NCAA Tournament Prospect Watch: Towns scores 1 point, Dekker breaks out

The NCAA tournament has felt even more loaded with potential NBA prospects this year than it did in 2014, thanks to one of the most heralded draft classes of all time. Maybe it's the battle to be No. 1 pick, or the constant shuffling of those in the lottery, or the fact that 33 of ESPN's top-40 prospects were all on teams that made the field of 68. Maybe we just love this time of year regardless of prospect quality.

In any case, there were 74 prospects in the tournament ranked in the top 100 by either ESPN, DraftExpress or both, and 40 remain entering the Sweet Sixteen. Each day of the tournament, we'll check in and see how said prospects performed, and at the end of each weekend we'll provide a Stock Watch, letting you know who's been trending in what direction.

Pre-Tourney Previews: EAST | WEST | SOUTH | MIDWEST | Kentucky
Day One review: Russell, Towns shine
Day Two review: Okafor holds serve, Kaminsky dominates
Day Three review: Hollis-Jefferson locks up Russell
Day Four review: Rozier and Winslow excel
Week One Trending: 5 stocks going up
Week One Trending: 5 stocks going down

Towns shut out in blowout win

It wasn't a banner night for potential No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns, who let foul trouble get the best of him against West Virginia. It didn't matter at all for Kentucky, as they rolled to a 78-39 victory, but it's a little disconcerting given the Mountaineers attacked Towns with smaller and quicker bigs, when it was more physical teams that were supposed to give him trouble.

Towns played 13 minutes, shooting 0-of-3 from the floor, turning the ball over once, grabbing two rebounds and committing four fouls. That's his lowest scoring output of the season and marks the first time since Jan. 31 he went an entire game without blocking a shot.

One game is one game, and Towns didn't seem too worried about his showing in the blowout.

Sam Dekker saves his best

Frank Kaminsky gets all the headlines and Nigel Hayes had a breakout opening weekend on and off the court, but Sam Dekker may ultimately be the best NBA player of the bunch. A likely first-round pick with a draft stock that's been steady all year long, Dekker doesn't do any one thing incredibly but he's solid across the board and brings loads of intangibles, like awareness and toughness.

He brought his very best in the Sweet 16, scoring a career-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting and adding 10 rebounds in Wisconsin's victory. Give him 60 points over three tournament games, points that have come on 57.1 percent shooting with an 8-of-21 mark from outside.

He's also out there Shammgodding opponents, so how can you not like him?

• Kaminsky, meanwhile, started the game very quietly before finding his groove in the second half. UNC, short on size, threw hypothetically more mobile defenders at him but it didn't work out. Kaminsky finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and two assists, living at the line in the second half and hitting a clutch three late.
• Hayes saw his momentum slowed a bit with a 3-of-11 outing, finishing with 12 points and six rebounds. A bounce-back against Arizona would be great, but one bad outing probably didn't hurt him too much.

Top Performances

• Demetrius Jackson can ball. One of the biggest beneficiaries of a strong opening weekend, Jackson kept his momentum rolling with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting Thursday, with a 4-of-5 mark from outside. He added four rebounds and three assists, with the passing numbers muted some because he shares the rock with Notre Dame teammate Jerian Grant.
• With Jackson taking on the scoring load, Grant took on the more traditional point-guard role, dishing 11 assists. He was quiet scoring with nine points, and shooting remains a concern - except for in the clip below - but he created a ton for teammates and completely snuffed out Tekele Cotton on defense. He's the rare senior that could find himself in the lottery.

• Rondae Hollis-Jefferson sprained his knee, took a breather, then returned to help lock Xavier down in a 19-7 closing run to save Arizona from an upset loss. Hollis-Jefferson had five points, two rebounds, an assist and three steals, but so much of what the potential first-round pick does doesn't reveal itself in the box score.
• Xavier left Stanley Johnson wide open in the corners, helping scouts out by testing Johnson's 37.3-percent mark from long range. Johnson didn't have his best outing but answered with a 2-of-5 mark from outside, finishing 4-of-10 overall with 12 pointed and six rebounds.
• Kaleb Tarczewski had a season-high 12 rebounds to go with 12 points. The 7-footer is almost surely returning for the senior season, like teammate Brandon Ashley probably will, as both are likely outside of the second round. Ashley had eight points Thursday, but like RHJ, he does a lot that doesn't make it onto the scoresheet.
• T.J. McConnell continued his unlikely push for a Summer League invite, scoring 17 points with seven rebounds and five assists. A strong defender flush with intangibles, McConnell is now averaging 16 points, 5.7 rebounds, five assists and 3.3 steals in the tournament.

Kentucky gets its own section

When you have nine potential NBA draft picks, you get your own subheading. That's how life works. Given the nature of their game, it was tough to evaluate anyone too critically, but let's give it a whirl.

• Willie Cauley-Stein picked up the rebounding slack with Towns benched, hauling in 10 boards with eight points and three blocks. Another day, another great defensive performance for WCS.
• Trey Lyles continued to up his stock with improved play down the stretch of the season, scoring 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds. He also dropped two dimes, grabbed a steal and blocked a shot.
• The Harrison brothers both had great nights, with Aaron scoring 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and Andrew living at the line for 13 points on 2-of-6 from the floor. They combined for five rebounds, four assists and four steals, with all of the latter belonging to Andrew, whose draft stock is slightly higher.
• Dakari Johnson finally had a good game, shooting 4-of-5 for 12 points with six rebounds and two blocks. Marcus Lee got dusted off, too, scoring four points with five rebounds in 12 minutes. Devin Booker also bounced back some, hitting a pair of triples and finishing with 12 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes.
• Tyler Ulis may have lost some momentum after two strong outings, struggling to an 0-of-4 mark and committing four fouls in 26 minutes. He did dish four assists, the sixth consecutive game in which he's had at least three.

See you next year ... or on draft night

• As if Ron Baker's opening weekend didn't hurt his draft stock enough, he was kept quiet by Notre Dame on Thursday. He finished with nine points, six rebounds and three assists but shot 2-of-10 from the floor, giving him a 33.9-percent shooting mark across the Missouri Valley Conference and NCAA tournaments.
• For every bit Baker hurt his stock in the tournament, Wichita State teammate Fred VanVleet improved his. While he's still no lock to get drafted, his 25-6-3 final game - on 9-of-20 shooting - will give him plenty of momentum. He finished the tournament with 69 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists in three games. Should he and Baker both return for senior seasons, Wichita State could be right back here next year.
• North Carolina's five NBA prospects had a mixed bag in their final showings. Kennedy Meeks (four points, four rebounds) struggled against Kaminsky, but he was playing with a sprained left knee and it's tough to judge him under those circumstances. A junior season seems likely, because he's on the draft bubble.
• Justin Jackson continued making his case for inclusion early in the second round, scoring 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and dishing three dimes. Brice Johnson had a strong outing, too, shooting 7-of-9 for 15 points with four rebounds, though he, too, struggled with the much bigger Kaminsky.
• J.P. Tokoto was held to four points on 2-of-6 shooting, grabbing four rebounds with three assists. Marcus Paige flashed his shooting ability with a 3-of-5 mark from outside but shot 4-of-11 overall. Both could opt for a senior season with a spot in the draft not guaranteed.
• Juwan Staten almost certainly isn't NBA-bound, but he took a shot in his final game with West Virginia, scoring 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting.