The Return of the Big Men

No one mentioned Alcindor v. Hayes or, heaven forbid, Russell v. Chamberlain. There wasn’t even the buzz of college basketball’s last big Big-Man Confrontation (BMC). That was 24 years ago when Georgetown’s 7-0 sophomore, Patrick Ewing, shared the opening tap with 7-4 senior Ralph Sampson of Virginia. Nonetheless, for the first time during the 2006 college basketball season, I wanted to watch. Really wanted to watch.

Ohio State freshman Greg Oden, at 7-1, could define the first true wave of Big Men in a generation. On Saturday, he faced Joakim Noah, the emotional, pony-tailed Big Man who led Florida to the national title last season then, in a move that stunned plenty and pleased more, returned to Gainesville for his senior season. Oden is a classic low-post Big Man -- tall, strong and formidable. Intimidating. (Already the 2007 NBA Draft is being touted as the Greg Oden Draft.) Noah is fluid -- a running, shot-blocking gazelle, more symbolic of an era when Big Men like Shaquille O’Neal were an anomaly.

Their first-time matchup was juiced by the fact their respective teams are among the best in the nation. The Buckeyes, a young team carried by some of the most talented freshman in the nation, was ranked No. 3. Florida, veteran winners, was ranked No. 5. The Gators have Been There, Ohio State is trying to Do That.

Not surprisingly, the BMC didn’t live up to the hype. Florida thumped OSU 86-60 and neither Oden nor Noah was the biggest Big Man of the evening. That was Gator junior Al Horford, the 6-10 Dominican who returned from an ankle injury to score 11 points, pull down 11 rebounds and was primarily responsible for holding Oden to a pedestrian 7 and 7. Noah had 7 points and 9 rebounds, and remained the Gators' emotional fire.

But never mind the numbers. Oden and Noah are leading the next wave of ballers who will not only rejuvenate college basketball but elevate the pro game as well. Yes, LeBron, D-Wade and even Battlin' 'Melo have firmly rescued the NBA from its post-Jordan malaise, and they’re backed by enough maturing co-stars (i.e. Kobe Bryant) and young stunners (Chris Paul and Chris Bosh, to name just two) to bring some of the game’s fans back to their seats.

That was not David Stern’s design when he imposed the 19-year-old age floor on playing in the NBA. The rule still irks some who believe it was either part of a grander scheme to “lighten” the pro game or simply to prevent young (mostly black) men from leveraging their promise and precocious skills to earn an indecent living wage. I’ve known Stern long enough to put little stock in the first argument, and I just do not agree with the latter point of view.

Whatever the motivation, and however it might delay -- for a year -- the opportunity for a very few to earn millions, it could simply not be a bad thing at all for a group of young (mostly black) men to attend one year of college before joining the man’s game -- and lifestyle -- that is the NBA.

On that front, I’m still waiting for someone to tell me I’m wrong.

Just look what’s happened. Freshman, dozens of them, are sparking what is shaping up as the most competitive and intriguing college basketball season in years. Teams throughout the Top 20 are being led by precocious young men who’ve been prepared to lead at the next level by years of high-caliber competition. You may not be able to even name a team among the elite that isn’t getting significant contributions from a kid who barely knows his way around campus.

So much so, experts are starting to discuss the Freshmen of 2006 along with the likes of the top freshman classes of all time: Freshmen of 1979 featured Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins, Ralph Sampson and Clark Kellogg. That class may have only been topped by the Freshmen of 1981: Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin, ‘Nuff said.

Arizona coach Lute Olson told ESPN.com: "There's no question that this class has had the biggest impact we've seen for a long time. I do think that this class will go down as one of the best classes. I really do think it's an unusually talented freshmen class."

Not that the Stern rule is the sole reason for the season. Yet for the last decade college basketball was decimated by high-school blue-chippers leaping directly to the pros, and by the overall decline of the game. At least 10 of this season’s blue-chip class would have opted for the NBA this season and most of them would be languishing on some team’s bench, learning little.

Suddenly, hopefully, that seems to be changing. Perhaps the young men we’re seeing now -- as they learn the game, enjoy their youth and mature into manhood -- will be better for having postponed their dream for at least a year. Almost certainly, the game of basketball will be.