"Really difficult to deal with" - Analyst Jay Bilas names his "players to watch" in South Region and it's not Cooper Flagg

With the 2025 NCAA Tournament tipping off, 'players to watch' lists have been stuffed with stars who were born during the regular season. On the men's side, talented Duke Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg and the Auburn Tigers' Johni Broome headline the National Player of the Year Award race and are also the most recognizable faces in college basketball.

In a clip posted on X on Tuesday, college basketball insider Jay Bilas gave his 'players to watch' list while casting aside the popular Flagg and renowned Broome.

"Here are some players to watch out for in each region of the NCAA Tournament," Jay Bilas said. "And if you're expecting Cooper Flagg of Duke and Johni Broome of Auburn, we're gonna go with some other players to get them a little bit more attention. If you don't know Flagg and Broome, I can't help you. We'll start in the South Region."

Bilas chose Marquette Golden Eagles guard Kam Jones and Yale Bulldogs star John Poulakidas as his focus players while highlighting the qualities that made them watch-worthy.

"Kam Jones of Marquette and John Poulakidas of Yale," Bilas said. "Both are left-handers. Kam Jones took over the point guard position at Marquette from Tyler Kolek who went into the NBA and has done a magnificent job. Early in the season, he was right there in the discussion for NPOY. Flagg and Broome kind of took off on everybody and made it a two-horse race, but Kam Jones has had a spectacular season for Marquette and he is really difficult to deal with.

"Scores, assists, defends, he does it all. John Poulakidas, he's an NBA player, and he can really shoot the ball. Last year against Auburn, in Yale's upset over the Tigers, he had 28 points. This year, he's put up 23 points on Purdue. He can really, really shoot it. And Yale is gonna be a very, very dangerous team in the NCAA Tournament."

Why Kam Jones & John Poulakidas headline players to watch list

Kam Jones averaged 15.9 points on 48.4% shooting from the floor and 31.2% shooting from beyond the arc, 4.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists for the Marquette Golden Eagles this season.

The No. 7-seeded Golden Eagles were beaten 79-63 by the St. John's Red Storm in the Big East Tournament semifinal. But they clinched a March Madness spot and will face the No. 10-seeded New Mexico Lobos in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

John Poulakidas averaged 19.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the Yale Bulldogs who won the Ivy League Tournament championship when they beat the Cornell Big Red 90-84 in the championship game. Poulakidas will get a chance to show why he's on the 'players to watch' list when the Bulldogs face the No. 4-seeded Texas A&M Aggies in the first round as 7.5-point underdogs.