Luka’s Corner

To anyone who has dealt with a tough loss, in any sport, the days after that loss are by far some of the toughest days an athlete has to experience. Be it a loss in an otherwise meaningless pickup game in the summer or in a state tournament game that could decide your season, a loss is a loss, and the feelings of despair, hurt, and regret are the same.

Also in play is the period of questioning that all athletes go through having lost in a game important to them, where they put everything on the line to emerge victorious. A series of “what ifs” pop into your head, making the loss that much more difficult to forget. What if I made that shot? What if I made that pass? What if I ran a little bit harder? What if I played with a little bit more intensity? These are all questions that accompany a loss, but, now that I have experienced it, I can honestly say that the only question that matters is “what now?”

What constitutes a successful athlete is that they can bounce back from a loss and do everything in their power to prevent themselves from ever again experiencing that feeling of anguish and depressing period of questioning. A successful athlete makes adjustments. They find it within themselves to work even harder in practice and put in that much more intensity and determination to succeed.

So, this is my message to anybody out there who has ever experienced a difficult loss, or to those who have not yet, but eventually will. Do not dwell on these “what ifs”. Focus instead on the “what now” and you will naturally become a better athlete and a better person.

As the regular season nears its end in the NBA, it is time to start looking ahead to the postseason, where a number of teams will compete for the game’s biggest prize come June. However, only one of these teams will earn the right to be called champions of the NBA. So, even though it is still up in the air in terms of who will win the title, I can safely say that only one team can and will win it, barring injury.

This team is the Los Angeles Lakers. Nothing has made me believe so far this season that any team can knock off the defending champions this year. While some may point to the Lakers’ defense, record against the Cavaliers and Nuggets, inconsistent offense, and questionable acquisition of Ron Artest as reasons why they will not repeat, it is still the Lakers that have the best team in the league. Come April, May, and June, it will be the team’s combination of inside muscle, with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom, outside scoring, which lies squarely on Kobe Bryant’s shoulders, and strong bench play that will undo all teams in the Lakers’ path. From Kobe to Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar, the Los Angeles Lakers simply have the best team in the NBA once again.

Less of a factor, but still relevant, is the poor play of the Cleveland Cavaliers after recently acquiring Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards. Watching the Cavs after making the trade, their defense, which was perhaps the team’s greatest strength, seems to have taken a step back. While only one significant player in the team’s rotation was lost in the trade, Zydrunas Ilgauskas (who may yet rejoin the team as a free agent), the addition of Jamison has thrown off the rotation, most notably the use of Anderson Varejao in defensive situations. Even though Coach Mike Brown now has another legitimate 20-point scorer at his disposal, he is forced to give up reliable post defense and rebounding. It is exactly this, defense and rebounding, that could potentially give Cleveland an edge over Los Angeles. However, it is looking more and more unlikely.

That is why, as of late February, the Los Angeles Lakers are my lock to win the NBA title come June. They are just too tough, too talented, and too focused to be denied this time around.

Personally, I would much rather watch a high-profile college basketball game than a high-profile NBA game. If I was given a choice to watch, during the regular season, a Duke-North Carolina rivalry game as opposed to a Boston-Los Angeles matchup, I would go with the college game, and for several reasons.

At the college level, players have more to prove than their counterparts in the pros. These college players, especially highly-rated prospects attending schools with strong basketball traditions, like Kentucky and Kansas, want to show NBA scouts that they are ready for and able to contribute at the next level. What makes them different from the pros is that there is still something else to achieve in their basketball careers. These prospects are not paid in college, so they have not accomplished anything with basketball yet, in terms of financial success and stability. NBA players, with a few exceptions, already have firm contracts, so they are financially secured. The result is that college players play more motivated and hungrier than professionals, which makes them more enjoyable to watch. This applies to the rest of the field, or those with no future in the NBA, who just want to prove themselves to their fellow students and school coaches. It just seems that college players, no matter their situation, try harder and put more effort into every single possession in the game. They leave it all on the floor.

Because players have more to prove and their motivation levels are higher than those of NBA players, college basketball games are more intense across the board than NBA games. From color commentators, such as Dick Vitale, Bobby Knight, and Digger Phelps, to coaches, like Bruce Pearl and John Calipari, the sphere of NCAA basketball is filled with passion and fire. More importantly, this intensity is felt on the court by the players themselves, who have everything to prove to scouts, coaches, and fans. Generated from the student bodies at most college games and the intensity on the court, excitement touches the players and propels them to perform at their best. Even star players, who are expected to succeed in the NBA, play as passionately as any other collegians. When you see John Wall of Kentucky and Xavier Henry of Kansas, two freshmen who will likely leave for the NBA after only one year in college, fired up on the court after an electrifying block or powerful dunk, you know you are witnessing something special. No matter their future, ranking, profile, or ability, all college players are touched by and create the excitement of NCAA basketball.

The presence of student bodies at college games, lacking in the NBA, adds a new dimension to an already intense atmosphere. Whether it is to cheer on their friends on the court, support their schools’ colors, compete with opposing fans, or for all of these reasons combined, students are always present at games in numbers. Their cheers and chants bring passion, intensity, and motivation. Whether it is Duke students at Cameron Indoor Stadium or Kentucky fans at Rupp Arena, the power of the student body is the same. It completes the sphere of college basketball, from players to coaches to parents and outside fans.

So, if you were to ask me how I would spend an evening watching basketball, I would choose, even though I love both levels of the sport, a broadcast from Chapel Hill showing the Duke-UNC rivalry game over an airing of a Celtics-Lakers game from the TD Banknorth Garden.