game in the second round?  I just don't understand it.  Back to you Announcer 1.
Announcer 1:  Me and Announcer 2 have done some research on this.  The play-in games are apparently the first round, but I just don't understand why they are called play-in games if they are the first round.
Announcer 2:  The NCAA has to choose one or the other.  Are you going to give 60 teams byes for the first round, or are you going to have play-in games?
Announcer 1:  Let's ask an NCAA expert.
NCAA expert:  We, as the NCAA, have chosen to just mess with fans and skip the first round.  We have decided that it will improve the tournament landscape if their is no first round, as no one watches the first round anyway.  We thought about  just calling everything the championship to get better viewer ratings.  It is all about the money isn't it?
Announcer 1: Interesting opinion.  We are going to have to go to a commercial break to figure this dilemma out.

Everyone involved with the tournament is focusing on the big upsets of Florida Gulf Coast (twice!), Harvard, Oregon, Lasalle, Mississippi and even California.  Instead, I am going to focus on the surprise players who have dominated the tournament, allowing their teams to get big wins, whether they are upsets or not.  These are not players who had memorable or noticeably great regular seasons, but they proved themselves when it mattered nonetheless.

PG Brett Comer, Florida Gulf Coast, 11.0 ppg, 12.0 apg

Comer runs the show for this unknown team from Florida.  Before I get into the details of Comer, I think we should all step back and admire the craziness of this year's season for Florida Gulf Coast.  This is their second year in Division I sports, and only their 12th year as a school.  Yet somehow, some way, they are in the Sweet 16.  They are one of the 16 best teams in college basketball right now.  Comer may not lead them in scoring, he is only averaging 11 points per game in the tournament.  But he is averaging 12 assists per game, and leading the Florida Gulf Coast offense to back to back wins.  Sherwood Brown, and others on FGCU may be more flashy, but without Comer, FGCU would be nowhere.  They need Comer to create.  Comer is a playmaker, which is the most important thing to be in college basketball.  FGCU has done so well because Andy Enfield, their coach recruits playmakers.  At the end of the clock, Comer is as good as anyone one in the game at making a play and creating an easy bucket.  In transition, he makes the smart play, as well as the right play, and leads this team to victory.

PG Mark Lyons, Arizona, 25.0 ppg, 2.0 apg

Mark Lyons only averaged 15 points per game in the regular season.  He was a good player, but never great.  But in the tournament, Lyons has been great.  Just like Comer, he has made plays.  He has worked his butt off on defense, and taken advantage of his opportunities.  The motto "See the opportunity in every difficulty" represents what he has done this tournament.  Whenever Arizona is in a bad situation, Lyons leads them out of it, and finds a way to make a play.  At the end of the game, someone needs to make a play, and Lyons does this.  Lyons is like a tiger (he seems tiger-like) , yet he is as fast as a cheetah, nimble as a leopard (leopards are nimble right?)  and leads his Wildcats to victory (I just used the names of 4 types of wild cats!).  Lyons will continue to  score at a great rate, and try to lead the Wildcats to one or more victories in the tournament.

C Arsalan Kazemi, Oregon, 9.5 ppg, 16.5 rpg

Kazemi can rebound the ball.  He wants more than anyone else.  As a wise man once said "When you want the ball, you're probably gonna get it".  I agree with that wonderfully intelligent wise man.  I think I should give over my blog to him!  Anyway, Kazemi wants the ball, and he gets it.  He hustles like no other player, and chases the ball.  A team that is not a number 1 or number 2 seed needs a guy like Kazemi to make it far in the tournament.  They need a guy who does the dirty work.  Oregon has done great so far, and I think they have the talent to upset Louisville (I know, doesn't that sound crazy!)

SG Vander Blue, Maquette, 22.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.5 spg

Vander Blue certainly isn't feeling blue after their win vs. Butler.  He played great, scoring 29 points to go along with 4 steals.  He really led their team and knocked down some key shots.  To me, he looks like an NBA player, and a good one, too, if he learns how to shoot threes.  That is really the only thing missing from his game.  He plays very good defense, and can drive and hit short shots, especially layups.  He is a great slasher, and he is a real finisher.  He can get to the rim as well as anyone in college.  Although he is talented, I think Marquette as a whole is overrated.  They can't shoot threes and are not clutch.

SF/PF Cleanthony Early, Wichita St, 18.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg

Cleanthony Early has done great in the tournament for Wichita State.  The Shockers, with Early's help, shocked Gonzaga (no, not electrically).  They upset them, cruising into the Sweet 16, and they now have a favorable matchup vs. lower seed Lasalle, which means the shockers could be dancing a little bit longer.  If they win their next two games, they are in the Final Four!  That means either Lasalle, a 13 seed, or Wichita St, a 9 seed, two teams who weren't even supposed to win their first tournament game will make it to the Elite Eight, and play for a chance to play in the Final Four.   If Wichita does this, Early will be one of the people that is responsible.  He has been one of their best players the whole year, and has stepped up big time in the NCAA tournament.