Giving Thanks For College Basketball

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but the holiday season is still upon us and that means it's never too late to stop for a moment and give thanks. It's always a good time to give thanks for family, friends, health, and all the truly important things in life, but there's also a time to give things for other things.

The time for giving thanks to college basketball is now.

The season heated up two weeks ago and NCAA basketball is already reminding me why I love it so much. Why it's the best sport around. Why I'm thankful for it.

I'm thankful that it's not college football. I'm thankful that there's no BCS, so that instead of having a combustible conglomeration of computers and humans tell us who the best team in the land is, we find that out for certain right there on the basketball court. I'm thankful that teams have a loss — or even two, three, four, or more losses — and still have a chance to accomplish everything they set out to accomplish at the beginning of this season. I'm thankful that 65 teams play for the sport's national championship as opposed to just two. I'm thankful that we get to witness non-stop, in-your-face, gut-wrenching action almost every single day from now until the first weekend in April rather than just on Saturdays.

I'm thankful for preseason tournaments such as the Maui Invitational and the Preseason NIT, and other competitions such as the ACC-Big 10 Challenge so that we see real, true games at the start of the season rather than having to sit around in front of the TV bagging matchups like Michigan vs. Appalachian State (oh, wait...).

I'm thankful for games that aren't supposed to be great games that turn up shocking results, such as Grand Valley State over Michigan State, Gardner-Webb over Kentucky, and Mercer over USC. I'm thankful for the even bigger upsets on the even bigger stages that have not happened yet but will inevitably take place in March.

I'm thankful the season ends with something so big, so massive, so monumental that people are already thinking about it, talking about it, projecting it, and lobbying for it despite the fact that it is still four months away.

I'm thankful for the NBA age limit rule so that we can see guys like Kansas State's Michael Beasley, Indiana's Eric Gordon, and USC's O.J. Mayo rule the college basketball world rather than see them in the NBA making a lot more for doing a lot less.

I'm thankful for current guys like Michigan State's Drew Neitzel, North Carolina's Quentin Thomas, Tennessee's Christ Lofton, and Ohio State's Jamar Butler, and guys of old like Northwestern's Evan Eschmeyer and Maryland's Nik Caner-Medley, all of whom give hope to students across the nation that it really is possible to stay in college forever.

I'm thankful for both the misfortune and fortune of Bobby Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders. I'm thankful for the misfortune of losing Jarrius Jackson to graduation, because it should make for a few extra losses and therefore a few more press-room blowups. I'm thankful for the fortune of having one of the best recruiting classes Lubbock, Texas has ever seen, so that when the freshmen aren't flawless right from the start Knight will spew forth more locker room tirades that are somehow recorded and put on YouTube.

I'm even thankful for reality checks — such as the ones each of the two teams I root for already got: Georgia Tech at home against UNC-Greensboro and No. 25 Davidson on the road at Western Michigan — that remind you a Top 25 ranking must be earned and kept and will not simply be handed to you in a gift-wrapped package and placed under a tree for you to open unconditionally. I'm thankful for losses that wake you up and motivate you to do better next time rather than crush your dreams of having a one-for-the-ages season.

I'm even thankful for Duke University, simply for celebrating their Maui Invitational win like it was the national championship, showing that even the Blue Devils know it's the only tournament they'll be winning this season. I'm thankful that not only do I have teams on whose success my personal well-being depends, but I also have a team on whose demise my well-being depends.

I'm thankful for the last two weeks. And the next four months.

Thank you, college basketball.