Krzyzewski has been talking in weekly Thursday meetings with other power coachesGETTY IMAGES
Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said that he is leading a charge of ACC coaches proposing an all-inclusive men's basketball tournament because he "wants to make sure basketball avoids the same pratfalls" that befell football's restart efforts, according to O'Neil & Hamilton of THE ATHLETIC. Krzyzewski has been at the "forefront of the ACC’s charge, talking in weekly Thursday meetings with other power coaches" and NCAA VP/Basketball Dan Gavitt about his idea, and now "spearheading the ACC to formally make a unanimous proposal." The selection committee "determines the requirements to make the tournament," but a decision of this magnitude "most likely would require the support of everyone," including from NCAA President Mark Emmert and the NCAA BOG. The D-I Council is "expected to announce on Sept. 16 that the season will begin on Nov. 25, but just what the season will look like remains to be seen." Even once the selection committee determines the number of games required to make the tournament, there "will be no uniform plan to what sort of games need to be played." Meanwhile, coaches "acknowledge they haven’t conquered the format question or even delved much into the nitty-gritty of it on these calls (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/9). Virginia coach Tony Bennett said the ACC's coaches are “united in strongly pursuing this." And multiple ACC coaches said that creating an everybody-gets-in format "would be an incentive for schools as they create the safest conditions possible for returning to play" (AP, 9/9).
THEY'RE ON BOARD: USA TODAY's Dan Wolken writes the idea, at "first blush, sounds crazy." But as fans have all "painfully experienced over the past six months, nothing is normal in the COVID-19 era." Wolken: "If you want to pull off something great, you have to open your mind and re-imagine the possibilities of what sports can be." The logistics of accommodating that many teams "would probably be difficult." But the fact that this idea comes from the ACC "lends it a lot of credibility" (USA TODAY, 9/10). SI.com's Pat Forde: "A lot of people hate the concept. I kind of love it." At the very least, the "sentiment behind it is laudable." This "isn’t a Participation Trophy Syndrome situation: It’s been a hellish year for college athletes; why not look for ways to make their experience better?" It "figures to be a wreck of a season from November(ish) through February," so college basketball "should put all its eggs in the March basket and try to make sure the signature event is a success" (SI.com, 9/19).
PIE IN THE SKY? In Newark, James Kratch cautions there are "myriad reasons why March Madness on Steroids will not come to fruition" including the money, the travel and the "devaluation of the regular season." But it "could work if the NCAA does something the ACC and the rest of its members would never allow happen: Divide the nation into neat geographic quarters and create four true bracket regions that build up to a truly central final weekend in Indianapolis" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/10). THE RINGER's Rodger Sherman wrote, "An all-inclusive NCAA tournament would make the sport the money it desperately needs while avoiding some of the pitfalls of a season played amid a pandemic, all while bringing prominence back to the smaller teams and leagues that make March Madness mad" (THERINGER.com, 9/9).
REALITY CHECK: In Boston, Michael Silverman writes given the "uncertainty that already exists about this coming season," the chances of the ACC’s proposal "ever seeing the light of day appear dim" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/10). ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi predicts the ACC coaches' idea to conduct an all-inclusive NCAA tournament in '21, "however well-intentioned (color me skeptical), is going to crash against the rocks." Lunardi: "The NCAA tournament isn't an exhibition. It isn't charity. It is an earned opportunity to compete for a national championship" (ESPN.com, 9/9).
