April 1, 2004 | ESPN.com's NCAA Tournament coverage
Final Four V-Previews: Connecticut-Duke | Georgia Tech-Oklahoma State

SAN ANTONIO -- At the Final Four, stars always seem to shine, and that should be the case Saturday. Here are my five PTPers to watch this weekend:

Luol Deng | Duke -- The multi-talented diaper dandy is shooting 57 percent from the field in the tournament while averaging 18 ppg. He's a force inside and outside and wouldn't allow the Blue Devils to lose to Xavier in the regional finals. Deng can score from the perimeter or drive to the basket. He will be an influential PTPer in the Final Four.

John Lucas | Oklahoma State -- The transfer from Baylor has been a perfect fit for Eddie Sutton this season. What an early Christmas present for Sutton! Lucas hit what arguably was the biggest shot in school history, being Mr. Clutch by nailing the game-winning trifecta against St. Joe's.

Ben Gordon | Connecticut -- He's a scoring machine averaging 22 ppg in the tournament and he's gotten better with each game. He put up 36 against Alabama and there's no question about his aggressiveness these days.

Emeka Okafor | Connecticut -- The reason teams shoot 36 percent against the Huskies is his presence inside. He's the best shot blocker I've seen since David Robinson and Patrick Ewing. Okafor forces teams to play on the perimeter, so he'll force Duke to hit the outside shot early. Opposing teams don't get much around the basket against this Connecticut big man.

Jarrett Jack | Georgia Tech -- He carried the Yellow Jackets on his back against Kansas with an incredible performance. He willed them to victory with 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

There you have it, my five most influential PTPers this weekend. It should be really special in San Antonio with four outstanding teams ready to roll. It will be awesome, baby, with a capital A!

Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons and the University of Detroit in the 1970s before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979 (he's been an ESPN analyst ever since). Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.