Greg Oden?  Kevin Durant?  Al Horford?  Mike Conley?  Who is deserving of the top pick in this year?s NBA Draft?  Oh wait, that was last year?s crew.

During last year?s NCAA Tournament, NBA fans were privy to a new type of tourney that would allow them to follow their favorite prospects and watch them perform as minutes mattered most.  For the first time since David Stern?s mandate that required top high school recruits to play a minimum of one season in college, the tournament was stacked with players of high stature that could use the tourney as a means to vault themselves into the top five of the Draft lottery.

However, we all knew it would come down to two names ? Kevin Durant and Greg Oden ? for the top spot overall.  What we didn?t know was whether or not a player outside of the two-man spotlight would be able to make a tournament run and boost his draft stock into the top of the lottery.  

As it played out, Kevin Durant wasn?t able to get his Texas Longhorns past the second round while Greg Oden led the Ohio State Buckeyes to the NCAA Title Game.  On the flip side, Al Horford carried his Florida Gators to their second consecutive National Championship while Oden?s buddy and teammate Mike Conley stood out among the top point guards in the nation and was the true reason the Buckeyes reached the season?s final game.

So who are this year?s top five prospects vying for the top pick in the 2008 NBA Draft?

Michael Beasley.  Derrick Rose.  Jerryd Bayless.  O.J. Mayo.  Eric Gordon.

These are five of the top six selections in Christopher Reina?s RealGM Mock Draft.  The only name missing is Marreese Speights of the Florida Gators, who failed to make a return to the tournament this year.  

Can one of these five young athletes use the NCAA Tournament as a stepping stone to the top overall selection in the Draft?  Only time will tell.

After watching the first round of action, it is clear who the top player is in the nation.  Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley led his 11th-seed Kansas State to an upset win over O.J. Mayo?s 6th-seeded USC, 80-67.  The multi-talented big man gave professional scouts all they needed to see to confirm their beliefs that Mike Beasley is deserving of the top pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.  Plagued by foul trouble throughout the game, Beasley was held to only 29 minutes on the floor.  Aided by a stellar 17-point first half performance by fellow Wildcat Bill Walker, Beasley was able to come back strong in the second half and boost his freshman double-double record to 27.  His 23 points and 11 rebounds helped lead the Wildcats into the second round for the first time since 1988, and ousted fellow projected lottery pick O.J. Mayo from the tournament.  Beasley?s all-around efficient play (7-12 from the field, 8-10 from the line) and awareness of the ball around the basket helped seal the deal that he is ready to become the heir apparent to Greg Oden?s throne.  

This highly-touted Kansas State vs. USC match-up did not disappoint.  Not only did Beasley prove his value in a high-pressure environment, but it also may have helped head-case O.J. Mayo save face and put a jolt in his current lottery projection.  Originally believed to be vying for the top overall pick coming out of high school, Mayo?s draft stock has been volatile at best.  Known as a selfish player, Mayo demonstrated his value in the intensity he could bring to the NBA level.  He finished with 20 points and 5 assists on 6-16 shooting but played with an edge and an abundance of spirit that helped give the Trojans their first lead in the second half.  Trying to get his team back in the game, Mayo sparked a 10-3 run by nailing a silky smooth three-pointer from the wing and completing a traditional three-point play on a fast break lay-up that displayed his strength and fury when taking the ball hard to the rim.  Unfortunately for Mayo and his fellow Trojans, Mike Beasley and his crew were simply too much.  But this game gave pro teams looking to add a lengthy shooter who can bring the heat on defense another reason to give O.J. Mayo a workout.

The other Diaper Dandy looking to make a push for the top slot is the dynamic playmaking point guard from Memphis Derrick Rose.  Rose led the Memphis Tigers to a 34-1 record this season with his ability to set up his teammates, his soft touch from the outside, and his tenacity and viciousness on the defensive end.  The top-seeded Tigers were not challenged much in their 87-63 rout over the Mavericks from Texas-Arlington, but D-Rose made a claim for the top spots for teams seeking the next Chris Paul.  Rose needed only 32 minutes on the floor to saturate the stat sheet with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.  He shot 6-10 from the floor, 2-2 from beyond the arc, and 3-4 from the line.  However, it was his leadership and uncanny vision that allowed big men Robert Dozier and Joey Dorsey to get the ball near the basket and his scorers on the wings Antonio Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts to light up the scoreboard and combine for 50 points.

The final two top prospects heading into the tourney had much more in common than one would expect.  Not only are Jerryd Bayless and Eric Gordon both combo guards who are too small to be true shooting guards and too shot-prone to be true point guards, but they are both freshman entering their first tournaments without the coach that brought them to their respective programs.  Arizona Coach Lute Olsen took this season off, and recruiting allegations against Indiana?s Kelvin Sampson forced him to retire.  Coaching is vital to college basketball, and that could be a primary reason for the added pressure on these freshman floor generals. However, they did not do much to solidify their standings as potential top five picks.  Instead, they may have given themselves a couple million reasons to stay in school another year.    

Jerryd Bayless couldn?t match his season average 19.7 points or 4.0 assists and failed to catapult the Arizona Wildcats into the second round.  He shot a measly 4-10 from the floor and only dished out 3 assists to accompany his 2 turnovers.  More importantly, as the 7-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers were pulling away en route to a 75-65 victory, Chase Budinger looked over his shoulder and Bayless was nowhere to be found.

Similarly for the Hoosiers, Eric Gordon was about as visible as Casper the Friendly Ghost to the common man.  While D.J. White was punishing the basket with 22 points and 9 rebounds, Gordon was hoisting up shots and letting pro scouts think he?d rather be a bricklayer for a construction site than a sixth man sparkplug scorer in the NBA.  He shot a woeful 3-15 from the floor, 0-6 from downtown and finished with only 1 assist while committing 3 turnovers.  If ever was there a terrible venue for a shooting performance this horrid Round One of the tourney was it.    

While it is unfair to gauge a player?s draft stock on one performance, it is also important to evaluate each player with a focus on how they produce in a pinch.  As Al Horford and Mike Conley proved last year that a player who can rise to the challenge of a pressure-packed situation, can succeed at the next level.  

Maybe it is time for Mike Beasley to square up and try to take Ron Artest off the dribble, whereas maybe it's time for Eric Gordon to continue to shoot over Michigan?s Manny Harris?instead of Detroit?s Richard Hamilton.

Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts and predictions on which team will win the 2008 NCAA Tournament.  Who will be the top pick in the 2008 NBA Draft?  He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments.