They stood tall

By Sunday night, some anonymous player will have become a household name and he will be recognized by total strangers.

That's the joy of the NCAA tournament, especially the first four days: An unknown can become the embodiment of March Madness.

As the tournament begins again, we look back at eight notable first-weekend heroes of the NCAA tournament:

1958: Jack Powers, Manhattan

Outcome: Manhattan stunned top-ranked West Virginia 89-84 in an East Regional first-round game at Madison Square Garden; teams weren't seeded in the NCAA tournament until 1979. Led by sophomore Jerry West, the Mountaineers were 26-1 going into the tournament. The unranked Jaspers lost 79-62 to Dartmouth in the second round.

The stats: Powers, a team captain, scored 29 points in the upset.

The memory: "A lot of the rooters from West Virginia didn't think they would lose. Instead of going to Madison Square Garden, they went directly to Charlotte for the second round. ... We had 14,000 people at the game, which was a good crowd. There were quite a few Jasper fans; they stormed the court like they do now. ... It was a tough, physical game. It was a great upset with Jerry coming in with all the publicity. It was probably the worst nightmare for Jerry West."

1964: Jerry Jackson, Ohio

Outcome: Ohio upset Louisville 71-69 in a Mideast Regional first-round game before shocking No. 4 Kentucky 85-69 in the second round in Evanston, Ill. The Bobcats lost 69-57 to No. 2 Michigan in the regional final in Minneapolis.

The stats: Jackson had 15 points in the first round, then had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the stunner over Kentucky, which had received a first-round bye.

The memory: "We weren't ranked or anything, but Kentucky was. They were receiving most of the press mostly because of who they were. We weren't supposed to have a chance at all. They had their superstar, Cotton Nash, and a few other players. We didn't pay it any mind. We just did what we knew how to do. We ended up beating them. I don't think the game was that close. It was just our night. ... They seemed to be stunned. We had a lot of steals and fast breaks. I don't think it was anything that outstanding. I had a pretty good game. The rest of the players were right there, too. We had four guys that averaged double figures. The four of us were always right there together. After the game, Adolph Rupp came into our locker room to congratulate us and we thought it was big of him, considering who he was."

Where he is now: Jackson is retired in Zanesville, Ohio, after being a middle-school teacher for 38 years and a coach for 24.

Outcome: Cal State Fullerton upset 12th-ranked New Mexico 90-85 in a West Regional first-round game and 11th-ranked San Francisco 75-72 in the second round before losing to No. 5 Arkansas 61-58 in the regional final in Albuquerque.

The stats: Heenan had 22 points and five rebounds in the first-round victory over the Lobos, a game the Titans won despite allowing New Mexico to shoot 62.1 percent from the field. He had 15 points and five rebounds against San Francisco, a game in which Fullerton rallied from 15 down in the second half.

The memory: "I think we were a team that a lot of people underestimated. I was a 10th-round pick. Another guy, Greg Bunch, was our go-to guy and he was a second-round pick. Mike Niles played an NBA for a year. I don't know if we were going to win, but I knew going in we were going to compete. We let the chips fall where they may. ... (Fullerton was) always good in baseball, but when (coach) Bobby Dye got there, he was always a winner. Fullerton was derided as "Cal State-Disneyland" and "Cal State-Who?" but was three points away from going to the Final Four. "For me it was a mockery of your team. It motivated you more. People tend to forget we were in a really good conference. ... The mockery part, when the ball goes up, you forget about that."

Where he is now: Heenan is in the mortgage business and also owns a food manufacturing business in Newport Beach, Calif.

1981: John Smith, Saint Joseph's

The stats: Smith scored 12 points against DePaul, including the game-winning layup at the buzzer. He had four points and six rebounds in the win over BC.

