Busting Brackets Mailbag: Sweet Sixteen Edition

For me, the NCAA Tournament is like a month long national holiday. As long as there are games left to be played, I’m usually able to suspend disbelief in order to operate under the impression that all is right in the world. World hunger? Climate change? None of that matters to me in March. I love college basketball, and no matter how crooked the NCAA is, nothing can ruin this tournament for me. However, the same cannot be said for many others who watch the tournament. I noticed this by the fact that my social media requests for mailbag questions were met by a very introspective audience.

Not everyone has been watching the NCAA Tournament with the same unbridled glee that I have for the event. After compiling a list of the tweets, text messages, and Facebook comments I received, I noticed there was a theme that flirted with guilt. Why am I watching this? What are these kids getting out of this? Are these kids really student-athletes? Kentucky has to be cheating, right? While I’ve spent the last week pounding out beers and web content while binge watching college basketball, it seems that my readers have been viewing the games with a slightly more critical eye. With that being stated, here’s my latest mailbag.

Chris, is the NCAA athlete a modern day slave? They don’t get paid, they have no kinda freedom, they are fed and trained to profit for their owners, and if they have any type of career-ending injury their scholarship and future goes down the drain.

Andre from Detroit, MI

The answer is no. It’s a pretty resounding no. As a matter of fact, if I was allowed to use more colorful language, there would be a four-letter word that preceded the word no. One more time…NO! I’ve heard this comparison from a few different people, and it floors me each time.

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Maybe we have become detached from our history books, and have forgotten what slavery actually was in this country, and what it still is today here and in other parts of the world. However, there is nothing about college basketball that intersects with any aspect of slavery. Do college athletes get paid? No, but they are compensated. Are they compensated fairly? No, and it isn’t possible to do so. The only plausible option would be to pay athletes a stipend, and I believe that the NCAA is being pressure into moving towards that direction.

The idea of freedom is very relative in the terms that you use it. Within the NCAA, athletes (I hate the term student-athlete, and I hate the term scholar-athlete even more) have very limited freedom once they sign a letter of intent. At that point, they are at the mercy of one of the nation’s most corrupt and disjointed organizations. However, a lack of freedom requires a lack of options. Playing in the D-League is an option. Playing overseas is an option. In all seriousness, playing intramural basketball is an option. The athletes that you see playing during the tournament, made a choice to align themselves with the NCAA, because despite all the bad that is associated with the organization, on a personal level, signing the deal with the devil was still the best personal decision for them.

The feeding and training that you describe is a part of the compensation that those players receive. Does their health ultimately benefit the university? Yes, it does. However, I don’t think either of us would have turned down someone who wanted to make sure we were well fed throughout our time in college. I’d also like to throw out the fact that training table as I remember it at St. John’s. I was a part of the student support staff, and I swiped plenty of plates from the training table during my tenure. It was good stuff. Schools are doing a lot more than just keeping their kids alive. Trust me. Eating buffet style at four-star hotels all over the country ain’t bad either.

It’s not slavery. It’s actually a pretty cushy gig.

Your most valid point is that players can be discarded from programs if they are not able to perform. This is true, but it’s also important to recognize that those standards are not limited to athletics. Anybody who receives a scholarship is expected to fulfill their end of the agreement that is associated with the scholarship. Basketball players must continue to be basketball players to keep their BASKETBALL scholarships. If you want to continue to receive a need-based scholarship — you’re going to have to continue to be poor. Winning the Powerball may make you ineligible.

I too have questions. Does room and board associated with a scholarship count as taxable income? Are students responsible for the tax bill?

Jammond from Detroit, MI

Seriously? What made you think about this during the NCAA Tournament? While R.J. Hunter was draining a 30-foot game-winner and causing his father to face plant off a rolling stool, this was all you could think about? What is wrong with you? To answer your question, room and board are not taxable income, and thus, students are not responsible for it. Some scholarships are indeed taxable, but not the scholarships that “student-athletes” (puking noise) receive.

What school incentives do NCAA athletes enjoy concerning their schoolwork? We know they’re not in school for the 2+ weeks of March Madness, so who’s doing those papers? And why haven’t we heard about this process for basketball players, but football players are all over ESPN discussing it?

Brittany from The Bronx, NY

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Well, contrary to popular belief, the NCAA Tournament is not a ridiculously long Spring Break trip for participating teams. Students do attend class during the Tournament. A team playing in a Thursday NCAA tournament game may leave campus for their destination on Tuesday afternoon (after classes, which are usually in the mornings).

On a Monday-Wednesday/Tuesday-Thursday schedule, the players would only miss class on Wednesday and Thursday. Teams travel with academic support staff that enforce study hall hours, proctor tests, and assist players in turning in homework assignments. I’ve taken final exams on planes, charter buses, and in hotel lobbies while traveling. It’s a unique circumstance, but most players are not really leaving school behind when they travel. Distance learning is now such an intertwined part of the college experience that spending time on the road is a minimal detriment to players who take their studies seriously.

