You gotta love Chicken Little and those like her (yes, her
““ I checked) who think the sky is falling at the slightest
hint of turmoil.
Those who predicted the demise of NCAA basketball because of
high-schoolers jumping ship to the NBA obviously haven’t been
watching this year’s men’s tournament or Monday’s
national title game.
First it was Kevin Garnett’s fault.
Then Kobe Bryant was to blame.
This past year, LeBron James took the heat.
But when considering what has transpired over the last three
weeks, there hasn’t been anything to apologize for.
The dilution of talent in college hoops was supposed to make for
an unappealing product, and consequently reducing the attention
received.
If possible, college basketball is more popular than ever.
March Madness was slated to transform into March “Slight
Craziness,” which just doesn’t have the same ring.
It has been nine years since Kevin Garnett made the fateful leap
to the NBA, which is a long enough span to analyze, interpret, and
assess the so-called disturbing trend.
So what effect has this had on the collegiate game?
Nada (that’s French for nothing).
Whether it’s two great Final Four games which saw UConn
and Georgia Tech eke out wins with last-minute baskets or
Cinderella teams like Nevada and Alabama dancing on the hardwood
and into our hearts, the greatness that is college basketball is
here to stay. Forever.
Emeka Okafor’s resurgence in the Final Four and bringing
UConn its second national title was simply awesome.
Images of freshman phenom Carmelo Anthony helping legendary
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim land a long-awaited championship are
still indelible.
Though it seems like just yesterday, Ed O’Bannon’s
and Tyus Edney’s restoring of UCLA as a basketball powerhouse
still looms large nine years later.
And NCAA basketball will continue to spit out unforgettable
moments and unbelievable performances because the system still
works.
It’s a system that, while in the past was highlighted by
megastars and individual performers, has always been predicated on
team play and fundamental basketball.
It’s a system that allows no-names like Georgia
Tech’s Will Bynum to take his place in Final Four lore.
Most importantly, it’s a system that keeps everyone
involved, and therefore interested.
Throw in the recent trend of parity in college hoops into the
mix, and what you get is a slap-me-silly fantastic jolly of a
time.
Nothing captivates a national audience more than not knowing who
will be good from one year to the next (the Bruins have been bad
for too many years now, it’s their turn in 2005).
The time for dynasties in college hoops has come and gone. Along
with high-schoolers and underclassmen opting for the NBA early
comes the extinction of dinosaur franchises such as UCLA, North
Carolina and Kentucky.
Look at this year’s Final Four. UConn, Georgia Tech,
Oklahoma State and Duke were nowhere to be found during last
year’s Final Four run, and besides Mike Krzyzewski’s
(pronounced Coach K) powerhouse program in Durham, odds are that
none of these teams will be back next year.
It begs the question, what’s there to fix?
In 2003, five high-schoolers were drafted into the NBA. Big
freaking whoop.
Would five freshmen athletes have changed the complexion of how
this tremendous collegiate basketball season played out? I doubt
it.
Will bypassing college and heading straight to the NBA bench
influence the rest of their lives? Absolutely.
There are countless high-schoolers who have failed to make the
jump and because they have failed, they are nameless.
Ironically, it’s not the college game that has suffered,
but rather it’s the NBA that has seen interest in it
withdrawn with all this waste of talented youth.
Do you remember last year’s NBA Finals? Neither do I.
It’s great that these kids can dunk and have mastered the
crossover, but it stinks that they don’t know when to use a
good bounce pass.
While the NBA finds itself in a world of trouble, the 2004
version of March Madness has shown the eternal strength of NCAA
basketball.
Like the Mona Lisa, March Madness is the epitome of its
genre.
And like the Mona Lisa, don’t mess with it.