Author Archive
Still Voting?
Posted by: | CommentsThere has to be some legitimacy to the notion that various media outlets make up stories in order to justify their existence. Though I have followed college basketball for years, I never realized that there was a final poll taken to rank the various teams. Apparently, one coach out of 31 didn’t vote for UCONN for the top spot. And though you might not think this is a big deal, it is a headline on ESPN.com and interviews were necessary.
Is this for real? If it had come out on April 1st, I would have thought is was an April Fool’s joke or something. But no, it is completely legitimate. Which led me to thinking…
1) The Coaches who voted for UCONN were not really thinking through the matter, but are just marking them down, so that they would not have to do any ridiculous interviews with ESPN in order to justify voting for a more worthy team. For if the vote is really for the best team in the nation, did every single coach who voted really believed that UCONN proved themselves to be the best team this season? No way. They were just marking a real formality, which leads me to wonder why there is a vote at all (except that it serves as a news story).?
2) Is it not obvious to everyone that the NCAA tournament does not determine the best team in the nation?
The NBA playoff system usually does lead to determining the year’s best team. Or at least is usually quite close. For when you play best of 5 or best of 7 series, more times than not, you will find out who is really the best team. Opportunities for adjustments are made and the stronger team usually wins out.
But in a ‘one and done’ format like the NCAA tournament, that is by no means the case. Winning the championship does not by any means prove you were the best team in the nation. For oftentimes, in order to win the championship, you don’t even have to beat the best teams in the nation (as I would argue UCONN proved this year). A thousand variables are outside your control. The best team in the nation might get the worse match-up possible for the way they like to play. Or they may have an injury. Or they may just have an off night against an up-start squad that makes 50% of their threes. And they lose without a chance to make an adjustment and prove themselves the stronger team over the course of an extended series.
That is not to take away from UCONN’s accomplishment. To win the National Championship is no easy task and you have to play great to do so. But winning it doesn’t even come close to proving you were the year’s best team. The entire season must be considered in making that decision.
Of course, maybe that is why they have the final vote. Or maybe not. Maybe it is just to make a headline, because they know it will stir up attention and lead knuckleheads like me to blog about it. That being said, I am done commenting on such a non-story…at least for now.
Good for Him
Posted by: | CommentsHead Basketball Coach Shaka Smart chooses to remain at VCU…for now at least. The fact that his new contract apparently pays him over 1 million dollars per year marks yet another example of so-called mid-majors boosting their basketball budget in order to hold onto a solid Head Coach. Brad Stevens at Butler and Mark Few at Gonzaga stand out as the best examples.
Of course, the thing that is most interesting about his decision to remain at VCU is the simple fact that he has decided to remain at VCU. For in doing so, he passed up the opportunity to coach at bigger schools, like NC State (who apparently were very interested in him). Though I am sure his contract has various clauses built into it provided he would want to make that step in the future, it just goes to show that some successful Head Coaches are wising up, recognizing that the grass is not always greener on the other side. A high-level salary at a smaller institution may be more desirable than a little more money and the various headaches and pressures involved with big school expectations and competition. Not to mention, who you recruit and are expected to coach at the smaller schools may be preferred to the recruiting circus many big-time coaches find themselves involved in. And, as you can tell from this year’s NCAA tournament, the talent pool for college coaches to pull from may be a bit wider than most people normally believe.
It will be interesting to see how VCU does the next few years and, particularly if they do very well, if they could hold onto Smart for the length of his new deal. It’s a different sort of era in college basketball. You never know, 15 years from now, we might think it is normal for VCU and Butler to make the Elite Eight or the Final Four. Or maybe not. Only time will tell. I, for one, will certainly be watching.
College Sports with Bryant Gumble
Posted by: | CommentsI have my DVR set to record this program tonight. Here are Part 1 and 2 to the video introduction. Looks good to me.
Money and March Madness
Posted by: | CommentsA segment in this week’s Frontline. Parts 1, 2, and 3 are below. HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumble is also looking into the issue this week (tonight at 10 pm). I will post that video tomorrow if available. Check them out, for even though the issue is far from simple, I believe without a shadow of a doubt that the NCAA is well behind the times.
Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.
Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.
Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.
My Guest Post #2
Posted by: | CommentsOver at my wife’s Married to a Baller blog. Check it out and don’t be shy about joining the discussion.