The memory: "My fondest memory would be Lonnie McFarlan, a freshman All-American, going up for the shot and passing me the ball. The irony is that he came to us as a prolific high school scorer. Lonnie's pass shocked the world. When I tell people, they say, 'Can you believe Lonnie passed the ball?' but he had three assists. DePaul guard Skip Dillard missed a free throw and we executed a missed free-throw fast break that was flawless. That was something we practiced every day for years. We weren't going to call timeout. It was the front end of a one-and-one. Had he missed, we weren't going to give them an opportunity to set their defense. We simply executed without panic. ... (Against Indiana,) I remember it being an uphill battle and we got off to a poor star. Isiah Thomas was the quickest basketball player I had seen in my life. I remember being in a sea of red sweaters."

Where he is now: Smith owns JAWS Marketing in Mantua, N.J.

1984: Bill Flye, Richmond

Outcome: Richmond beat Rider 89-65 in a play-in game in Philadelphia. The 12th-seeded Spiders went on to shock No. 5 seed Auburn 72-71 in the first round of the East Regional before losing 75-67 to Indiana in the second round in Charlotte, N.C. Richmond is the last play-in winner to win a tournament game.

The memory: "We didn't think we had much of a chance. We were going to go out there and have fun. We came out in that first half and nobody could miss anything. I think they overlooked us. I think they were looking forward to playing Indiana. ... We were in the 'flex' offense, and if you run it correctly, you get a wide-open jump shot on the elbow. That's probably where I scored half my points, on that 15-, 16-foot jumper right there." (Richmond fans at the game flapped their arms like wings throughout the game for Flye.) "They had been doing that for several years. And I think it started in my fraternity. A bunch of guys, every time I would score, would flap their hands and go 'Bill Flye, Bill Flye.' Next thing you know, the whole arena is doing it. It carried over into road games and into the tournament, too."

Where he is now: Flye works for a commercial construction company in Charlotte, N.C. He also is an AAU coach.

1989: Mike Buck, Middle Tennessee

Outcome: No. 13 seed Middle Tennessee stunned No. 4 seed Florida State 97-83 in a Southeast Regional first-round game in Nashville, about 30 miles from MTSU's campus. The Blue Raiders lost, 104-88, to Virginia Tech in the second round.

The stats: Buck, a freshman who averaged less than 6.0 points per game, came off the bench and literally couldn't miss against the Seminoles. Buck scored 23 second-half points to ignite a comeback from 17 points down. Buck finished 7-of-7 from the field, 6-of-6 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the line for 26 points in 22 minutes of action.

Where he is now: Buck is a basketball coach at Crossville (Tenn.) Stone Memorial High.

1989: Marc Brown, Siena

Outcome: No. 14 seed Siena stunned No. 3 seed Stanford 80-78 in an East Regional first-round game in Greensboro, N.C. Siena, which was making its NCAA debut, lost 80-67 to Minnesota in the second round.

The stats: Brown had a game-high 32 points in the upset of the Cardinal, ranked seventh in the nation at the end of the regular season. He would go on to be Siena's leading career scorer

The memory: Siena played parts of that season without any fan support because of a measles outbreak on campus. Siena played several games, including the North Atlantic Conference tournament, under quarantine.

Where he is now: Brown just finished his first season as coach at Division III New Jersey City University in Jersey City, N.J.

1999: Harold Arceneaux, Weber State

Outcome: No. 14 seed Weber State shocked No. 3 seed North Carolina, 76-74, in a West Regional first-round game in Seattle. It was the Tar Heels' first one-and-done NCAA appearance in 19 years. Weber State lost, 82-74, in overtime to Florida in the second round.

The stats: Nicknamed "The Show," Arceneaux carved up North Carolina's for 36 points and hit five three-pointers. He hit two free throws with 13.3 seconds left for the winning margin.

The memory: "We wanted to play to our strengths, and we didn't care about their strengths. We wanted to spread the floor and use our quickness, make some of their big people play away from the basket. ... I don't think North Carolina was ever worried about losing the game until the final few minutes. Then they started to takes us more seriously. ... Going into the game, maybe we were a little naive. We didn't worry that much about who we were playing. We felt like we had a chance. It finally hit us after the game. We realized what we had done." (Quotes from 2006 Rivals.com story.)