College Basketball is fine, don’t listen to knuckleheads

Nov 29, 2013; Paradise Island, BAHAMAS; A basketball with the Battle 4 Atlantis logo before the game between the Xavier Musketeers and Tennessee Volunteers at the 2013 Battle 4 Atlantis in the Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Resort. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Here we go again. The mainstream sports media is poking at my beloved realm of college basketball. Which, truth be told, is fine. If it is not their cup of tea, so be it. Who am I to tell another what they can or can’t like (I am awesome, by the way)?

Still, it doesn’t mean I don’t get frustrated, teetering on diabolically mad when I see these sorts of conversations by people with a huge platform. Especially when they are spewing things about the game that are factually incorrect. If they just don’t like the style of play, tempo or the way in which the games are shown on the picture-box, fine. By all means, hate. But please, can we refrain from making up nonsense to fit a narrative? I know that’s hard and all, but you can do it.

Are there things wrong with college basketball? You bet your sweet Leighton Meester. That doesn’t mean it is broken, though. Every major sport has a slew of problems that need to be addressed.

Here is what we are going to do to settle this once and for one day (I set my goals low). Let’s take a look at some of the college basketball is down talking points and see if we can debunk them or if they hold any merit whatsoever.

Tempo prevents games from being watchable

This is a yes and a no. The shot-clock needs to be shortened. This is overdue longer than a Ghostbusters 3 sequel. The NBA is at 24, women’s is at 30, but the men are still hanging on to that 35 second shot-clock like they were some creeper outside of a high school. The shot-clock needing to be shortened (I prefer 30 seconds for now. 28 even because I am weird) and there is no debate about it. Take the coaches out of the game just a wee-bit, let the players play more and the game should be more fluid.

Another issue with tempo is the coaches (which the shot-clock will help out with a bit). College basketball is a coaches’ league. Which is fine. But I don’t think I need a designed play every time down the court that requires 20 seconds of unnecessary ball-movement first. Yes, ball-movement is important. Well, that is until the players are just making passes to meet some form of weird coach provided pass quota. Sadly, there are no rules that could be put in place to prevent this. Only coaches who will allow their players to play.

The new foul, hand-check, impeding to the basket rules are part of this, but also an issue to itself….

New hand-check, impeding path to the basket rules

First, they are not new. College basketball officials are just being told to call them more.

Here is the what is what with this rule and those who complain about them. At what level of basketball, outside of college, do officials allow defenders to grope, hand-check or bump players all over the court? The NBA fixed this over a decade ago and even in high school it has not been nearly as bad as it has been in college for the last 15 years.

The game got away from the officials for whatever the reason, and we paid for it with the tempo of games and entertainment value. I am totally willing to sacrifice parts of the non-conference and in-conference schedule to rectify it for the long-term. Somehow, however, these new rules are apparently ruining the way the game is meant to be played.

Go back and watch some 1980s Georgetown film. I’ll wait.

Back? Good. Did you see what I saw? The fact that defenders played a few feet (literally) away from the person with the ball. That the player defending the post (if you are like me, you looked up Patrick Ewing) played with his arms straight up in the air. “Experts” cite this team as the prime example of college teams being physical and that’s why these new rules stink.

Those experts are clearly 11-years-old and never saw Georgetown play or have a weird memory. The “Golden Age” of basketball was golden, no doubt about it, but it wasn’t filled with bumps, arm-drag takedowns or any other form of tomfoolery they pretend were there.

Allowing offensive players to create, get to the rim and even just dribble without being mauled is a good thing. Yes, it certainly hurts the product in the right now, but the long-term is better for it.

Stop being so shortsighted, everyone.

Fundamentals of the game are lost

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. You are just looking in the wrong places. Of course Andrew Wiggins isn’t going to be as fundamentally sound as Tim Duncan. That’s two-fold, though. Duncan is one of the greatest power forwards ever and Wiggins has only played collegiate basketball for one year. When did we decide freshmen were to have the fundamentals of Kareem as soon as they hit campus?

If fundamentals are your thing — and really, we think you are full of it when you “clamor” for more — go watch any team or league that features a slew of upperclassmen. Go enjoy yourself some Patriot League hoops. Seriously, there you will find all the fundamentals you swear are out of the game.

All this comes down to is the biggest talent is what the “casual college basketball talking-head” uses as his gauge for the game. I mean it’s not really the talking-head’s fault he has to cover elventy-billion different things so he can’t be as versed in everything, but he shouldn’t use one “name” college basketball guy while ignoring the rest.

Officiating (in a general, overall sense)

Yeah. That applies to every league. Including the great and powerful NFL. Move on, kid.

College Basketball “reporters” can be a bit snarky

Okay. You win this round, sir.

Where are the storylines?

I can come up with three in the super quickest way possible, and that is with only using Kansas. One: Andrew Wiggins and the entire narrative that is his hype. Two: Bill Self continuing to become one of (if not) the best coaches in the country. Three: Joel Embiid’s ridiculous development. None of those things are even mentioning the NBA Draft prospects of the two players.

Here are some more. Fred Hoiberg making Iowa State awesome. Bo Ryan making Wisconsin watchable and then losing games. Texas being pretty good this year. The AAC being a far better league than anyone could have imagined. The Big East Conference being a far worse league than we thought. Duke, and all the Duke things Duke brings. The undefeated teams. Wichita State being a legit Final Four contender, to the point of them being a favorite to get there. Transfer rules getting changed. Marcus Smart apparently auditioning to play a heel in the WWE.

Those are just a few, of the very recent mind you, examples of college basketball having plenty of things worth following for.

Verdict?

A lot of the issues with talking-heads spewing nonsense about college basketball being down is that it alters the perception of the game. The casual fan won’t want “in” to enjoy the experience for what it is. It is a completely different game than the NBA and it should be treated and enjoyed as such. Not put in a comparison jar and picked apart for not being it.

We only went through a (very, very, very) few of the supposed problems that college hoops has. We also came to the conclusion that there are certainly issues that need to be fixed, but they don’t outweigh the positives of the game. At least that’s what I think, but something like enjoying a specific thing is subjective and who am I to tell you what you can or can’t like.

Oh yeah. I am awesome. Listen to me then.

Summary

I probably come on here to defend college basketball far too often. Maybe it is my college basketball fan Napoleon Complex, but I think it is necessary. I am able to enjoy the NBA, NFL, CFB, etc. for them being what they are. I don’t have to compare them or use one to put another down. Also, college basketball’s ratings mean nothing to me as far as the entertainment value goes on a personal level. If a team draws less than a million viewers, it doesn’t make it a less fun game to watch.

Also, I’m not trying to sell you a bag of damaged goods. College basketball needs some twerking (not, NOT the Miley kind). However, it is nowhere near as much as some think and they are already in the process of fixing it.

So, for now at least, enjoy college basketball because football season is nearly over, the NBA is a different kind of basketball and if you actually like baseball, I got nothing for you.

I kid.