Significant attention has been paid to South Carolina's local products Sindarius Thornwell, PJ Dozier and Justin McKie and their opportunity to lead their childhood team on college basketball's biggest stage.
For the five international players on the Gamecocks' roster and the ten others playing in the Final Four this weekend, the spotlight in Phoenix is a remarkable occasion for a very different reason.
"It's special moment when these kids that never get to play in front of their families, all of a sudden that happens," South Carolina head coach Frank Martin said.
South Carolina freshman forward Maik Kotsar, a native of Estonia, will be playing in front of his parents when South Carolina faces Gonzaga in the semifinal game.
"The NCAA gets beat up a lot," Martin said. "How awesome is it that the NCAA helps provide so these kids' parents can travel? Because you can ask them, they'll tell you, most of their families couldn't afford on their own four days before the trip to buy plane tickets and stay in $350-a-night hotels to come watch their kids on this platform."
"It's really hard, especially during Christmastime," Kotsar said. "I have three siblings, they are all younger. It's tough not to see them grow up."
"Whether it's my home or PJ's home or Sin's home, these guys do an unbelievable job of making all of our guys included in the journey that we're on together," Martin said.
Having so many players' families in the Columbia area that are willing to temporarily adopt international players is a unique benefit for the program, but things can get more difficult after those breaks.
"When they leave those environments, they realize, like, that's awesome, that's a great family, but, dang, I miss my family," Martin said. "We always struggle with guys, foreign guys, right after Christmas."
Roughly a quarter of the players on the rosters of South Carolina, Oregon, Gonzaga and North Carolina were born outside of the United States, representing 12 countries over five continents.
Canada has emerged as one of the fastest growing basketball hotbeds in the world in recent years and five players from the country are on Final Four rosters.
"I think Canada is really starting to get a lot more recruiting action," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "We're running into a lot more schools up there than we previously have. So because of the success that a number of the young men from Canada have had, I think it's opened up a lot of doors for Canadian players."
"I come from a country where basketball is starting to grow; it's becoming prominent," South Carolina guard Duane Notice said. "Being one of the few Canadians left in the Final Four and making a historic run in my senior year feels good. The feeling of having the whole country cheering for me is hard to describe."