As always, the NCAA College Basketball Tournament has largely lived up to its tradition of drama and excitement, though there seems to have been a few more blowouts compared to other years. One of the reasons why the Tournament is a must-see sporting event is that we see some of the most exceptional basketball players, just about ready to make their mark in the NBA, mixed in with in very good players, who aren’t quite good enough to take the leap to pro. Because of this wonderful mix, just about every basket, every pass, every block means something in college….unlike the NBA, nothing is a given. It allows us as fans to relate. That good but not great college athlete has reached the mountaintop in his athletic life. As cliche’ as it sounds, he’s riding the dream. Will he push his talent to even further heights with that three at the buzzer? Or will it clank off the rim, symbolic of his limits as a player who can go no higher?
These good but not great athletes make the Tournament what it is. They allow us to believe that college basketball is still some idealized version of the game in which amateur and untested players step up. But, of course, the reality is something far different. The fact is most of the best college teams are stocked with pros-in-waiting. One and done has become universally accepted. In short, colleges use soon-to-be pros for a year, without compensating them, to win games, which secures big television contracts and allows huge salaries to coaches.
USA Today recently published a list of the highest paid coaches. Seeing the millions and millions of dollars these mainly older white guys receive as their late-teen, early 20s players are the ones who put on the show, glaringly demonstrates what college basketball truly is. By we love our sports fantasies, so we suspend belief. I know I do. Go, Carolina! South Carolina, that is.