"Yes! Kentucky won! I'm so happy!"
If this was your reaction on Monday night, then I curse your thought process.
The only reason someone should have cheered for the Wildcats this season is if he or she went to Kentucky, is from Lexington, or picked the Wildcats in his or her bracket.
Freshmen that come in for a year and leave with a national title don't fully appreciate the world of college basketball.
Love it or hate it, the one and done rule exists. Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist could very well go one and two in the NBA Draft this year. They also have 3 or 4 talented players that will end up on NBA rosters next fall.
I just don't understand why anyone would cheer for them.
First of all, I love upsets. I'd rather see a team that has gone through some adversity rise up when it matters most and knock off a top team. Unless you are a fan of the best team don't root for them. It's called being a bandwagon fan.
It may be because I go to a Mid-Major school that actually graduates players, but I'd rather a program that develops players win the National Championship. Butler had five seniors in 2011. They were coming off a title game appearance and made it all the way back again. That's team I can root for.
Kentucky is filled with guys that will play professionally after one year. How can anyone really appreciate their school or college basketball as a sport if they play on an All-Star team and win in it all in their first year?
There's no suffering. There's no redemption from being knocked out the year before. Most importantly, there's no monumental facial expression.
That moment when a senior puts his hands on his knees and stares into space, thinking about what the last four years have meant to him. Tears fill his eyes because he knows his collegiate career is over. Many try to contain themselves but are forced to hide in their jersey until they reach the locker room. For most there's no signing bonus, no agent, and no NBA.
Vanderbilt senior guard Jeffrey Taylor had to be taken out of his final home game because he broke down in tears in the final moments of a 77-67 win over No. 13 Florida. I promise you will not see any freshmen reacting that way.
Ten times out of 10 I'd rather see a group of guys that have played together for four years and won because of the bond they had over a dream team. Kentucky won on talent, not much more. How much heart did they really put into the season? Yes, they played hard, but did they play hard for Kentucky or NBA scouts?
All this season was to them was a stepping-stone to the NBA and a year they aren't making money.
If they truly cared about their school they would want to stay and win another, or three.
And I hope you didn't want them to win it for coach "Cal." All he has to do is sit his players down at the beginning of the year and say "pretend that you can be a team player and keep your grades up for six months and it'll get you a fatter contract next year." He has as much power as the Queen of England.
You might say that he is a great coach - he is the first coach ever to take three different schools to the Final Four. But, he is also the first coach to have Final Four appearance vacated from two different schools.
I guess schools in the NCAA are going by the old saying: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, I'll pay you $4,500,000 a year."
Kentucky won because they were the best team, few can argue that. But I find it hard to cheer for players who spend mere months at a school.
Email: bryan.feiler@ubspectrum.com
