THANKS NCAA but...

So, while 99% of America’s brackets went to the toilet for immediate flushing after both UCLA and UNC lost its semi final games, a huge smile wrapped over my face.

A few weeks ago, right before the tourney began, I wrote to say that the tourney was not that exciting and it didn’t offer me the kind of excitement the NBA does because of the year we were having.

People got excited, with first round exits (Western Kentucky, San Diego) and a Cinderella (Davidson) with a star player everyone could root for (Stephen Curry), and finally you had all four number one seeds make it.

But as soon as it came time for UCLA and UNC to punch their tickets for the much anticipated Finals Championship game Monday, neither could pull it off. Their unmistakeable look had worn off and the two teams that most hadn’t picked to make it out of their regions are now headed to the championship game.

Bill Self and John Calipari are two celebrated and recognizable names. Neither of them have one a championship, all that will change Monday.

But looking at the rosters for the championship game, do you see an impact player that you would be excited for in the pro’s?

Would you bet a good portion of your next paycheck that Derrick Rose or Chris Douglas-Roberts will lead his team to the NBA championship in a few years?

Do you have any doubt in your mind that Brandon Roush is going to be an NBA superstar in the make up of a Kobe Bryant?

You don’t and that’s what’s saddening. The NCAA tourney is amateur hour for me, an opening act. You hope that they are good, but your really waiting for the main act to come up and to make the night a worthwhile one.

Don’t be fooled, I enjoy the college ball, but the overall ability on the court is lower and it just makes for uninteresting portions of the game which become somewhat unbearable to watch.

I sit through some of these contests and figure that somewhere along the line, the coaches have to teach these guys to make an outlet pass, or shoot a free throw.

It drives me crazy, but that’s where they learn right? College is where they hone their skills?

I think David Stern was right to pull the plug on the straight from high school to the pros project. As good as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett have been, there have been too many Jonathan Benders (Jermaine O’Neal is getting close to that list).

However, no matter how much David Stern feels like he is fixing the system, it still has its cracks and significant holes to cover. Guys like Michael Beasley are a lock to dominate the league for one year, get whispers about being a top selection and then opt for the pros, even though he is not where he should be.

For all the developing hype surrounding the everyday double double he used to average with the Wildcats, do you see him dominating like that in the pros? Most teams would love to use his size and athletic ability to score and rebound, but after that, who’s a mortal lock?

Unless you want football passes all day in practice, I don’t see Kevin Love (other than possibly getting more ceiling in life than getting 69 as his number in the pro’s) being more than a role player in the NBA. Same for Tyler Hansborough. Don’t get me wrong, I think these two guys, for the amount of energy they have, are very good players in college but the pros are a different animal and they wont be able to do that in the pros.

I don’t want to sound condescending to the college game, but this Monday’s championship game will be fun and exciting but I’m looking forward more to NBA regular season games than this championship game. Thanks NCAA’s, your good but I’ll pass.