Tournament Talk

There are two women who work on the Jadwin Gym balcony whose names are pronounced "KEH-lee." One spells her name "Kelly," while the other is "Kellie."

One of them walked by this morning, and TigerBlog was reminded of the last week, when about five different people saw "Kellie" written on a piece of paper and didn't know which one was which.

TB suggested to this one that at the next department meeting, everyone be asked to identify which one is which and see how many get it wrong.

One of the "KEH-lees" is married to the only person TigerBlog knows who went to the University of Kentucky, a man named Steve Staples. In addition to his degree for Kentucky, Steve also has a Ph.D. and a high-level position in the Princeton Office of Development.

Clearly, he's an intelligent, successful man.

When TB asked him if it bothered him that the only thing that anyone thinks of when they hear the name of his alma mater is "one-and-done," he said that it didn't.

From TB's perspective, the University of Kentucky couldn't have made itself look worse if it hired a public relations firm to give it advice on how.

Kentucky's entire starting five had a press conference yesterday at which it was announced that they were all going to the NBA draft. Big shock, right?

Every year Kentucky does this. Every year, John Calipari brings in players who are clearly intending to stay for one year (if possible) or a second year (if necessary), compete for the NCAA title and then bolt to the NBA.

Hey, at least Kentucky won it this year.

TB's question is, was it worth it?

Because, just like Steve Staples, every Kentucky alum has to face the same reality, that their school is viewed first and foremost as the one-and-done capital of college basketball.

Of course, there is the flip side of the issue, which is what exactly is anyone supposed to do about it? The NBA made the rule about when a player is eligible for the league, and for the average 18-year-old basketball superstar, the idea of going to college for one year, enjoying a year of adulation and then heading into the NBA draft is preferable to, say, playing in Europe or the D-League.

It's not an NCAA rule. It's an NBA rule.

TB is pretty sure that the general public's disgust with it on the college level comes not from the rule itself but from the unapologetic way that Calipari goes about it. Hey, it some ways, it's almost enough to get you to root for the guy.

Almost.

Meanwhile, back here in the land of the four-and-done, the basketball talk of late is of the possibility of an Ivy League tournament, a subject brought forth by league executive director Robin Harris in a story in the Harvard Crimson.

Essentially, Harris said that there is the possibility of putting forth a proposal for a four-team tournament after the May athletic directors' meetings. This would, by the way, be only the first step in making such an event reality, as the ultimate decision would rest with the league presidents.

TigerBlog is long on record as being completely anti-Ivy League basketball tournament.

At the same time, he loves the Ivy League lacrosse tournaments, because unlike in basketball, there is a proven history of multiple bids.

TB isn't going to go through the whole litany of reasons why he thinks that 1) there shouldn't be an Ivy tournament and 2) why other one-bid leagues should give up on theirs. He's written it so many times already.

Okay, he'll hit the highlights: best team is established over 14 games, want your best team representing you in the NCAA tournament, money, playing in empty gyms, diminishing quality of play over some tournaments that play multiple days in a row.

TB instead will give you what he would go for if it came down from Mt. Sinai that he had to come up with a format.

And this is what he would do.

The regular-season ends on the Tuesday before the selection show.

On Friday, the No. 3 team in the league plays at No. 2. On Saturday, No. 2 plays at No. 1.

If there's a tie for third or first, then the existing league tiebreakers break it.

This way, the regular-season champ gets a huge edge, not having to play the day before and not having to travel.

And each year, there is a championship game.

And there you have it.

That's TB's second choice.

The status quo isn't always a bad thing.