IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DRAMA
By Billy Donovan, Florida

 

March is such a great time of the year. It can also be an unforgiving. The NCAA tournament has become measuring stick for many programs. Great success in the regular season can quickly be overshadowed by an early departure from the tournament. Everything is defined by the tournament and that is just fine.

Perhaps some are not pleased by this fact and I can appreciate their point of view, but I think we all understand the reality of it. With so much attention and importance placed on the tournament, it has become the sole measure of a team’s success. Or failure.

I don’t think any of us have a problem with the way the tournament results are presented. As coaches we know what it takes just to get to this point. Wins and losses in the tournament do not detract from the accomplishments of the regular season. What a team has done, from November through February, does mean a lot. You have to win enough games to continue playing in March.

South Alabama had a great regular season. The Jaguars followed that up with an even better Sun Belt Conference tournament, beating Western Kentucky to advance to the NCAA tournament. But they didn’t win their first round game.

George Mason won a share of the Colonial Athletic Association title. The Patriots were beaten in the semi-finals of the CAA tournament, but they still received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and they defeated Michigan State in their first round game.

Does that mean that Jim Larranaga and George Mason had a better season then John Pelphrey and South Alabama? It means that both coaches and their respective programs had great seasons.

One game should not take away from everything that South Alabama accomplished this season and it doesn’t diminish the achievements at all. Nor should one game take away from the great season that Steve Alford and Iowa had. They didn’t advance to the second round, but they had an outstanding regular season and they were Big Ten conference tournament champions. That means something.

How many times did we hear in the past that Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Lute Olson and Roy Williams had never won an NCAA championship? Those are four hall of fame coaches who have accomplished a great deal in their respective careers, but they had not won that coveted national title.

They have done great jobs with their programs, “but.”

That’s what some would say. So did finally cutting down the nets validate their careers?

When it’s all said and done only four teams will make it to Indianapolis and just one will win its’ final game of the season. But that doesn’t equate to failure for everyone else.

The NCAA tournament is such a great event. It has grown so much in popularity over the years. With that popularity and exposure have come great expectations. And that’s fine. It’s all about the drama. The drama sells.