It was the best NCAA basketball tournament we have ever seen, and whom do we have to thank for it? The players are obviously the main ingredients in forcing five overtime games - three in the first round alone - with 20 others decided by five points or less. There was a total of 18 "upsets" (lower seed beating higher seed) during March Madness, a bracket-busting melee of parody and the unpredictable.
The organizers had the ship running smoothly as usual. The "madness" is so well controlled and operated it plays out like clockwork. They could axe the side events and fans would still have fun by accident, which is the best kind of fun there is. The players and media certainly had theirs and so did you. Another reason to leave the field at 64 teams thank you very much.
What wasn't an accident was the strong collegiate collection of talent spread across the college ranks and not just among the traditional powerhouses, many of who were rehabilitivly (North Carolina) absent this year. Sure the players still get pimped by the NCAA, advertisers and anybody else who can squeeze a wad of cash out of the college basketball keyster. Kansas showed up for their 20th straight appearance, as did head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke Blue Devils making their 15th straight tournament appearance with the program capturing its 4th title. Some things never change.
Some things change.
Sometimes people change them back.
Huh?
Yeah-er.
That's why there was a distinct and palpable energy released into the air following the initial day of the tournament that resulted in three of the five overtime matches and a few unexpected ousters. Yes, this past March there was a whiff of something brand new. Something that was back for the first time. It smelled like a payoff.
No, we're not talking scandals, bribes or point-shaving hoop heads. We're talking bodies, playa. Or is that player bodies? As in the kind that stay in school. We’re talking about parody too.
Since the NBA introduced the age restriction a few years ago, effectively forcing straight-outta high school hopefuls to enter college (or another non-NBA affiliated professional league) before being NBA draft eligible, the NCAA has seen in an increase in the competitiveness of their version of hoops. The NBA didn't like the immaturity – both mentally and physically - they were getting from the next generation, who in turn were pushing more and more veteran players (and their preferred attitudes) out of the league each year. Meanwhile the NCAA and its premiere tournament were losing star power at a rapid pace. Imagine if LeBron James had suited up for Ohio State eight years ago? What if Greg Oden hadn't suited up them five years later? What if Kevin Durant had never played a year of college ball in Texas? Would he have been of the right mind and nurture to attack the NBA the way he has, picking up his first scoring title in just his third season? What if Kwame Brown had gone to college instead of being the first high school player picked first overall in the draft, only to become one of the biggest busts in NBA history?
So in 2010 schools have reaped the benefits of retaining star power. NBA-ready players that are one-and-done in college help because they build foundation. A tournament appearance can be huge for a school without a strong history of tournament play, bettering coaches, players and attracting new fans and revenue to their product. Cinderella teams can actually build on lightening in a bottle success and even with many players opting for the minimum one-year stay there are many who decide to stay for more years as they develop their draft worth. Joakim Noah is a player who developed such a loyalty to his school that he returned after their 2006 NCAA championship despite being pegged as a surefire lottery pick. His Florida Gators went on to repeat and Noah entered the draft a year later, probably a little lower in the order than he would have been the year before. Of course Noah, the son of former tennis star Yannick Noah, did not have the financial difficulties many of his peers consider when making their decision to go pro, which was one of the biggest reasons many youngsters opposed the rule. Still, if you look at Noah now, the second most important player on the Chicago Bulls, who is to say that extra year didn't helped him to kill the critics who said his game wouldn't translate?
Without NBA commissioner David Stern's insistence on the age rule the 2010 NCAA tourney would have been devoid of talents like John Wall, Hassan Whiteside and the like, in an environment that has more to do with just playing basketball than the pros. Amir Johnson, the NBA's last ever high school selection and current Toronto Raptors forward spent the first years of his career with the Detroit Pistons playing behind big men like Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess and Jason Maxiell. The winning culture in Detroit helped, despite the team’s breakdown last season that caused ownership to dismantle the team, which included trading Johnson. In Toronto he has emerged as a key component off the bench and late in the season he showed he could log extended, impactful minutes. Did that sort of tutelage exist in college? No, but Johnson was lucky in the draft order, winding up in Detroit where a winning culture was in full swing. He was on a team packed with All-Stars and his stay there was the equivalent to almost a full tour of duty in college.
There are two sides to that coin to be sure. The view from this corner is that being an NBA player is a job and most other workforces allow the talented to enter regardless of age. Kids across the world do it everyday for much the same reason kids used to jump into any vehicle that would bring them closer to the show. Still, while the NBA should be no different, it is impossible to deny the positive impact their decision has had on the NCAA.
But the fight to retain straight-outta-high school talent is not over.
Recently Milwaukee Bucks rookie guard Brandon Jennings returned from a one-year stint in Europe after spending his “one-and-done” time across the pond in Europe where he secured a two-year contract and a shoe deal. Jennings effectively sidestepped the NBA rule and got paid, which nobody should shake a finger at. His successful first year in the NBA will surely encourage others who wish to capitalize on their stock coming out of high school rather than college and already agents are offering that option as part of their service while they busily reaffirm and strengthen their relationships across the Atlantic.
The flow is weak today, with youngsters hesitant to leave home for the unknown world to the east, but if those leagues are willing to take on North American kids at a relatively cheap price then the flow will increase and the ability for the NCAA to fully reap the benefits of the NBA’s age restriction will be gone.
It may again be a case of enjoying it while you can and you sure did, didn’t you?