Perspective: There’s more than one road to the Final Four, and they may cross in this NCAA tournament
By Jerry Brewer Jerry Brewer Sports columnist Email Bio Follow Columnist March 18 at 6:32 AM We’re 14 NCAA seasons into this so-called one-and-done era of college basketball. Despite all the headlines and headaches, despite the sense that semi-pro freshmen are driving the sport over a cliff, just two teams led by these complicated prodigies have won the national title: Kentucky in 2012 and Duke in 2015.
Here’s the most underrated aspect of this era: the effect that the pursuit of these heralded freshmen has had on competitive balance. While it’s true that talent wins above all, fleeting talent complicates matters. Major programs face a crossroads.
Let’s compare the stat to the previous 13 NCAA tournaments . During that time span, you will find just two Final Four participants not affiliated with a power conference or grandfathered into power school status: Massachusetts and Utah . If they win a championship, there’s a chance Williamson and Barrett could go down as one of the best duos in college basketball history. Offensively, there hasn’t been a pair in modern times to come into college basketball and dominate with such a combination of efficiency, flair and skills that translate to the NBA. Barrett averages 22.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Williamson averages 22.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and shoots a ridiculous 69.3 percent from the field.
During this era, plenty of freshmen have defined and dominated entire seasons. But few have won national championships in leading roles, and we are still waiting for one to do it without a major contribution from a player or two in another class.
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