(Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)
It feels like months since the college basketball season ended, even though the season concluded just a week ago. I guess that’s what happens when something is over – we put it in a box and forget about it. Before we leave that “One Shining Moment” (a tournament retrospective that I never watch) behind, I figured I’d take one last look at the 2012-13 season and look toward the new season with a new batch of fresh-faced players.
In many ways, it was an atypical season. The past few years have been dominated by one or two players. The 2011-12 season could be seen as the Anthony Davis season and the 2010-11 season could easily be thought of as the Year of Jared Sullinger (or Jimmer Year, if you prefer). No one player came to the fore this season even though people tried to put the moniker on Doug McDermott and Marshall Henderson. There were many fine players, but it was a season without a dominant player or team. If you’d prefer to think of that as a “down” season, then go ahead. I think the season was just fine, despite the lack of clear NBA talent.
In the end, Louisville was the team of the season. Of course, they won the national championship, but they were involved in the three spotlight moments of the season. The championship will loom the largest, but Kevin Ware’s gruesome injury and the five-overtime loss to Notre Dame will not be forgotten any time soon. I, for one, was glad that CBS did not show the injury repeatedly. It was pretty bad and I did not see it on the first go-round. All I saw was Louisville players falling over on the court. If the NCAA tournament proved anything, it was that Russ Smith matured after the epic loss to the Irish. He did not play well in that game, but played more under control during the tournament. Should he choose to go pro (and he is sitting on the fence as of my writing), I think he could be a decent bench scorer for an NBA team.
Louisville and Syracuse represented the Big East in their last seasons in the conference. As I’ve written before, I don’t mind conference realignment because it makes new rivalries (which are no better or worse than old rivalries). I am pleased that there will be no more 16-team conference (even though the Big East only had 15 teams with West Virginia escaping a year early), but I continue to be dismayed that collegiate conferences (other than the Pac 12) refuse to think numbers stand for anything. These supposed institutions of higher learning clearly know on which side their bread is buttered by having a Big Ten of 14 teams and a Big 12 of ten teams. Words and numbers should mean things and one would think that colleges would want to uphold their meanings rather than going for brand awareness.
I am excited about the new Big East and think the additions of Xavier and Creighton to a ten-team conference should make for a very competitive league with a nice tournament at Madison Square Garden. The rivalry between Duke and Syracuse (the Greg Paulus connection?) should also be really good and the ACC should return to prominence in college basketball.
While conference realignment will require some getting used to, it appears that the focus of the season will once again be on Kentucky. Perhaps coach John Calipari will be on a two-year cycle in which his elderly sophomore players help mentor his freshmen. I don’t know how much Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress will play with the loaded lineup that Calipari brings to the Wildcats in 2013-14, but the team should be loaded and ready to dominate the SEC (although Florida and Tennessee with Jarnell Stokes and a healthy Jeronne Maymon may provide some resistance).
When the college basketball season ends, I always feel a sense of relief. I enjoy all of it – from drafting fantasy teams in October through non-conference play to conference play and through the tournaments – but by the time it is done, I am ready to take a sports offseason. I’ll still play fantasy baseball and watch my share of the concussion-inducing football. By next November, I’ll be ready for another sprint through my favorite sport.
Perry Missner is a college basketball enthusiast who writes for RotoWire along with several other outlets. He welcomes your comments on Twitter at @PerryMissner or via email at [email protected]
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