Meet The MA Locals Going Dancing In The 2024 NCAA Tournament

MASSACHUSETTS — The best week of the year for college basketball fans is here, as March Madness officially tips off this week.

With play-in games currently underway, the main event begins on Thursday and continues throughout the weekend until the Final Four starts on April 6.

A dozen Massachusetts locals are among those who will lace up their kicks and take the court at arenas across the country in search of their one shining moment (or, for one local, their second shining moment).

Patch has dug into the rosters of all 68 teams selected to the field on Sunday and found those players with hometowns listed within the Bay State. Here's who to keep an eye on this March.

Nicolas Timberlake, Kansas

Braintree, Mass.

Timberlake is a transfer from Towson spending a graduate season in Lawrence for the blue-blood Jayhawks.

After graduating from Braintree High School in 2017, Timberlake spent a year at Kimball Union Academy before enrolling at Towson where he scored over 1,500 points as a two-time All-Colonial Athletics Association (CAA) First Team selection.

He joined Kansas as Towson's all-time leader in three-pointers made and attempted.

Alex Karaban, Connecticut

Southborough, Mass.

Alex Karaban makes a return to this March Madness rundown for the second year after a freshman year averaging nearly 10 points and over four rebounds a game for the National Champion Huskies.

In 2023-2024 he's now averaging nearly 14 points and five rebounds a game for a UConn team many expect to make the Final Four and possibly repeat as champions.

Karaban didn’t spend all that much time in Massachusetts during his high school career, but did stay in New England.

He began his prep career at Algonquin Regional High before moving on to New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire, where he was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. He finished his prep years at Florida’s IMG Academy.

Jordan Clayton, Northwestern

Medford, Mass.

Clayton, a Medford native, who cut his teeth in the Mass Rivals AAU system, is a freshman for the Wildcats.

He's playing in limited minutes during his freshman campaign, but has solid pedigree. Out of high school, Clayton was the third-best prospect in Massachusetts and ranked 28th for point guards in the country.

Trevor Mullin, Yale

Wellesley, Mass.

Another freshman from Massachusetts, Mullin, like Clayton, hasn't found consistent minutes for the Ivy League champions.

As a high schooler, Mullin was named the 2023 NEPSAC Class A Player of the Year at St. Sebastian’s School.

A New Englander through and through, his gameday superstition is a staple of any regional home: Peanut butter and fluff sandwiches.

Casey Simmons, Yale

Milton, Mass.

Simmons and Clayton could have been teammates at Northwestern, but a transfer to Yale meant a minutes increase for the sophomore from Milton Academy.

Though Simmons played in 27 games for the Wildcats, his role at Yale has been expanded to a consistent contributor. Playing almost 14 minutes a game, Simmons is averaging over three points and two rebounds on the year.

A four-star recruit, Simmons was ranked the number one prospect in Massachusetts during his senior year.

Cooper Wright, Colgate

Cambridge, Mass.

Yet another young player from the Bay State, Wright suits up for Colgate but hasn't found many minutes on the veteran-led roster.

Wright played at both Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and St. Sebastian’s.

Wildens Leveque, Texas A&M

Brockton, Mass.

Leveque has played at three schools in his college career, starting at South Carolina and following head coach Frank Martin to UMass in 2022-2023.

For the Aggies Leveque has filled the role of backup big man, giving the team nearly two points and three boards off the bench.

Back home in New England, he played at Gould Academy and was ranked the second overall player in Massachusetts by ESPN.

TJ Power, Duke

Shrewsbury, Mass.

Locals have a reason to root for the team college basketball fans love to hate. Power was a major recruit during his senior year, ranking 16th nationally while at Worcester Academy.

His seven minutes a game aren't major for the national powerhouse, but he has provided shooting off the bench throughout the year, raining in 36 percent of his attempts from behind the arc.

Power was the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year in 2021-2022 and was a five-star recruit coming out of high school.

Tre Norman, Marquette

Boston, Mass.

Another Worcester Academy product, Norman was a consistent contributor for the Golden Eagles, especially down the stretch in Big East play.

Norman was part of the NEPSAC Class AA championship team at Worcester Academy along with Power, going for 19.3 points and 7.5 rebounds during that season.

Marvin Musiime-Kamali, Akron

Brockton, Mass.

A Freshman for the Zips who played at Cushing Academy and was part of the Middlesex Magic program.

He is a walk-on at Akron who didn't see any action during his freshman campaign. However, Akron has a history of developing walk-ons. Enrique Freeman walked onto the team and found himself a First Team All-Mac selection in 2023.

Jordan Minor, Virginia

Kingston, Mass.

Minor, a graduate transfer from Merrimack, should have made the NCAA tournament last year but was thwarted by NCAA rules that didn't allow the Warriors to go dancing.

Now at Virginia, Minor found himself playing 19 minutes in Tuesday's play-in game loss to Colorado State after averaging four points and three rebounds for the Cavaliers this season.

Minor was a stud at Merrimack, where he was named both Defensive Player of the Year and Northeast Conference Co-Player of the Year in 2022-2023. He averaged 17.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.4 steals as both an offensive and defensive stalwart.

He was the 16th player in Merrimack history to score over 1,000 points and collect 500 rebounds.

Shy Odom, Howard

Roxbury, Mass.

Shy Odom joins Minor as a Massachusetts native who saw their team take a loss in Tuesday's first NCAA Tournament games.

Still, Odom has plenty of career in front of him and is off to a terrific start. In 2022-2023 he was named the MEAC Rook of the Year and the conference's tournament MVP.

His numbers took a small downturn in 2023-2024, which saw him average 8.4 points and 3.3 rebounds.