This could be one of the best NITs in a while ... at least if you look at the big names that could be toiling in there.
Defending champion North Carolina could be there. So could UConn, the second best team from last season. So should Memphis, who has been one of the elite programs the last couple of years.
Joining them could be schools like Illinois, Minnesota and Cincinnati. Maybe those giant schools won't be there at all. UNC coach Roy Williams said he'd take the bid if asked. Not sure if UConn's Jim Calhoun would.
I'm one of these people who are angered by this. I am a North Carolina fan and, yes, this has been a humiliating season. Coming off a National Championship season softens the blow a bit, but this shouldn't of happened. The team that I spent my nights watching DVRd games of last year didn't even get any DVR love from me this year.
Still, if the NIT comes calling, accept the bid. Yep, UNC fans feel they are too good for the NIT. This is the defending champ that are coming off two straight Final Fours and three straight Elite 8s. They are the second winningest program in history.
But it isn't about me as a fan or the boosters who are sullied by what's been happening. It's about the kids. For once, let it be about the actual kids.
Speaking from a North Carolina perspective, this will probably be Marcus Ginyard's final chance to play basketball at this kind of level. Deon Thompson could catch on in some off-shoot leagues, but none of it will be like this. Give them that chance to keep playing, even if the stakes are nothing to be excited about.
Now, if the players don't want to go ... that's different. If they really feel like they don't want to go (and not pressured to feel that way), then they should shut it down. Notre Dame's players didn't want to accept a smallish bowl bid this past season and sat. But if the school decided that for them, that would be sick.
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