Who is ready for some College Basketball this weekend?!?
(insert crickets chirping loudly)
Yes, it seems once again the brother who is more handsome, stronger and a bit more athletic has the world trapped in his College Football drama. And not the good drama like The Walking Dead, but more like the confused train wrecks of The Real Housewives of Atlanta that people just can’t take their eyes off of.
After all, March Madness started College Athletics down this prosperous path. It was the first real blockbuster reality hit when it came to amateur sports. It had Magic versus Bird, John Wooden and Michael Jordan. It was a marketing juggernaut. But as with everything else, College Football found a way to build bigger stadiums, sell more TV rights and turn a once pure game into one of the most relative and profitable business ventures of all time.
Heck, those divas even found a way to steal the “playoff” and “committee” from college hoops and make it into a freaking revenue center!
But all the blame does not rest on the shoulders of our football brethren. The NCAA was the group that approved ridiculous rules that have stripped the game of any hope of gaining momentum over the past two decades. When you have a system in place that does not welcome 18 year olds, it’s tough to build and maintain a brand. Yes, the NBA probably sold the NCAA a bad bag of magical beans with the idea of one and done. But sadly, nothing has been done to correct this.
College Football is fantastic. Its fan base buys into the hype of a kid when he’s in the fourth grade and that continues right through his junior year of college and then on to the NFL. Even College Baseball has the product that is the College Athlete figured out!
So what can College Basketball do to regain the attention of the millions of fans it use to have?
It’s pretty simple actually…
All they have to do is go back to school…
But way back… to the old school… (somebody cue “I believe I Can Fly” for the rest of this rant)
The game that was played in the 1970s, 80s and early part of the 90s was perfect. The rules allowed for stars to cut their teeth in an emotion rich environment. This resulted in legends that were born; Warriors who fought for a jersey, its colors and a fight song without ever thinking of a payday. They polished their game and understood what it was like to be great as one unit, as well as to lose gracefully as a team.
So, how do we get back to those days?
First, get rid of this stupid one and done rule. If Johnny AAU High School Superstar thinks he can play in the NBA, let him go for it. College hoops doesn’t need you and when you fail (cause you probably will because a LeBron James or Kobe Bryant or Moses Malone doesn’t just grow on trees), you have the NBA Developmental League or one of the European Leagues to take your services. If a player commits to a school and his teammates and education, they should be there for at least three years.
Second, can we get the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels relevant again? There was no team more perfect for college hoops than Jerry Tarkanian’s band of brothers back in the 80s and 90s. They were a perfect marketing machine for the city of Las Vegas and college basketball. They were called thugs by those who hated them and loved like no other by the ones who had their back. They looked like Tark picked them up at the YMCA or off the black top in Compton, but in reality they were as normal as any college kid. Greg Anthony was even president of the Young Republicans Committee on campus! Mix that with Moses Scurry and that’s a beast of a team we need back in the limelight.
Finally, is it possible to get some characters back on the sidelines coaching? Yes, Mike Krzyewski is still a name and face you love or hate. But the college game needs characters like Jim Valvano, Nolan Richardson and Bobby Knight. Crazy and funny sells. And those three were some compelling generals who achieved greatness along with their moments of heartache and stupidity.
So in all this is a pretty simple formula.
The game doesn’t need superstars. The game is great enough on its own to generate all the power it needs for the next generation.
All it needs is just some old school love.
(cue “Now That We’ve Found Love” by Heavy D and the Boyz)
*Section Photo credit to Streeter Lecka, Getty Images; Featured Photo credit to shadowleague.com.
