Many of you who might already know that I am first and foremost an NBA fan. This has to do just as much with how I grew up as it does the fact that the NBA is better. I came of age during the mid to late 90's, which any true Indiana basketball fan would know as the glory years of the Pacers. Reggie Miller was tearing teams up in the playoffs every year for what seems like a decade. He scored the infamous 8 points in 9 seconds against the Knicks. He beat the holy living tar out of MJ at the end of Game 6 vs. The Bulls and didn't get called for a foul. We had the Davis brothers (who weren't actually brothers), The Dunking Dutchman, Mark "I'm 2nd all time assists but I will never be in the Hall of Fame, ever" Jackson, and the Big Smooth Sam Perkins.
Then the Pacers died. Or more accurately they probably actually killed someone, thus the game died. Now why am I talking about this? Simple. The Pacers have had a horrible season, but I am as excited about NBA basketball this year more than I have been in quite a long time. There are so many rivalries building. All we need is a couple good fights and the NBA will completely open up as a powerhouse of potent competition.
However, the NCAA lost my interest after the first two rounds of the tournament simply because I didn't do so well in my office pool. IU lost so what's the point. Now, I know I am a little jaded in this entire argument because of the absolute poopoo plummet that IU did towards the end, but you could make the same argument for my Pacers. I simply cannot convince myself to get consistently into college ball, but I can watch any regular season NBA game between two above-.500 teams and get into it (especially if there are playoff implications). The NBA is a better system than Division I college ball, and here is why...
1. The college game is severely limited by the offensive sets.
There is no penetration in the college game. There are always exceptions to generalizations like this, but they are not the norm. If I am watching a game between Temple and The University of Detroit, I am going to see three to four passes above the three point line, a pass into the post, a quick double team, a pass back out to the top of the key, and a desperation 3 near the end of the shot clock. Seriously how many times have you seen this play?? But in the NBA you are going to see Pick and Roll, fast break, and at least some creative post up moves. The 3-point-line is way too short to begin with (20 feet 9 inches). That line traps offensive sets into a specific concept. We would see less 3ball in Division I hoops if they expanded the 3-point-line to NBA length (23 feet 9 inches). But since they don't the game is trapped inside and outside of that arc preventing creativity and a certain grace to the game.
2. The college game's greatest asset-- The Tournament-- suffers from a lack of quality rivalries.
The NCAA Division I Tournament is one of the most hyped and exciting events in American sports (closest rivals are The Super Bowl and Wrestlemania, not even close in competition is the most awful "sport" of all-- NASCAR [I dare you to argue with that]). However, the reason for the hype of the tournament is not the games themselves, but the game of guessing who wins and loses. It's not just a money thing; it is the fun of the guessing game, which is something that human beings are obsessed with doing for fun. The excitement of the Tourney has nothing to do with the actual games. Think about the fact that Memphis played Michigan St. for the right to go to the Elite 8 this year. Where is the history between those two teams? That's right, there is none. This makes for a disappointing game with no excitement. The number of blowouts and easily won games in the tourney far outweighs the close games.
3. The NCAA is too expansive. There is too much to keep track of.
Realize that I am still only talking about Division I (leaving II and III out of this). There were, as of 2005, 327 Division I teams spread throughout 31 conferences (at least two teams have moved up recently but I can't keep track of them). Think about trying to keep up with all of those players. 327 multiplied by 12 is 3924. That is 3924 players. For a guy like me who can get obsessive when getting into a subject, that is just too much. There are more conferences in Division I hoops than there are teams in the NBA. The NBA is just easier to keep track of. I love being able to name players and get into their stats and styles. In the NBA I can get to know players from each and every team, but by the time the NCAA tourney rolls around I have to familiarize myself with entire teams of players that will probably get blown out by 30 to Kentucky or Duke (two teams that I hate).
I can't become attached to players I don't know. But the NBA is more public and their players more celebrity. I can follow them well and get into the games more because I know the players. Also there are enough rivalries in the NBA to keep me busy till June, and I won't get bogged down by the dinky 3-point-line. Now if you will excuse me, I have to shut off the Stanford-Texas game to watch Chris Paul and the Hornets vs Kevin Garnett and the Celtics.
And now for what you've been waiting for:
...or more accurately titled The NBA: Where Amazing Happens vs. The NCAA: Where Dick Vital Shutting Up Never Happens, or even more accurately titled The NBA Cares About the Community vs. The NCAA Cares about Coach K., or quite a bit more accurately titled The NBA with Ernie, Kenny, and Chuck "I need them for my footsies" Barkley vs. The NCAA with Digger, Coach Knight, and Jay "I am impressed by anyone who is 6'8" and can jump high" Bilas, or finally most accurately titled The NBA with CP3, The Mamba, and King James vs. The NCAA with Eric "Dwayne Wade with a lower ceiling" Gordon, Tyler Sucksborough, and O.J. Lame-o.
Whoohaa!
--QA
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