Hoop Dreams (college edition)

- This past weekend signaled the end of the college basketball season. This is how much I enjoyed it: for the first time that I can think of, I decided to watch a women's basketball game that did not feature the Baylor Lady Bears or Diana Taurasi. I wanted to watch the UNC-Tennessee Final Four semifinal because I could name exactly two players in women's basketball and they were both playing in this game. I knew about UNC's point guard Ivory Latta because she seriously seems like she would be one of the five coolest people on the planet to hang out with. And I knew about Tennessee's Candace Parker because she is probably the most hyped female basketball player since Cheryl Miller and because she's, you know...hot.

So Sunday evening I sat down to watch the game. For most of the first half I was telling myself that I would never do this again. The game seemed like it would be terrible. Both teams displayed a lot of energy but most of it was being exercised on the defensive end. At one point I think the two teams had combined to shoot something like 3 for 26. I was bored out of my mind. It was like watching the Spurs-Pistons Finals from a couple of years ago. But with less talent and athleticism. And no dunking. It didn't help that both Latta and Parker got into early foul trouble and had to sit for most of the first half.

There were some bright spots. When she had a chance to, Candace Parker showed that she is definitely the truth. Tennessee lists her as a guard/forward/center and she actually can do it all. At one point she grabbed a defensive rebound, led the fast break, did this behind the back crossover and scored with a lefty floater. I have never seen any basketball player, male or female, do that. She might cause me to actually watch WNBA games whenever she decided to go.

However, the best part of watching this game was discovering Tennessee point guard Shannon Bobbitt. She is absolutely adorable. Yeah, I mean adorable as in, "Yo, shorty is cute." But I also mean that watching her play is an absolute joy. She's listed at 5'2, which not only made her the shortest player on the court (she's at least four inches shorter than Ivory Latta, the next shortest player in the game) but apparently she's also the shortest player in the history of the Southeastern Conference to be offered a basketball scholarship. But what spoke the most volume was her attitude on the court. She is just a ball of energy. She actually made Latta seem stoic. On top of that, she refused to back down from her. Even though she is a JUCO transfer playing her first season of D1 basketball, she spent most of the game jawing back and forth with the All-American. And her game is sick too. Ol' girl has got some ridiculous handles. At one point I decided to Google her and I discovered that she's from Manhattan. Makes sense. I'm guessing that she's spent a few afternoons at the Rucker.

Anyway, Candace Parker and Shannon Bobbitt have become my favorite tandem in women's basketball. And it's not just because they're the only tandem I know of in women's basketball. They're just both fun to watch. They probably lead the nation in intimidation. Bobbitt is constantly talking trash and Parker's post-blocked shot staredown is the current equivalent of Dikembe's finger wave. Two days after they beat UNC, I watched them beat Rutgers for the 2007 National Championship. Assuming Parker returns to Tennessee next year, there is a 100% chance I will be following the Lady Vols.


- Greg Oden's Buckeyes fell short in their attempt to win the national championship. And honestly, I think that is probably the best thing that could have happened to Oden, just like I think that Texas losing in the second round was the best thing to happen to Kevin Durant. Why do I think that these are good things? Because it seems pretty apparent that both of these guys really, really, really want to stay in school but are being pressured to enter the draft. I've been lurking on various message boards and the overriding theme is: "These guys are morons if they don't leave for the NBA." Am I missing something here? When did it become a bad thing to want to stay in school?

I keep hearing the same arguments for why they should leave: they're guaranteed to become millionaires; they can always go back to school later; college is just there to help you find a good job; they've learned all they can playing college basketball. The last point is rendered moot because both Oden and Durant have said that they feel they aren't ready for the NBA and could use at least one more year in college. The other points, I find interesting. I find them so because I'm pretty sure that most of the people making those arguments never actually went to college. I'm not talking about taking classes online, or going to a commuter school or having to juggle classes, work and being a parent all at the same time. I'm talking about those of us who were blessed enough to attend a a traditional college or university right out of high school and earn a degree within four or five (or six or seven) years. I'm pretty sure that if you were to ask people who have been in that situation if they could go back and change it, the overwhelming response would be, "Absolutely not."

This is how I see it. I'm 28 years old and I earn a decent salary. I don't earn in the millions but I do ok for myself. Ten years ago I was in my freshman year in college. If someone were to go to my 18 year old self and say, "Hey, if you leave college right now, we'll give you a salary of [what I make right now]" would I do it? Yeah, most likely. Because to my 18 year old self it's a lot of money. But now, looking back, I realize that that would have been a terrible decision. If I hadn't stayed in school those last three schools I would have missed out on life learning opportunities. I would have missed making lifelong friendships. I wouldn't have the same opportunity to grow as a person. College isn't about getting a degree so that you can get a job that pays a lot of money. College isn't about sitting in a classroom and filling your head with information to regurgitate on an exam. Those are aspects of the college life. What college is actually about is providing you that perfect scenario to transition from a child to an adult. And once you give it up, you'll never get it back. To me...that's priceless.

Every time I hear this debate, it brings to mind the saying that "Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan." People always bring up KG, Kobe, T-Mac and LeBron. But how many times do you hear about Dontonio Wingfield, Korleone Young, Leon Smith, Ousmane Cisse and Kendrick Perkins? Who? Exactly. Heck, for that matter, doesn't it seem likely that guys like Darius Miles and Kwame Brown could have benefited from at least a couple of years of college? Back in 1996, Ray Allen was trying to decide if he should leave Connecticut for the NBA draft. He reached out to former fellow Husky Donyell Marshall to ask for his advice. Marshall asked him one question: "Do you want to be rich or do you want to be happy?"

The one point that people were making that gave me pause was the thought that maybe Oden or Durant might sustain a career-ending injury. Then I thought about it and wondered, "When has that ever happened?" I could not think of one single instance where a top NBA prospect ever got hurt so badly in college that he had to end his career. Football, yes. Basketball, no. I don't think it's ever happened. Back when it was the norm for players to stay in school for three or four years, did any of them ever get hurt? Tim Duncan twice turned down a chance to be the number one pick in the NBA draft before graduating and going to San Antonio. I don't think he regrets his decision.

I'm not saying that Oden and Durant should stay in school. I'm saying that there are benefits to doing so and I think that they both realize this. They shouldn't be criticized for that. Neither one of them is OJ Mayo. They're not just using college as a marketing opportunity for their name. They actually value what college can give them. That's admirable.


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