Final Four
As a kid, I always wished that the first two days of March Madness would coincide with Spring Break. I dreamt of a world where, instead of sneaking updates during free periods from the TV in the nurse’s office, I could sit on my couch for 13 straight hours watching games.
The first time this dream came true was during my junior year at Amherst. Fortunately or unfortunately, I had other plans - our team made it to the D3 Final Four. Rather than watching D1 games, I had shootarounds to attend, scouting reports to listen to, and games to play (or, in my case, watch from the bench).
And that was ok. When you have the chance to play for a National Championship, missing the occasional Cinderella’s buzzer beater is a meager price to pay.
Plus, it’s not like we were totally tuned out from the D1 tournament. I remember gathering up a bunch of newspapers in the hotel lobby so I could rip out the brackets and pass them out to my teammates. After they filled out their picks, they handed them back to me, along with five bucks from our per diems. A bunch of student-athletes using NCAA funds to illegally gamble on NCAA events probably violated a whole bunch of rules, but, hey, we’re in an NIL world now so hopefully we get a pass.
This was also 17 years ago. Coincidentally, the D1 Final Four that year was held in San Antonio, just like this year. It was also, like this year, a top-heavy field. We made fun of him at the time for his chalky bracket, but my teammate Conor Meehan correctly called that all four one seeds would win their region for the first time ever. (As one of my former teammate who actually reads these, Conor earned a shoutout. Hi Cons)
Today, 17 years later, I find myself once again dealing with Spring Break eclipsing March Madness. My kids are too young to want to sit on a couch all day and watch games, so my hopes of a perfect day of uninterrupted basketball will have to wait at least a few more years.
More importantly, I’ll also have to miss attending the D3 Final Four in Fort Wayne. I was really looking forward to meeting in person many of the generous and supportive coaches and D3 media I’ve spoken to over the past year while working on and promoting PIPELINE TO THE PROS.
That being said, the book will be well represented. Thanks to a generous donation, the NABC purchased 40 signed copies of the book, which they will give to the many coaches in attendance this weekend. It’s hard to express how cool that is for me. D3 coaches are a special group. Researching the book left me in awe of their skill and dedication. (It’s especially cool that one of my favorite interviews for the book, Wesleyan coach Joe Reilly, will be coaching in his first Final Four) I hope they enjoy the book, and feel it does the D3 level justice.
Whether you’re watching D1 games, D3 games, or, like me, sneaking peeks at scores while making memories with family, I wish you all a great next four days. Happy Hoops!