Apologies all around for my delay in capping off this fine season. Forgivably, I've been intoxicated - literally, given the amount of beer I consumed between Saturday afternoon and Monday night and figuratively, given the effects of Kansas' victory on my productivity. They were, perhaps, the two greatest Kansas games I have ever witnessed. There have been tighter games, and there have been more flawlessly-played games, but none had just this much on the line. None had the same amount of subtext.
At this point, it would be silly to recycle the same talking points that have persisted since the end of the Championship game. Having been a Kansas fan my entire life, I can say firmly that "what if" doesn't mean a damn thing. If it did, we wouldn't have to have waited 20 years for Kansas to hang their third National Championship banner. Averages are there for a reason, and up until the point that Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose missed their free throws, Memphis had been shooting them well above their season average. Their return to earth came harder than Skylab's, but it had to happen eventually. Instead, I'll focus on a few other tidbits before I put a bow on this nice little college hoops season.
First and foremost, let me say that beating UNC on Saturday was every bit as fulfilling beating Memphis on Monday - maybe more so. They played a more dominant game than they did in the Championship, and there were large portions of the game in which Kansas ran like a well-oiled machine (ignoring, of course, the stretch where they ran like a Yugo). It's safe to say I "nothing" Roy Williams, and while beating Roy was satisfying, there wasn't a whole lot of Malice in it. It was much more satisfying to witness Tyler Hansbrough teeter on the brink of ineptitude, especially when the "hardest working player" in college basketball got straight out-worked for a rebound by freshman 8th man, Cole Aldrich.
The Memphis game was entertaining, and I would be a fucking idiot if I ever said that having your team win a Championship isn't satisfying. At the same time, I can't deny that Kansas was lucky. Granted, every team needs a little luck in order to win a Championship, but not every team is going to surrender a 9-point lead with just over two minutes to play . Special teams are going to be able to capitalize on those mistakes, but few are going to hit two three point shots after previously making just one. The cardiac episode(s) caused by the Kansas vs Memphis game just weren't as enjoyable for me as the full on relentlessness of the game two days prior. For neutrals, I suppose, that wouldn't be the case. This brings me to my next thought...
The tournament was boring after all. I had thought it would be, and the first weekend of the tournament largely proved me wrong. The last two weekends of the tournament, however, really drove the point home. Case in point: after the first two rounds, there was a total of three games that were decided by ten points or less, counting the Championship. Three. Judging by the fact that all four 1 seeds made it to the Final Four, one would anticipate that the Final Four would be more competitive than the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8, but that certainly wasn't the case. Suffice it to say, I feel sorry for those few souls whose first exposure to the beautiful Tournament was this season.
To expand upon my last post, I do indeed believe Bill Self will stay at Kansas, and he is going to get a big fat paycheck. I'm not paying for it, so ultimately I don't care. You can't really have more leverage in contract negotiation than 1.) A redneck sugar daddy wants to give me upwards of $50 million and 2.) I just coached a team to the National Championship. I'm still not convinced a college basketball coach should make several times more than the governor of the state in which he resides, but whatever. Supply and demand.
Let's see....what else......oh, I remember. Billy Packer is worthless. It is an indictment of his ability that, despite actually knowing what he's talking about, no one wants to hear him call another Final Four game. Yet Dick Vitale - in all his Duke-fellating, overt enthusiasm, completely slanted ramblings, and lack of any sort of insider knowledge - is viewed with such a sense of fondness. When you listen to Dick Vitale, you may be annoyed, but you believe he passionately loves the game of college basketball. When you listen to Billy Packer, you believe he would spit on a baby if he didn't like the way it took its first steps.
And in other news, way too many players are going to declare for the NBA draft. I could list them off, and that would be more press than most of them will get once they leave college. A number of these poor saps are going to forego a chance to become legendary on their campuses in exchange for going undrafted, receiving no signing bonus, and playing in the NBA Developmental League for a team in Idaho in front of about 200 people. I feel like it would be everyone's benefit if a player actually had to go through some sort of qualification process in order to declare early. The league themselves would be the ones monitoring the workouts to determine whether a player had the qualities necessary to play in the NBA, and these players wouldn't be hearing exactly what they want to hear from agents. Obviously, I don't have this worked out. Maybe I'll give it some more thought and put it into a blog of its own.
In the meantime, I'll wrap up this post. I may make another one as I continue to reminisce about the season that was, but for now I've covered all I care to. College basketball news will occasionally pop up between now and late October, and if it's worth reacting to, I'll react to it. Until then, I do intend to keep blogging - whether it is about other sports or random this and that. I have strong opinions about advertising and marketing, and the off season might be a good time to put forth some opinions. Once the 2008-09 season starts, that will cease and I'll be a college hoops machine.
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