College Basketball at Its Best

In what can only be called a controversial decision, both in timing and merit, the NBA has finally installed an age restriction. After years of watching high school kids skip college by the half-dozen for the dream of millions of dollars, the League has finally put an end to the madness. I, for one, could not be more excited; I love college basketball and the entire mystique that comes with it.

The typical college season brings nearly six months of incredible excitement, and the final month is arguably the greatest three weeks of the year for a sports fan. March Madness allows us to watch a mid-major like George Mason knock off a highly ranked, underachieving team like Connecticut or the super athletes of an underdog like Louisiana State taking down a team everyone loves to hate, like, the Blue Devils of Duke. You may also see a defending champion like perennial power UCLA lose to a team full of walk-ons from Princeton. Every year brings new Cinderellas and disappointing Goliaths; no other sport produces this kind of excitement. Thanks to the NBA’s age limit, the upcoming 2006-2007 season will see the best class of high school players in years take bring amazing talents to the college hardwood. The lineups that North Carolina, Kansas, Florida and Ohio State will put on the court could rival the best four lineups of any season in college basketball history.

Here’s hoping all these young men realize how great a time college can be, and they decide to give us a few years of buzzer beaters and heartbreakers. Give me the Cameron Crazies, cheers of Rock Chalk JayHawk and Rick Pitino’s boys with their 40 minutes of full court press over the NBA any day.