With UCONN crowned as the champions, the 2023-2024Men’s NCAA Championship tournament drew to a close two weeks ago. But did it really ever start? This tournament has been the least memorable in my lifetime. There were only a few truly great moments. NC State’s run was great, and Oakland’s Jack Gohlke made his case for my favorite player of the tournament by beating Kentucky and sinking 10 threes in the process. But where was the rest of it?
Where were the Grayson Allens, the Christian Laettners, the Jimmer Freddettes? Sure, some fans thought that Zach Edey was sort of the villain of the tournament, but was he really? I’d say no.
Even the big names were nowhere to be found. Past tournaments have held names like Kemba Walker, Zion Williamson, Rui Hachimura, Nigel Williams-Goss, Gary Payton II and more. Even scouts didn’t think this year’s tournament held any weight with the growing number of projected picks for this year’s draft being from the NBA’s G League or other minor leagues across the world. The men’s tournament lacked personality, and it showed.
However, the women’s tournament was the best it’s ever been. Big names like Caitlin Clark, Juju Watkins, Angle Reese and Paige Bueckers showed off what women’s basketball has to offer. The women’s tournament had far more attention from the public, garnering almost four million more viewers than the men’s. So, what was the difference?
The women’s tournament had all of the right tropes this season. Caitlin Clark had a revenge game against Angel Reese and LSU. Angel Reese’s braggadocios style of play attained national attention and with that made people care about the tournament more. The women’s tournament had more personality and played perfectly into what basketball fans love. So why didn’t the men’s?
I think it’s a multitude of reasons. First off, overseas recruitment has breathed new life into the NBA. Foreign players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama are dominating the court and are getting their teams plenty of primetime games. Even some American players are leaving the states to play in Europe or Australia because of the attention those leagues are getting.
Second, the NBA’s G-league has offered a new approach to the pros. Players, instead of having to balance school and sports, can gain the benefits of a full-time training staff every day of the year, and work directly with NBA coaches, managers and trainers without having to worry about a philosophy paper due the next day. The competition of the G-league is higher, players get to consistently play against semipro-caliber talent, unlike college where out of the 1,500 college players there are, maybe 10-15 are NBA-roster ready. And that number is consistently shrinking due to overseas recruitment.
The NCAA has taken steps to fix this. The introduction of the transfer portal and NIL deals have made the NCAA potentially very lucrative for some players and gives them options on where they want to go and play and how they choose to let their talent develop. And while this year’s tournament was all right at best, it is far too soon to say these changes aren’t taking effect like the NCAA has planned. However, getting and keeping star power and big names is the way to make games interesting. The NCAA has some major work to do.
Jack DeWitt can be reached at [email protected]