It's evident that I am not the only one who is lamenting
the evolution of college basketball and how it has been
impacted by NIL and the portal.
Players come and go. Mercenaries.
Remember SMU's "Death Sentence"? What was once
rued and scorned is now embraced and relished.
Except by purists, perhaps. This is going to be tough
on old school coaches - with a few exceptions.
Calipari, for one.
The trouble is this ... once the game starts, I don't care
how much the kid is making. I want my alma mater to win.
Mara is gone. I'm through conjecturing (or caring) why. It's
not like the Bruins lost Alcindor or Walton.
I guess it's "fun" to speculate about who is available ... it's
one big candy store, and schools, depending upon their resources,
locations. and histories, have "gift cards."
Will Fairleigh Dickinson ever make it to the Sweet Sixteen again?
Doubtful. You'll see the Usual Suspects from now on.
One only hopes that UCLA is one of them.
My plan is to wait and see rather than spend my time and summer
ruminating over all of this. I just want to see whom Norman Dale
puts on the court next November.