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I Love College Basketball, and so Should You

An Elevator Pitch for the 2017 College Hoops Season

By Christian LaFontainePublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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Last Season's Player of the Year Frank Mason may be gone, but there is plenty to love in College Basketball

You might not know it from national coverage, but the NCAA season exists for longer than two weeks in March. In fact, it kicks off this Friday, November 10.

Is this article going to be an extended “please like my sport?" Yeah, kind of. It is more of a heads up about something awesome you might be about to miss. So, here are a few reasons you should get into college hoops this season.

It is really neat from a basketball perspective.

I am not going to sell you any guff on why the college game is better basketball than the NBA. It isn’t. The players in the pros are the best in the world. Only the very best players from the NCAA even make it there, and most of the time, the College Player of the Year award winner goes on to have a mediocre career.

All that said, the NCAA has something far more relatable. The game they are playing, though obviously on a much higher level, is still basically the same game as what many fans may have experienced playing in youth and high school levels.

In the NBA, LeBron James and Stephen Curry win games because they are better than everyone else. However, in the NCAA, South Carolina can defeat arguably the most talented team in the country and advance to the Final Four, relying on excellent team defense. Watching super-humans do impossible things has its appeal, no question. But there is also enjoyment in watching mortals execute a game plan to perfection.

Variety is the spice of life.

You know how cool it is that the Memphis Grizzlies have a unique brand of basketball? Well, every college team in the country has its own particular flavor. Want to see high tempo run-and-gun offense? Watch North Carolina. High-pressure full-court defense more your style? Bob Huggins’ West Virginia team does that game in, game out. How about a slow suffocating defensive team that grinds down the opposition on every possession? Look no further than the Virginia Cavaliers.

Every team has a coach with a unique approach to the game, and that coach controls the roster, a perfect recipe for weird match-ups and unusual basketball. At the end of the day, there are 347 Division I programs to choose from; at least one of them must play a brand of basketball you will find appealing.

An Advance Look at the Next NBA Stars

If none of what I said appeals to you and you are still purely an NBA fan, then I have one last point to try and win you over. If you watch college hoops, you will get a chance to see most of the players who will fill out the lottery in next year's draft. Satisfy your curiosity, gain bragging rights in message boards, or for the GMs reading this, get some extra scouting in to make that Draft Day decision easier. No matter what, you gain something from watching college basketball. Even though you will say you are just watching for scouting purposes, I know you will not be able to resist falling in love with what you see.

So, there it is, my elevator pitch, just in time for the 2017-18 season. If you have been convinced, make sure to tune in for the West Virginia vs. Texas A&M game on Friday. It is #11 vs. #25 on opening night. If you have not been convinced, then hey, more ball for the rest of us.

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