I’ll be brief discussing college football on our basketball site, but football programs face added obstacles due to the size of the teams. It is obviously more difficult to provide proper academic support to a traveling group of 80 as opposed to the 12 that usually travel with a basketball team.

Can UCLA win it all?

Michon from Macon, GA

What? Of course not! Why is everyone trying to make me use expletives in this mailbag? Here’s a proposition for you. If UCLA wins the national championship, I’ll set myself on fire and then post the footage in my next mailbag. Deal? Great.

Which current college basketball coach has the chance to be the most successful as an NBA coach?

Will from Baltimore, MD

I’m excluding Coach K from this argument because it takes the fun out of it. The popular choice would be John Calipari, but I’m going to go against the grain and say Fred Hoiberg. The Mayor was essentially nothing more than an additional assistant coach for a good portion of his NBA career. He would bring a level of empathy and understanding to an NBA locker room that other college coaches may struggle with. Calipari has already failed in the league once. Although Billy Donovan is still highly regarded, his ability to find success at the NBA level is an unknown. Tom Izzo’s player development skills cannot be questioned, but his fiery demeanor and disciplinary style may not mesh well with the pro game. I think Hoiberg is the best man for a move towards the big league.

Who has the most com-bust-ability out of these five guys…

Frank Kaminsky
Jahlil Okafor
Stanley Johnson
Karl-Anthony Towns
Montrezl Harrell

Also, who’s your favorite Canadian college basketball player

Sam from Boston, MA

I’m surprised to get a softball from my buddy, Sam. Of the five guys listed in that group, I think Harrell is the only one who has the potential to be a bust. He’s undersized. He can’t shoot. He can’t dribble. Harrell will either be a Kenneth Faried clone at the next level or he won’t be at the next level. He’s your bust.

Those other four guys are as certain as the day is long. I haven’t done the research, but I can’t think of a single seven-footer with a legit post game and a three-point shot that hasn’t got really rich playing in the NBA. Okafor is is just a purely dominant five, and he will be a joy to watch at the next level. The first J.O. versus Boogie match-up will be epic. Those two are going to rip the league apart on the low block for a dozen years. Johnson is just a supreme athlete, and he’s already committed to defense. Think of him as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with a better offensive game. That’s where his ceiling resides.

Favorite Canadian basketball player? Kevin Pangos by a mile. Have you seen his hair? He’s beautiful. My very close second plays on the ladies side. UConn freshman Kia Nurse will eventually be one of the best players in women’s college basketball, and she’s already representing her country on the Canadian senior national team. Look out for her.

If we split up Kentucky’s roster and put them in the Sweet Sixteen as the Blue Platoon and White Platoon, where would each squad rank in the field.

Ty from Haiti

Hmm…this should be fun. First let’s split up the teams. It’s been awhile since Coach Cal used a true platoon system, so I’m going to take some liberties in creating these five man rosters and try to even them out a little bit. For example, no team needs Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns playing together. That’s just gluttony.

BLUE PLATOON

Aaron Harrison
Andrew Harrison
Trey Lyles
Dakari Johnson
Karl-Anthony Towns
EJ Floreal (Sub)

WHITE PLATOON

Tyler Ulis
Devin Booker
Marcus Lee
Derek Willis
Willie Cauley Stein
Dominique Hawkins (Sub)

SWEET SIXTEEN POWER RANKING

Kentucky Blue Platoon
Wisconsin
Arizona
Gonzaga
Duke
Kentucky White Platoon
Oklahoma
Wichita State
Notre Dame
Utah
North Carolina
Michigan State
Louisville
West Virginia
North Carolina State
Xavier

Unranked: UCLA

The craziest part of that exercise was coming to the realization that Kentucky has three players that do not see the light of day that would start (all three of them) for other team’s in the Sweet Sixteen. Hawkins, Floreal, and Willis could transfer and start for West Virginia TONIGHT.

With Kentucky having the season that they’re having, and given the head coach’s history, do you suspect this season to go under the microscope? Or is Kentucky just that good?

Matt from Redford, MI

Are you asking me if Kentucky is cheating? Of course they are! Everybody cheats. That’s the culture of the sport. That’s obviously just my unsubstantiated opinion, but I’m not reporting right now. I’m just answering your question.

However, the funny thing about cheating is this — it’s only cheating if you get caught. Despite Final Four banners being taken down at both UMass and Memphis, Calipari has never been accused of wrongdoing by the NCAA. You can take that how you want, but the truth is that the NCAA isn’t nearly as concerned with the doings of Coach Cal as we are as fans.

Plausible deniability is a college basketball coach’s best friend. If Coach Cal isn’t a cheater, then maybe he’s just blissfully unaware. Regardless of our best inclinations, unless Calipari gets his hand caught in the cookie jar, we will have nothing but our conspiracy theories to back us as we hope for the downfall of Kentucky’s empire during the next two weekends. They say never cheaters never prosper. Well, I guess that means Calipari is the cleanest guy in the business.

Next: College Basketball Coaching Carousel: Rumors and Facts

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