2008-09 NCAA Hoops Recap; Lessons Learned

The 2008-09 Men’s Basketball Season is now history.  The coaching carousal is in full swing, and we remain restless, awaiting word on which players will try their luck at the next level.  Soon the season will be archived only in our memories, alive solely in highlight reels.  So what did we learn from the season gone by?

 

We learned the name Cedric Jackson.  Jackson first made news when his ¾ court miracle shot upset Syracuse in December, before leading Cleveland State over once top ranked Wake Forest. 

 

We learned that college basketball’s mighty can fall on hard times too, as Kentucky failed to make the dance for the first time in nearly two decades.

 

We learned that after a decade long absence from college basketball relevancy, Michigan is back on track to being a competitive squad. 

 

We learned that Stephen Curry may be the nation’s most dangerous scorer, but he’s only one man. 

 

We learned that Blake Griffin is so dominant, he may count as three men. 

 

We learned that Tom Izzo is indeed deserving of being ranked among the nation’s best coaches.  On a team void of next-level talent, the Spartans dominated a deep Big Ten conference before making their unlikely run to Detroit.

 

Speaking of the Big Ten, we learned the conference is ready to gain some respectability back.  The B10/ACC Challenge was much closer, and will nearly every key player returning in 2009, the conference will make a run at the #1 spot in the RPI.  Michigan State and Purdue will open the season in the top 10 – if not the top 5 – and will likely be joined by Illinois and Michigan in the preseason top 25.

 

We learned that Kansas, despite losing nearly every key piece of their championship squad, wasn’t willing to hear any of this “rebuilding” business.

 

We learned that the Big East was good, but over-hyped.  The conference hasn’t placed a team in the national championship game in five years.

 

We learned that Notre Dame, at a time when they could have turned South Bend into a basketball town, wasn’t quite ready for prime-time.  Or even mid-afternoon for that matter.

 

We learned that even hall-of-fame coaches aren’t immune from the investigators at Yahoo!, as Jim Calhoun is learning in a hurry.

 

We learned that even when the word “parody” was thrown around more than ever, one team can still dominate the field unlike any other.

 

We learned that in a time when everyone leaves for a paycheck at the earliest chance, coming back for a common cause can payoff more than you ever imagined. 

 

We learned that by crowning a without-a-doubt deserving national champion, basketball reigns supreme among college sports. 

 

We learned that this year’s champs were as without-a-doubt as have ever been.

 

And with that, we bid good-day to another season of triumph, heartbreak, and unequaled passion.  The next couple days, I’ll transition my personal coverage to Major League Baseball, joining MFDC’s fine team of writers.  Until next October, there will be an awfully large void in my heart, one that will only be filled when we start the learning process over once again.