THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070588
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
The secret is out. Actually, the secret about college basketball has been out for years now. Monday night, all John Thompson did was voice an opinion held by every fan, player, coach and sports writer not in serious denial.
``None of this (stuff) means anything,'' Thompson said after his Georgetown team lost to Villanova in a Big East game. ``The NCAA is where it's at.''
So now you know. If you didn't already.
In Philadelphia, Georgetown and Villanova got together before a large crowd for a so-called big game. And when it was over and the media clamored for sound bites, Thompson was there to bring everyone back to earth with a thud.
Meant nothing, said Coach Killjoy. The NCAA tournament is all that matters.
Thompson's crack could be dismissed as a loser's lament if it weren't so true; if the surfeit of meaningless games weren't wringing the life out of the regular season.
For Georgetown, Villanova and so many other teams - all the best teams - the regular season is nothing but a prelude to the overly hyped postseason.
The NCAA tournament is where it's at, said Thompson. But don't take his word for it. Look at how media, fans and schools constantly put all the emphasis on tournament results, dismissing anything that takes place between November and the end of February.
Granted, at times, regular-season games can be wildly entertaining fluff. But then TV insists on overdoing it (TV overdoes everything), glutting the market with too many games . . . games that often aren't well played, to boot.
When North Carolina and Duke wrangle, it makes for a fine night's entertainment. But a couple weeks ago, the local TV schedule listed 21 college games on a single Saturday. This Saturday, by unofficial count, 15 college games are on TV in this area.
Are these games being shown because the product is so uniformly good and because there are so many outstanding teams to be enjoyed?
Do viewers tune in because the game are fascinating? Or do they watch because, as a friend of mine contends, people will do anything to keep from picking up a book or conversing with their families?
When it comes to gathering a crowd, basketball has a built-in advantage over other major team sports. In most of the country, games are played before a TV audience made captive by cold, gloomy weather.
If, like baseball, college basketball had to compete with daylight-saving time, backyard barbecues, beach vacations and afternoons on the golf course, could it hold its audience?
For sheer aesthetics, there is no game I'd rather watch than basketball. But this time of year, what's missing from the idle diversion the colleges provide is a sense of the dramatic.
The ACC hasn't helped, either. Yes, I've been spoiled by the ACC over the years. Who hasn't been? But don't try telling me the conference is living up to previous standards or that its games are as much fun to watch this winter.
The ACC, of course, was in the forefront of the movement to devalue the regular season. When its conference tournament was a winner-take-all crapshoot, the ACC already was telling its fans, ``None of this regular season (stuff) means anything.''
Times have changed, but the message has never been more in vogue. by CNB