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Touchline issue 23 | April 2016 | 33
M
arch is the month when college basketball
eclipses all the other sports that battle for
viewers in the USA. March Madness is a
strobing of matches, where college teams
from around the country play 32 games
in as many days. And while debates on
presidential candidates might be dominating the
news right now, at home many Americans will be
arguing a very different topic: which is better, the
NBA or college basketball?
Like all heated debates, this one finds its longevity
in the fact that it is genuinely unsolvable. The NBA
features elite athletes in their prime, a money
hurricane where showmanship and ego as are
towering as the talent of the players. College
basketball, or the NCAA, is home to fanatical
supporters of teams that play with more grit
and teamwork to make up for their technical
shortcomings. Both competitions draw huge
viewing numbers, and both have ardent
support. But which is truly the better
game to get behind?
What supporters of the NCAA say…
Plenty of fans will argue that the NCAA
is the better of the two competitions
for a number of reasons. Primarily,
it is seen as a more pure form
of the game. While it might be a
big money sport, the players are
semi-professional at best. Tired
of the relentless, overblown
commercialiSation of the NBA,
they prefer a sport which focuses
on men who are playing both
for the love of the game and
for their futures. These young
players have one eye on the
NBA and know that should they
get drafted by even one of the
smaller teams, they will be set
for life. They strain every sinew
to make the scouts take notice.
But while they might be thinking
about a future jackpot, loyalty
is central to the attraction of the
competition. Most of the college
basketballers are members of
the university they represent.
This produces a greater perceived
loyalty, which translates to a better
connection to the fans and their team.
Moreover, in many cases the universities
are far older than the sterile franchises
of the NBA. They are more rooted in the
community, and therefore they become part of
something bigger than their ambitions. College basketballers
that go on to make a name tend to be revered whenever they
return to their home court for years to come.
Another reason to love the game is the teamwork on show.
Less technically gifted and rawer, the players at college level are
forced to rely more on teamwork than their NBA counterparts
are. They have to work together, drilling flowing team moves
that prioritise the collective and focus far more on the whole
court. Scores are lower at this level because defence is just as
important as attack in the NCAA.
The whole affair is much more analogue than in the NBA.
Typically, the higher profile competition’s courts are drenched
in the flashing of advertisers and artificial noise piped into the
building to synthesise a full and teeming house. In a college
game, you can hear the squeak of rubber on the court, the thud
of the players colliding, and the swish of the net. The focus of
the action is tighter, and therefore more legitimate.
The season is built for more intensity as well. March Madness
is, well, mad. Games come fast, and the first-time elimination
system means that fancied teams crash out regularly. Every
season seems to throw up a Cinderella team which upsets the
odds.
But here is what an NBA supporter’s might say...
The NBA is home to some pretty big egos, but that might be
because it is home to some pretty big talents. All the debate
over purity and teamwork comes to nothing in the face of the
nature of sport.
Fact. Any NBA team would crush a college team six times over.
Even at their very best, college basketballers are in their youth.
They can’t match the experience of the NBA players, even if
they could match their skills. Sport is about flair, spectacle and
witnessing the very best. This is what the NBA provides, every
week. College basketball is slower, more defensive and much
less technically skilled.
The whole argument about the how teamwork in the NCAA
makes it a more pure sport is redundant when you consider
that the core reasoning behind this approach is that the
players simply aren’t good enough. They need to grind out
victories. Why be defensive when you just have to outscore the
opposition? NBA players can create moments of magic that blitz
them beyond the tightest of defences.
NBA fans point to the low scoring in the college game as a
reason to prefer the professional version. This is caused by
the disparity between clock shots. In the NBA, players have 24
second to make a shot, whereas in the NCAA they are provided
with a more leisurely 35 seconds. College games tend to clock
out at about 50-60 points; NBA games around the 80-90 level.
That is a lot more action at the hoop.
So while the NCAA people might be making a good case, they
are faced with one sorry fact. The games aren’t as good.
One last fact. In his last year of college, Michael Jordan scored an
average of 19.6 points per game. The following year, he scored
an average of 28.2 playing for the Chicago Bulls. Did Jordan
suddenly get nine points better playing against radically better
defenders? Or was he stultified by the college version?
By Timothy Mottram