Emotional Attachment to College Players

I have made the statement before: I much prefer college basketball to the pro game. I hardly ever watch the NBA even during playoff time.

When college players declare that they are leaving their collegiate days early to declare for the NBA draft, some sadness comes over me. I admit it I want to watch them play three or four years in the college game. If you prefer college basketball, then you develop an emotional attachment of sorts to particular players. Once they are gone, they are gone.

You expect to say goodbye after four years, but these one or two-year departures can be difficult on the college fan. I cannot image how Kentucky backers feel about many of its players going pro after one season. Maybe there is no feeling anymore because the fans are conditioned to it.

With all the challenges in college basketball, I am still naïve to believe the college game is purer than the pro one. Kids are still kids in college. When they turn pro early, they are forced to become men. The old saying, “You can always work” is so true. College basketball is still play: pro basketball is work.

So it’s goodbye to players such as Iowa State’s Royce White and Baylor’s Perry Jones III. You were good kids and now you are men. Thanks for the entertainment.