'What's wrong with college basketball?'

Well, the NCAA certainly would be interested. Durant would be a sixth-year senior.
Even SEC teams would think that's unfair.

Back to my point about attendance stories: We're 3 pages in and haven't covered any new ground.

 

Where has the time gone. Well you get my point.

 

Was waiting for someone to make this point. For every ACC-Big East Challenge or Maui Classic game that's made for TV, there's a OOC home schedule loaded with all the uusual low-major and Div. II and III suspects. No, it's not the only factor, but it's one of many.

 

Well, I still think college basketball is better than the NBA, but let me add something to the discussion... when most conferences only have three or four teams that are competitive on a yearly basis, it's going to affect the quality of games.

Do the Cameron Crazies go just as nuts at games involving weaker non-conference opponents? Probably not, but check out a Duke-NC game.

Is the atmosphere at Allen Fieldhouse just as rockin' when Kansas hosts Texas Tech? Probably not as much as if it were K-State or Missouri.

I think it just depends on the matchups and the fact there are about 100 games a night on most days.

Oh, and this won't end well.

 

^

The arena in Atlanta was mostly empty on Thursday (thank goodness ... the "KH" for Karl Hess taped to some officials' sneakers was embarrassing and not too many saw the crap. Given the reasons, he doesn't have a terminal/life-threatening disease and he's still among us ... total crock.)

OK ... back on point.

ACC Tournament Friday used to be an unofficial holiday. Some parents checked their kids out of school to watch the games starting at noon, even if they didn't have tickets to the games in either Greensboro or Charlotte. I had one instructor - about the last one most of my peers would have expected - check out a TV from the media center and tune in to the ACC Tournament during class on Friday. This entire weekend was about as big as any in regional sports, including the NCAAs

Now? They're playing four games on Thursday in which few care because the better teams still don't start until Friday. The play of the league, as a whole, is diluted. Why?

You know why. I won't go there - again. His ego is almost as bad as Karl Hess'. When he gets it through his thick head that this is not a football league now or anytime soon, most associated with the ACC will be better off.

 

No, but outside of John Wall, how many basketball fans could tell you three other kids you played at UK the past three years?

 

Here's my bit of pop-sociology: It's the result of specialization in youth sports.

In terms of pure participation, I think basketball has suffered the most in this era. In the 80s and before, athletic kids grew up playing at least the big four sports - football, basketball, track in the spring and baseball in the summer. For the best athletes, specialization often did not come until college recruiters helped them sort out what their best sport was. For some, as they moved toward varsity sports in high school, they picked the one or two they had the best chance at competing in. But by then, those kids will have played the sports they left behind for 4-5 years and had an appreciation of said sport.

But then select ball became more prominent and kids were forced to pick a single sport or maybe two at an early age. It has produced more polished players, but has it come at a cost?

As kids started specialization earlier, they were losing the experience in other sports. A kid who grows up a football player only is less likely to be a baseball fan, for example. And if you are going to play two sports, the easiest sport to drop is basketball because it cuts into both the fall and spring seasons. It's easier to be a football/baseball (or track) player than it is to be a basketball player/any other seasonal sport.

And because basketball has a small level of on-court participation - 5 vs. 9 vs. 22 vs. however many track events (multiplied by the number of entries by each school per meet) - then fewer kids will grow up relating to the game at all. This doesn't even factor in growing sports like soccer and lacrosse.

Anyway, it comes to this: We've reached a point where a significant number of young adults are from generations where specialization was the norm. There are fewer basketball fans because fewer people have a significant first-hand experience with the sport.

This theory might be full of shit. And it also doesn't exclude other theories on the board. It doesn't help that there are no more four-year college players who are future NBA superstars. It doesn't help that it costs more to go to a game. But these are factors that tip the scale for the non-basketball person not to go to the game. If a person was more rooted with the sport, he/she would be more likely to pay the higher price and wouldn't be deterred by early NBA defections.

 

Wait until Wisconsin and Sparty drop a 34-31 curdled turd on the nation later today.

 

Wisconsin scored 79 today. That means they score 19 tomorrow. Law of averages.

 

Interesting thread, especially since I mentioned to people back in December that this was the season I stopped caring about college basketball. I've pretty much stuck with it (not caring). Now I get an email saying my Wooden Award ballot is on the way and I'm not sure what to do.
-- a lot of studying.
-- find somebody's ballot who I respect and copy it.
-- don't vote.

I'm not sure what the answer to the thread title is, but I absolutely can't stand these freaking demi-god coaches. I always hated the football coaches who had to have the ridiculous state trooper escort him across the field after the games. Now, basketball coaches are almost at that status. The d-bags overshadow the good guys.