Jackson Free Press

The madness of March begins today with the open round of the NCAA Tournament set to start shortly before noon. Mississippi will have its eyes on the University of Mississppi Rebels on Friday, but several players with ties to the metro area are also in the big dance.

If you are looking for teams other than the Rebels to root for, check out these players who all played high school basketball in the metro: DJ Evans, from Brandon, playing for the University at Albany; Jeremy Adams, from Madison Central, playing for the University of Colorado; and LaQuinton Ross, from Murrah, for Ohio State University.

Also of note is Jarvis Summers, who played basketball at Provine High School and now is trying to help Ole Miss get a win over Wisconsin. Summers missed a couple of games in the SEC Tournament with concussion symptoms and may miss the Rebels opening-round game.

Evans will try to help Albany upset second seed Duke University Friday morning. The junior point guard is a role player with the Great Danes, only averaging 2.5 points in a little more than 10 minutes of action each game.

Albany will need all they can get from Evans--who transferred from East Mississippi Junior College--if they hope to upset the Blue Devils. Evans' best game was a 10-point effort against Maryland's Loyola University late last year.

Adams hopes to help lead Colorado past Illinois Friday afternoon. The junior guard is averaging 10 minutes of playing time while scoring 2.7 points per game and adding 1.4 rebounds per game.

The Buffaloes backup guard came to Colorado after spending a year at Navarro Junior College. He originally signed with Texas A&M but transferred out of the program and eventually headed to Colorado.

Ross has the best chance of any player with Jackson ties to go deep in the tournament while playing for the second seeded Ohio State University. The sophomore forward has given the Buckeyes good production off the bench.

After missing most of last year due to academic issues, Ross played in every game for Ohio State this season. Ross is averaging 7.5 points per game with 2.8 rebounds in 17 minutes of playing time per game.

Ohio State will begin play in the NCAA Tournament Friday night against 15 seed Iona.

Summers was the starting point guard for Ole Miss until he suffered a concussion against Missouri in the SEC Tournament. The sophomore came to the Rebels straight from Provine and was playing well this season before his injury.

Ole Miss will miss Summers' 9 points, 3.7 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game if he is not able to return. The Rebels will also have to fill his nearly 27 minutes of playing time with other players.

Summers became the All-State and Metro Player of the Year during his senior year with the Rams. He helped Provine University reach the state championship game in his first three seasons.

Two other players have ties to the Jackson area, but they are not playing this season. Tyler Adams, out of Brandon, is with the Georgetown Hoyas, but is sitting out due to a heart condition. Trency Jackson, from Wingfield High School, must sit out for Western Kentucky University after transferring from Texas Tech University.