Luka’s Corner

When I watch basketball, I wait for those moments that lift me out of my seat. I wait for those moments that amaze and surprise  me to the point that the vision of that moment remains in my mind four or five plays later. I wait for that “wow” factor, as it is called. To me, a play is truly stunning if I have to call someone over, who had missed it, and tell them to stand in front of the TV and wait for the replay. The moment is that great that it just cannot be experienced alone. This is why I watch basketball.

I do not watch for the powerful dunk that gets most people out of their seats. I watch for the silky smooth reverse layup. I do not watch for the highlight reel swat out-of-bounds. I watch for the solid, deceiving defensive stance that leads to a turnover. I choose the fundamental over the freakish. Why? Because I can repeat that if I want to. I can relate to what Ray Allen does because he does not have that out-of-this-world athletic ability. I cannot say the same about LeBron James or Dwight Howard. Their dunks and blocked shots cannot be repeated or related to. It is this factor that makes me see the game differently.

Take this: I jumped out of my seat when Ray Allen took the ball on a two-on-one fastbreak against the Toronto Raptors last week, faked the pass to the wing by going around-the-back to trick the defender, and finished the layup. He also drew the foul and finished the three-point play at the foul line soon after. In this situation,  Ray Allen “wowed” me. Now switch the players. Let’s say LeBron took the ball on a fastbreak, blew by two defenders, rose up and delivered a one-handed tomahawk jam right on one of the Raptor players. And, he drew the foul in the process. Now, I cannot deny that this would not be an amazing play, considering that he has done this numerous times and I have witnessed it (not to reference the corny Nike ad). But, the Ray Allen play stuck in mind because it was so beautiful, so silky smooth, so flawless. It made me want to do the same thing in the gym right after the game. This is the difference.

This is the definition of the “wow” effect. If a play gets you out of your seat, forces you to call someone over to watch it as well, and tempts you to imitate that play in the gym afterward, you were “wowed”. With this particular play as an example, a “wow” moment is why I watch the game. It is what gives basketball its grace and beauty.

When I look at the schedule of the Sweet 16, only one game really sticks out to me. Only one game on the schedule for tonight has so much at stake and could prove so much to basketball fans around the globe. Only one is worth watching above all its competitors. That game is Cornell versus Kentucky in the Carrier Dome, home of the Syracuse Orange. However, not surprisingly, it is not the Orange-Bulldogs matchup earlier in the night that should be watched, but the Big Red-Wildcats pairing instead.

Why, you ask? Well, there are so many storylines that go along with the game. They actually make the game more than a game, like every potentially great sporting event. It is not only Cornell versus Kentucky. It is also an Ivy League school versus a big-time basketball school. It is an ultimate underdog versus an ultimate favorite. It is an experienced, solid team versus a young, flashy team. It is an ultimate team versus a collection of individual stars. It is the four-year student-athlete versus the one-and-done pro-bound player. So, it is also the college game versus the NBA game in a way. Going deeper and deeper, it is a white-dominated team versus a team with mostly black players. It is a contrast of race. It is the hard-working high school student who also plays basketball versus the highly-touted AAU star who lives for the game. Catch my drift? I could go on and on about the contrasting styles exhibited by these two teams. They are complete opposites in every way possible, starting from the head coaches to the star players to the actual schools in question.

However, the only way this game will ever be remembered ten years from now for all of these storylines and contrasts and intrigue is if Cornell wins. If the Big Red somehow upset the Wildcats, it will propel the team into the history books. Then, all of these storylines can continue to be discussed ten years from now and fifty years from now. If the Wildcats win, as they are favored to do, then this game will fall under the what-if category, leaving us all wondering what could have been. It will just be another favorite restoring parity in the NCAA tournament. So, it is up to either the Cornell Big Red to win the game or the Kentucky Wildcats to choke the game away if we are to continue talking and analyzing from afar.

What is my opinion? Well, I am just going to let the game do the talking from this point on. At around midnight, we will all know whether it was worth even talking about this matchup before the game. It will all be decided on the court at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. But, do not get me wrong. I will be rooting for the underdog to take down Goliath. For tonight at least, Cornell is my team. Why? Well, let’s just say that I want March Madness to become even a little bit madder.

To me, basketball is everything. It is a collection of excitement, intensity, love, hate, and competitiveness. It brings out the best in individuals and the unity in a group of people. It serves as a representation of life as it is. It shows people’s true character and strength as they are placed in different situations. It offers us these different situations, placing us in winning environments, losing atmospheres, and painful experiences, be it due to injury, loss, or underachievement. Basketball is everything.

It cannot be overstated how similar basketball is to the real world and the lives people live off the court. If one wants to become a better basketball player, they have to work at it. They have to put in the hours, the sweat, and the suffering that goes with the rewarding success and feeling of fulfillment. To me, this is everything. Putting in hard work to become better at something is the foundation of life. Whether it is working out in the weight room to become stronger, working on passing to become a better passer, or working on lateral quickness to become a better defender, the idea is the same. Working on the jump-shot is the same as practicing playing the piano or writing an essay. Basketball is applicable to so many other activities because the goal of playing basketball is the same as the goal of doing anything else. That goal is to become better to experience that feeling of fulfillment and achievement after the work has been put in.

Basketball is so valuable to me because it shows exactly how tough I am, how effectively I cope with new situations, if I can show both skill and intelligence, and if I can pull through when it matters most to prevail. It shows more to me than if I can just hit a pull-up jumper or drive to the basket. The game reveals who you really are. It shows what kind of person you are.  Are you a winner? Are you tough, mentally and physically? Are you reluctant to engage your peers or do you embrace sharing your success with others? Being tough in the low post is the same as being tough when dealing with financial problems and trying to support a family. Being unselfish by passing to an open teammate is the same as helping out a person in need or complimenting someone else when they need words of encouragement. All of these questions are answered on the basketball court. Because they are, basketball is more than a game. It is more than a group of people running up and down a court together. It is life.

The great thing about basketball that, no matter what level you are playing on, these questions are answered and the value is the same. There is absolutely no difference between a pickup game at the local YMCA and an NCAA tournament game between Kentucky and Ohio State. There is no difference between a high school game and an NBA game. The bottom line is that one individual is trying to prevail over the other, while one team is trying to prevail over the other. Even if only Joe Joe is trying to score over Bob Bob at the YMCA, that competition is exactly the same as the competition that John Wall faces while trying to score over Evan Turner. The names do not matter. It is the lifelike struggle that means something. Be it Joe versus Bob or James versus Bryant, one player is simply trying to lead his team to victory. The power of basketball is universal. It is valuable for all who play it. This is the power of the game.