James Chamberlin

When it comes to college sports, I can’t say as though I’m the biggest fan. I don’t have a particular favorite and generally just don’t follow any of the major sports. But for some bizarre reason, I caught a few games in the early rounds of this year’s March Madness tournament. And wow, there’s quite a difference between NCAA and the NBA.

Two things in particular stood out: defense and speed. It seems these young whippersnappers can actually play defense. Somewhere down the line the NBA players lose the desire to play good defense. Perhaps it’s the money. They may think they are now getting paid to score not stop the other guy. Guys like Gary Payton always stood out as good defenders in the NBA.

The speed of the game is very fast-paced. A lot of this has to deal with the simple fact that they’re young. They’re in much better shape (cardiovascular-wise anyway) than the pros and it really shows. Sometimes it’s almost like a tennis match; back and forth, up and down the court. I was blown away at the speed of the game.

I think I’ll be paying more attention to college basketball next year. The NBA doesn’t really excite me anymore. The guys I watched when I was younger are either retired or are at the point where they should give it up. Now the NCAA is very close to announcing an age restriction, with the hopes of keeping the kids in college for two years before they jump ship to the NBA to collect their paycheck.

I can’t fault any of these young guys for being eager to go to the NBA. I know that some of them have parents who frankly need their boys to turn pro, but as a fan, I’d like to see familiar faces on a team for a decent period of time. This is one of my complaints about professional sports (all of them). The rosters change so often sometimes that it’s hard to remain a fan.

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