NCAA v NBA: Basketball Is Basketball

You turn the corner to the arena, and you can already hear the crowd screaming. 

The thump of the music seems to make the blood boil in your veins.  It’s rattling you through the rafters, and you have yet to even reach your seat.  I mean, the fans are going CRAZY.  They’re all wearing the same color, and their frenzied cheers ripple through the arena like seismic shocks.  The energy is palpable, alive on the face of everyone you pass.  And yes, it’s on your face too.

This is the game that the whole city has been talking about – hell, the whole country – and every fan here knows they are in for something special.  And maybe, just maybe, their cheer can transfer to the court, to inspire their team, to somehow make a difference in the outcome of the game.

Then, the lights cut.  The screams become manic. And the game begins. 

*          *          *

Much has been made of the “rivalry” that NCAA basketball and the NBA have with each other, and Spring is usually the time rears its head.  With March Madness and the playoff push battling for air time, coupled with the absence of any baseball and football to cloud the public attention, this is the time when the most eyes are on the roundball. 

And, as sports nuts are known to go a little bonkers with their debates and opinions, the topic of “which is better” invariably pops up, like the daisies, each and every Spring. 

The argument is always convoluted and myopic.  It usually concludes nothing, and gets the two sides nowhere.  If you favored NCAA basketball, would you really be swayed by anything the NBA-backer had to say?  You enjoy the crowd energy, the youthful exuberance of the players, and the win-or-go-home anxiety of the tournament.  It’s better basketball, you say. 

But as an NBA fan, you tire of the argument that the college kids “play harder”.  You want to watch the best athletes battle each other, and the pros just do things the college kids can’t.  These players have perfected the game.  They fly higher, they dunk harder, and when they collide you can feel it in your bones.  It’s better basketball, you say. 

Each and every Spring.  Like the daisies.

*          *          *

The players quietly sit in front of their lockers.  A couple have their heads down, nodding to the beat of their go-to pump-up jam.  The family, the friends, and all the everyday distractions are slowly eased from their minds.

No one speaks.  But they can feel the low rumble through the walls, resonating like an oncoming tornado. 

Every minute, every pep talk from the season has been geared towards this game.  The team has already been through so much together.  Of course no one wants it to end.  They know their game plan, and their limitations.  If they are going to win, they had better execute perfectly.  And every external force is geared to prevent that from happening.

The coaches come in.  They take one last look around at their team. 

“Fellas…let’s go.  It’s time.”

*          *          *

It’s true, the college game and the pros are two completely different games.  (That’s before discussing their different motivations, contracts, and pending shoe deals.)   To say that you favor one because you are a “true basketball fan” really doesn’t lend credence to your argument. 

The goal for each team is to win basketball games.  End of story.  They just have a drastically different approach to accomplishing that goal.

Because of the great dilution of talent in college basketball, most teams don’t have a true
“first scoring option”.  Obviously, if you have a Hakeem Olajuwon, you’re going to keep going to him, but there are 347 D-1 teams, and there’s only been one Hakeem…ever. 

This leads to a much greater emphasis on the coach, and his set systems.  Oftentimes, the winning team has the most complete understanding of their coach’s system and how their teammates behave within it.  As a style of play, it’s a bit more methodical.  Swing the ball, observe.  Swing back.  Kick to the post, and kick out.  Then a cut is made to where the defense seems weak, and from there the defense’s reactions dictate the play. 

I said methodical, mind you.  Not tedious.  Methodical. 

Likewise, in the NBA, there is such a specialized set of talents on each team that much of the game involves tossing the ball to your star player and either making it easier for them to operate, or getting out of the way completely.  In most cases, the offensive system is created to fit the players, and not the other way around.

Dump the ball to Shaq, and let him do his thang.  Put Michael, or Kobe, or AI on the free throw line extended and, yes, let him do his thang.  It’s a bit more predictable, but “his thang” is usually more productive and reliable than an X’s and O’s play.  Besides, with the 24-second shot clock in the NBA, there’s really not much time for a second option. 

You see more “unstoppable moves” in the NBA, which leads to greater creativity in trying to prevent them from happening.  But you see more overall team involvement in the NCAA, which comes across as more fundamentally sound. 

But that is the great thing about basketball.  No matter what your game plan entails, any team can beat you on any given night.  Even the best players can have a bad outing, and even the worst players can randomly catch fire.  And that is true for the NBA and NCAA alike.

Besides, if we just gave teams the victories, where would we go for hot dogs and beer?

*          *          *

The two teams have been absolutely killing it the entire night.

Every shot has been matched, every big play countered.  Players are literally flying around the court, chasing loose balls into the stands, and looking for any edge they can gain against their opponents.  Just when the visitors seemed like they would pull away, the home team gets a big defensive stop.  The point guard gets the ball, puts his hand up, and walks the ball into the front court for a pivotal offensive set. 

The entire stadium knows the weight of this possession, and as the point guard crosses the half court line, their frenzied but weary game-long cheering slowly, yet pointedly, reaches a crescendo.

One by one, every fan rises from their seat, and screams as loud as they humanly can. 

The play sets up.  The shooting guard makes a quick cut along the baseline, and gets the ball on the wing.  A big man comes up to set him a screen, but as he goes around it, he pulls both defenders, and looks trapped. There is dangerously little left on the clock.  The player hesitates, then rises up and fires a quick pass to the cutting high post, who swings a pass to the open small forward in the far corner. 

He catches the ball, and sizes up the three-pointer.  The recovering defender is running, full-speed, directly at him.  With no time remaining and no other options, the small forward elevates, hangs, and lets the ball go. 

It clears the advancing defender’s fingertips by inches.

*          *          *

And that’s the point.  It’s basketball. 

You can’t argue if one style of basketball is better than another.  You just can’t.  In the ebbs and flow of a given ball game, and the countless attacks and adjustments that occur on any given play, we are really arguing the same thing.

If you’re a multi-millionaire or a college kid with Advanced Bio in the morning, your goal is the same.  You are there to make that shot.  You are there to complete that play.  It’s your only job, whether you get paid for it or not.

To hell with systems. You are there to win the game.

And how you plan to accomplish that has been set in motion long ago.