NCAAM
It's been a few days since the dust settled and a champ was crowned. The University of Connecticut's Men's basketball team, better known as UConn, took home the 2011 title by defeating a Butler squad in what has been coined a lackluster final. Everyone and his mother called the game “poor” by championship standards. Despite CBS's best efforts, I refuse to jump on the "ugly game" bandwagon. What I saw was a defense-dominated game. While everyone focused on the lack of offensive firepower, I saw defensive execution. It may have looked ugly to some, but a beauty to the defensive minded. Amen!
It's been a few days since the dust settled and a champ was crowned. The University of Connecticut's Men's basketball team, better known as UConn, took home the 2011 title by defeating a Butler squad in what has been coined a lackluster final. Everyone and his mother called the game “poor” by championship standards. Despite CBS's best efforts, I refuse to jump on the "ugly game" bandwagon. What I saw was a defense-dominated game. While everyone focused on the lack of offensive firepower, I saw defensive execution. It may have looked ugly to some, but a beauty to the defensive minded. Amen!
The title game's pacing and style appeared to be Butler's M.O. Every shot was contested making the rims look tight. A low scoring affair was to Butler's advantage, so they say. Halftime and Butler was up three. So far, so good for the Bulldogs. Then came the second half. UConn clamped down on D, using their superior size and athleticism to stymie Butler's attempt to get inside. The Bulldogs couldn't penetrate and, as a result, all Butler could muster was to chuck three, after three, after three. Contested threes proved to be no match for the inside presence that UConn was able to establish. Butler played great defense too, but was unable to match the defensive dominance of UConn. 12 of 64 from the field is not bad shooting. It's the result of excellent D. The Huskies took off after an early second half run and never looked back because their defense was on lockdown.
The two teams only met in the NCAA final because of defense. Darn straight it should be settled by such. Coming into the title bout the media, like always, focused on the stars of offense: UConn was riding Kemba Walker, their top playmaker and best individual offensive player in the tourney (other than BYU's Jimmer Fredette). Butler's "stars" were a clutch Shelvin Mack and a relentless Matt Howard. However, as we all saw, the true reasons for a UConn v. Butler final was defense and coaching. These are what should be the cornerstones of college basketball.
College shouldn't be treated as a stepping-stone showcase for the NBA. A friend of mine once said college is like a summer camp where parents send their kids to learn and grow up. It's true, more than the academia, college is platform for maturation. For athletes it should be no different. Even if you "know" you're going to the pros, take advantage of what college has to offer and mature your game. Enroll in Defense 101. Why? 1) Because learning defense is an essential part of your arsenal if you want to make it in the pros, 2) your team will win and 3) you may win a national championship.
Albeit the UConn Huskies are immortalized for winning the title, I will always remember two professors of defense as the real stars of this year's tourney: coaches Brad Stevens of Butler and Shaka Smart of VCU. These two led their mid-major teams to the Final Four by preaching defense. Both teams excelled beyond expectations because of defensive execution and intensity. For Butler, a team that lacked NBA star power returned to the championship game by playing sound team defense with a well-executed deliberate offense. Despite their valiant effort, the Bulldogs were no match for the size and athleticism of the Huskies who did what? Play even better defense!
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!
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