With March Madness upon us, the basketball world is getting to know names that they’ve never heard before. Some lucky guy will be catching a hot streak and will be winning the Final Four Most Outstanding Player Award.

With the award comes exposure and the hope of an improve pro draft status. But how do you evaluate the talent in the NCAA? How do you know who would make a good pro? Should we get excited watching this year’s tourney, about the kid who seizes the moment and leads his team to a national title? In other words, does an MOP award mean success for a pro career? We shall find out.

I have taken the Final Four MOP award winners over the last 12 years to see whether their heroic performance as a student athlete translated into a nice pro career or not. Here is the list:

1994 - Corliss Williamson:
Williamson is still in the NA, still going strong, and he is one of the few players who has actually won it all at all three levels (AAU, NCAA, NBA). All of this whilst being the most questioned MOP of the nineties. You see Williamson lacked a position in the pro game, he was deemed too slow to play the three, and too small to play the four. Alas, Williamson managed to find a niche for himself as he proved to be a productive member of every team he has been on.

1995 - Ed O’Bannon:
Another sad story. Ed’s knee gave him trouble early in his college career. A torn ACL had doctors telling him that he might not be able to walk normally again. Yet he managed to rehabilitate the knee and lead UCLA to a national title. At this point not a soul would have thought that his brother and UCLA teammate Charles O’Bannon would have a more successful pro career than him. Ed’s knee never allowed him to be a great pro though, as he remained stuck out of position as a guard/forward. Constant injury woes and nagging pain affected his play. After being released in 1997 by the Magic, Ed tried reviving his career in Europe. Constant knee problems eventually led him to retire at the tender age of 30.

1996 – Tony Delk:
An incredible spot-up shooter who has been able to make a career out of hitting the three. He is now out of the NBA and playing in Europe, but he has made a mark at every one of his basketball stops. To be fair, Delk won the MOP for one of the deepest championship winning teams because he caught fire at the right time, during the final four. His most memorable NBA moment came in 2001 when as a member of the Phoenix Suns he scored 53 points in a game against the Sacramento Kings. Delk has signed with Panathinaikos of Greece in 2006.

1997 - Miles Simon:
The typical example of college star who would never make it in the NBA. Simon was too short to play shooting guard and was never interested in playing the point. He was never a deadly shooter, he did not have a decisive go to move. He was simply a slasher who could kill zone defenses and could hit off-balance leaning shots. A nightmare match-up in college, yet with a quicker, more aggressive man-to-man defense in the NBA he never managed to cope. He did however have a successful pro career in the CBA where he won nearly every award imaginable in a season when he led the Dakota Wizards to a title. Simon has returned to coach Lute Olson and Arizona where he is currently an assistant coach

1998 - Jeff Sheppard:
Sheppard was a shooter who needed to have opportunities created for him. Whilst he did fine in college, this has not translated into success in the pro game. He had a brief uninspired stint with the Atlanta Hawks after which he tried basketball in Italy for three years. Since then Jeff has left his playing days behind and is currently living in Kentucky.

1999 – Richard Hamilton:
There’s really no need to introduce Rip. After a successful college career he is pursuing his second NBA title as a key member of the Detroit Pistons.

2000 – Mateen Cleaves:
Cleaves was supposed to be a surefire NBA point for years to come. His playing style at Michigan State was aggressive enough to have NBA scouts thinking he could become a good point guard in the league. Whilst Cleaves has managed to stay in (or at least around) the NBA, he has not made the impact many believed he was capable of making. Cleaves is currently in the NBA’s D-League.

2001 – Shane Battier:
Mr. Everything has been outstanding in college, and though (much like Corliss Williamson) he was questioned as an out of position player, he managed to put together a fine NBA career thus far.

2002 – Juan Dixon:
The jury’s still out on Dixon who is currently a member of the Toronto Raptors. It is certain he has a place in the NBA, he has shown that he belongs. The question is simply will he continue to improve at the rate that he has so far? It certainly will be fun to find out.

2003 – Carmelo Anthony:
Another player who needs no introduction. Anthony is the leader of the Denver Nuggets and a candidate for this year’s NBA scoring title.

2004 – Emeka Okafor:
No long story here either, as Okafor is the cornerstone of a young Charlotte team.

2005 – Sean May:
May could end up amongst the fabled misses on this list as he is constantly missing from action due to injuries. He has only played 58 games out of a possible 159 in his short career. It’s too bad, because he has proven to be a capable player, but no NBA team likes to employ someone who plays in less than half of the team’s games.

2006 – Joakim Noah:
He is still in college, and early indications are that he will make a fine pro.

So what does this all mean? Are Final Four MOPs doomed to fail at the next level? Well, not exactly. In all fairness this is an award which is given on the basis of a player’s performance in two stress-filled games. While one might think this way we can at least see who is able to thrive under pressure, yet most of the times it is a factor of pure luck, a well-timed hot streak and some good form.

It certainly will not hurt anyone to win the award, but its only true positive aspect is the exposure that comes with it. The player then needs his talent and skill to make more out of it.

Are Final Four MOPs destined for the top, or the scrapheap? We want your thoughts at Sportingo.