March Madness: Three Bergen County Players To Watch For In NCAA Tournament

The area has no shortage of players going dancing for March Madness.

Brad Calipari of Franklin Lakes plays for University of Kentucky.
Photo Credit: *Brad Calipari Twitter*

Markis McDuffie of Paterson plays for Wichita State.
Photo Credit: *Markis McDuffle Facebook*

Paul Jorgensen of New City plays for Butler.
Photo Credit: *Butler Athletics*

Manny Suarez of Cliffside Park plays for Creighton.
Photo Credit: *Manny Suarez Facebook*

Joel Hernandez of Teaneck celebrates after shocking Wagner last week to win the NEC title. LIU lost to Radford Tuesday night.
Photo Credit: *Joel Hernandez Twitter*

Cecilia Levine

03/15/2018 5:30 a.m.

Here are standouts from Bergen and Passaic counties to watch for in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and when you can see their first-round games.

Paul Jorgensen, Butler: The New City, N.Y. native graduated from Don Bosco Prep. The guard played two seasons at George Washington helping lead them to the NIT title last year with an average of 15.7 minutes per game. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining at Butler. (10.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG). March 16 vs. Arkansas at 3:10 p.m.
Markis McDuffie, Wichita State: The 20-year-old forward hails from Paterson. He led the team in scoring last season but missed the start of this season due to a stress fracture in his foot. March 16 vs. Marshall 1:30 p.m.
Brad Callipari, University of Kentucky: The sophomore guard is from Franklin Lakes. He became a sharpshooter in his final season at the MacDuffie School in Massachusetts where he shot a team-high 47 percent from behind the 3-point line. March 15 vs. Davidson 7:10 p.m.
Manny Suarez, Creighton: The 24-year-old Cliffside Park native almost stopped playing Division I ball last year after the season ended at Adelphi. He transferred into the Division II school after his second season at Fordham University. It wasn't until a conversation with his uncle that he decided to continue playing. Creighton it would be. March 16 vs. Kansas State 6:30 p.m.

Eliminated:

Joel Hernandez, LIU Brooklyn: The 6-foot-3 redshirt senior guard of Teaneck could be the best player on his team. Last week, he had the best game of his career against Wagner, shining with 32 points and seven rebounds. LIU won 71-61 taking the Northeast Conference Tournament title. LIU lost to Radford on Tuesday 71-61. Hernandez tweeted: "Thank you #blackbirdnation been a great 5 Years."

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