Awhile back I remember people saying that they enjoyed college basketball much more than professional NBA games. I didn’t understand it back then. Of course back then I was also watching Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls play ball with Phil Jackson as their coach.
Now Phil Jackson is coaching the LA Lakers and I’m now saying myself how much more I like watching college basketball (especially during March Madness) and haven’t cared to watch an NBA game in years. I lost some respect for Phil Jackson as a coach today as well when I read his statement about the penalty to one of his players handed out this weekend was “excessive”.
If you’re like me and don’t really follow the NBA, then you may not have heard about the flagrant foul that Los Angeles center Andrew Bynum attacked Minnesota Timerbwolves forward Michael Beasley with on Friday night. Here’s video of the foul.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU7RiLERJ-Y&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Bynum’s foul costed him the flagrant foul, ejected from the game and a two-game suspension that will cost him around $250k. All of this is what coach Phil Jackson said was “excessive” for the foul.
What do you think? Excessive? Acceptable?
To me it’s just another example of the type of play that makes me completely not interested in watching the NBA. In my opinion, for a coach to consider this type of play acceptable by one of his players just means he’s not interested in professional basketball ever having the same level of sportsmanship and passion that’s now more easily found in college basketball.
I’m not naive enough to think that college basketball is perfect and plays like this don’t occur, but I don’t think it’s nearly as much of an issue in college ball as it is in the NBA.
Bring on more March Madness!