March Madness getting canceled due to COVID-19 had a number of really unfortunate side effects. Perhaps the most unfortunate of them all is that seniors will not get the opportunity to have one final shining moment, and the opportunity to potentially cement their place in NCAA Tournament lore is no longer on the table.
As a result, we here at Dime wanted to take a moment to shout out two of college basketball’s most outstanding senior guards and compare them to two legends of the game. Today’s Dime Breakdown spotlights Markus Howard of Marquette and Cassius Winston of Michigan State, both of whom had the potential to put their teams on their backs and lead them deep into the Tournament.
Howard’s game reminds us a bit of Jimmer Fredette — a high-scoring guard from a smaller school who is in range to rise and fire from the moment he steps over half-court. Winston, meanwhile, has just enough Kemba Walker in his game that the Spartans always seemed like they had an advantage going into any matchup, if only because there was no way the other squad would have a gamer capable of rising to the occasion like their star floor general.
There will be other NCAA Tournaments, and there will be more opportunities for players to go from really good college basketball players to all-time greats. That, sadly, won’t happen this year, but if it did, we’re confident that Howard and Winston would have made their way into that rarified air. But if there is any solace they can take, we have a hunch that by the time future NCAA hoopers join the Jimmers and the Kembas, Howard and Winston will be getting the job done at the next level.