March Madness gives fans a celebration to relieve all the consternation in college sports
What college sports could use is a chance to press “Ctrl-Alt-Del.”
A chance for a reset of sorts, maybe delivered through a thrilling, tear-stained college basketball smorgasboard that reminds us why all the boardroom deals and million-dollar paydays that shape this changing and sometimes-tawdry industry might just be worth it.
What college sports could use is something it already has: March Madness.
Nothing cleanses the palate in quite the way some magic from a darling like Miami (Ohio) or domination by Duke can.
Nothing quite brings sports — real sports, not the business of sports — back to top of mind like a chance for bracket bragging rights, the prospect of a heave-ho for a buzzer beater, a “developing situation” resulting in an Oakland upset in Pittsburgh, or a crying piccolo player showing the world what all this means without saying a word.
Though March is when most fans and non-fans alike start paying attention, college basketball season began way back in November.
While Miami’s undefeated run through the regular season captured the biggest on-the-court headlines, there were, as always, plenty of off-the-court machinations – some understandable, some unseemly, some par for the course. It’s been only two months, after all, since more than a dozen players were accused by federal prosecutors of trying to fix games in a betting scandal.
A look at what you might have missed and what might constitute perfect remedy for the problems created:
The Charles Bediako saga
The headline: No single story spoke better about the blurred lines created by paying college players than the tale of Charles Bediako.
He was or is a professonal basketball player, having spent three years in the NBA’s developmental G League before deciding he wanted to come back to college and play again at Alabama. A judge granted him clearance and he actually played five games for the Tide before another judge sent Bediako back to the sideline while his challenge goes on against NCAA regulations. That’s right, it’s not over.
As a bonus, former UCLA star Amari Bailey, who played 10 games for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, wants back in and is exploring options, which could include a spot with Grand Canyon University for next season.
The perfect antidote: Without Bediako, the high-scoring Tide, a No. 4 seed, makes a run to its second Final Four in three years, proving the players they’re paying are faring just fine without adding a pro back in the mix.
Auburn coach trying to get Queens player
The headline: According to Auburn, there wasn’t anything against the rules about one of its assistants, Ian Borders, attending the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament to watch a game involving its eventual champion, Queens University (based in Charlotte, not New York).
What was unusual was Queens coach Grant Leonard not sitting there and taking it. Instead, he said Borders crossed a line by buying a courtside seat to “get ahead” in recruiting of one of his players.
“We have to police ourselves,” Leonard said of the coaching profession. “And this is a road I don’t think we as coaches want to go down.”
Of course, there’s no stopping good players on an underdog tournament team from being poached by bigger schools in the era of NIL and liberal transfer rules. Still, this was as good an illustration as any of how awkward the whole thing can look and don’t forget thatthe Big Ten asked the NCAA to stop enforcing its tampering rules, saying they are too outdated to matter anymore.
The antidote: Auburn misses the tournament (that already happened), and Leonard parlays Queens’ first March Madness appearance into a trip to the Sweet 16 and a crusade for “doing what’s right” in a sport losing its bearings.
Coach behavior I
The headline: UCLA coach Mick Cronin, who often refers to himself as the man who sits in legendary Coach John Wooden’s seat, kicked his own player, Steven Jamerson II, out of a game against Michigan State.
Jamerson fouled Carson Cooper hard at the end of a contest that had gotten out of control and Cronin sent the forward straight to the locker room. He explained Jamerson was a good kid, “but if you want to be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game, for a blockout, for a rebound.”
Cronin later apologized to Jamerson and jokingly said the player “asked me for $10,000 more in NIL because of that.”
The antidote: With half the team in foul trouble, the lightly used Jamerson goes off for 22 points and 10 rebounds in a Sweet 16 win over Michigan State next week.
Coach behavior II
The headline: Kansas State fired coach Jerome Tang in February after Tang said his players didn’t deserve to wear the Wildcats uniform and were an embarrassment to the university following a blowout loss to Cincinnati. Surprised? Don’t be: Coaches are more stressed than ever.
The athletic department canned Tang “for cause,” saying he violated his contract by bringing “public disrepute, embarrassment, (and) ridicule” to the university. This way, Kansas State won’t owe the coach more than $18 millon left on his contract.
Tang, whose outburst ranked at about a 2 on the Bob Knight scale of inappropriate postgame comments, has said he strongly disagrees with the “characterization of my termination.”
The antidote: Tang takes the issue to court and gets the money back, but not the job. But he goes on to take over at, say, Arizona State and leads the Sun Devils to the Final Four in 2027 with six ex-Wildcats on the roster.
Vitale criticizes Kentucky
The headline: Dick Vitale, a legend and one of the most positive college hoops personalities alive, joined a long line of observers, fans and boosters who didn’t like what they saw out of Kentucky this season.
The Wildcats spent a reported $22 million in NIL for a roster that enters the tournament with a No. 7 seed and a 21-13 record.
“I’ve done several now Kentucky games,” Vitale said during the telecast of a Wildcats’ loss to Florida. “Win or lose, $22 million this team in terms of the NIL for their players. I think in $22 million, they could have put together a better roster than they did. I really do.”
The antidote: Kentucky wins the Midwest Regional in Chicago and the Wildcats call Vitale onto the court to cut the last strand of the net. March Madness should be about happy endings, after all.
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AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness