In terms of money and power, college football rules the roost in the NCAA. A solid football program (last season notwithstanding) is the reason that Mizzou was able to upgrade to the SEC a few years ago. An atrocious football program is the reason that Kansas was shut out of the Big 12 defections, despite its outstanding hoops tradition. Let’s be honest though. In terms of pure excitement, exhilarating joy and excruciating agony, nothing beats March Madness.
The NCAA tournament creates memories like none other. Monday night, the world witnessed one of the most spectacular finishes in recent memory. After narrowly avoiding a turnover, North Carolina’s Marcus Paige hit an amazing, double-clutch three-pointer to tie the National Championship game with only 4.7 seconds remaining. The jaw-dropping jumper seemed destined to be one of those signature moments to be replayed forever. It would have fit right alongside Christian Laettner’s turnaround shot that buried Kentucky, Tyus Edney’s layup over Mizzou and the air ball alley-oop by N.C. State’s Lorenzo Charles that sent the late Jimmy Valvano running in circles in disbelief.
Instead, it’ll now be known as a simply a setup for the real highlight of the game. With the game on the line, Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono sped up the court and dropped off a shovel-pass to Kris Jenkins near the top of the key. Jenkins caught the rock in rhythm, let it fly and knocked down “the shot” for a new generation.
Cue the confetti. The cameras cut to the euphoric celebration by the victors. In the background, the agony of defeat and disbelief was worn on the faces of Tar Heels players. To call it heartache would be an overwhelming understatement. Those visions will be front and center in NCAA promos for years to come.
The exciting championship game isn’t the only reason that the NCAA tournament stands head and shoulders over other sporting events. It’s the fact that allowing the best 64 teams to compete (sorry, I refuse to acknowledge the ‘play-in’ games as legitimate) gives countless teams a chance to have their very own Kris Jenkins Moment. Where else can you see teams like Middle Tennessee (Michigan State), Little Rock (Purdue) and Stephen F. Austin (West Virginia) sending home basketball giants?
College football resembles politics. Super delegates conferences and party committee elites have unduly influence on who gets a ticket to the Big Dance. So there’s always some small undefeated or one-loss team that gets shut out of championship contention simply because they don’t have enough juice. Teams that don’t play in the championship are often relegated to the Carl’s Corner Store Bowl, where great plays go to be forgotten due to the meaningless nature of the games.
In college basketball, if you keep winning, you keep going. The longer you go, the more fantastic, long-lasting memories you can make. It doesn’t get more fantastic than the last several seconds of the Final Four.
Congrats to Villanova University, the 2016 NCAA National Champions!
Prep star applies for NBA Draft
The NBA will have an interesting decision on its hands as prep star Thon Maker has applied for the NBA Draft. Since 2006, the NBA has required players to be at least 19-years-old and one year removed from their high school graduating class in order to be eligible for the draft. The rules were designed to funnel top high school players into the NCAA for at least one year. It also was a measure of protection against bad owners and GMs who plucked kids straight out of high school only to watch coaches plant most of them on the end of the bench until they developed into serviceable players.
Maker, a Sudanese-born, Australian-national is claiming that he should be eligible for the draft because he meets the age requirement and had enough credits to graduate high school after his junior year in 2015. The 7-foot forward/center with guard skills stayed at Orangeville Prep in order to play with his younger brother, Matur.
There are rumors that Maker might have a hard time meeting NCAA eligibility requirements, despite offers on the table from Kansas, Indiana, Notre Dame and others. By declaring for the NBA Draft, he has now put the ball in the league’s court to make a decision on his eligibility. Commissioner Adam Silver and the league will probably be cautious about opening a crack for prep players to jump directly to the NBA again. If Maker’s case is approved, there’s no doubt other top prospects will attempt to reclassify for earlier graduations in the future, opening up the floodgates.
Of course, players in other sports turn pro straight out of high school all the time. Baseball and hockey routinely draft teens. Sports without drafts, such as golf, tennis, and track and field see young players compete professional even earlier. However, the NFL and NBA are more restrictive when it comes to drafting rules.
In terms of skill, Maker can handle the rock, knock down the three and block shots. Still, he’s 7-feet-tall and only 220-pounds. Compare that to Kevin Durant, who is 6-foot-9, 240-pounds, and you can see just how skinny Maker is. Whether he plays in college, the D-league, overseas or the NBA next season, he’ll have some bulking up to do. My guess is that the NBA will deny his eligibility and he’ll play either in the D-league or somewhere in Europe for a year to make a little cash before he cashes in on the draft.
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