There's Nothing Like the NIT Baby! Or, Maybe Not

I am often amazed by how little respect the NIT receives. Sure, I understand that casual fans - fans whose only interest in college basketball is limited to the NCAA Tournament - have absolutely no reason to care about the NIT (they don't even gamble on it). And I know that students and alumni of BCS conference schools view the NIT as a joke, a second rate consolation prize for losers and for the bottom feeders of college hoops (even though the NIT is a good tournament filled with only good teams and players). But I'll never be able to relate to players who aren't motivated to play in the NIT. Sure, players from teams that narrowly missed being selected for the NCAA Tournament are disappointed that they aren't in the Dance. But that's no reason not to "bring it" when you take the floor in the NIT. Players should never lack the motivation to compete. Especially not in the post season. If you believe that your team belonged in the field of sixty four, you should be eager to make a statement with your performance in the NIT.

I didn't play basketball at the Division I level. I may not be able to relate to the culture that exists at the highest level of major college basketball. But I understood that I was privileged to to step onto the court in small, largely empty gyms, and be able to lay it on the line in the totally obscure world of small college hoops (not that I got that opportunity all that often - I spent more time observing from the bench). I would have been thrilled to play any sort of post season game: NCAA Tournament, NIT, Canadian Intercollegiate Tournament, Outer Mongolian Collegiate Tournament, Intergalactic Intercollegiate Tournament, etc. I would expect all Division I players, even players who feel snubbed by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, to treat the game (as well as their opponents and their coaches teammates and fans) with respect and give their best effort in the NIT.

But, clearly, not everybody feels the same way I do (yeah, I know he was injured and, thus, not able to play - I've even suffered through the same injury - but still).


Kansas State's Bill Walker eating a tub of popcorn while on the bench