March is a great time to be out of work. I can sit home and watch March Madness all day.  And that is what I have been doing today, since 9 am.  I just finished watching the St. Marys – Richmond game which St. Mary’s won handily because of some great perimeter shooting from their Australian players, of whom they have five ( three are regular starters).  I must admit that although I root for St. Marys because they are a local team, I feel a little miffed that they have brought so many players over from Australia to play basketball .  Shouldn’t these spots on the team go to local kids,  many of whom come from the inner city and for whom the opportunity to play college basketball may open some significant doors in life ?  I am sure that there were a lot of kids from this demographic who tried out for the Gaels’s team this past winter but who could not make the cut because coach Randy Bennet had decided to recruit from Australia where the kids are older and have more experience playing organized ball. Some of the Australian players on Bennet’s team are in their mid -20s  which, to me at least, just makes a complete mockery of college basketball. I mean would John Wooden have done this ?
In short, we all know that a winning college sports program is big business nowadays and many coaches have a win at all costs attitude.  You expect this from college basketball factories like Ohio State, U Conn, Kansas, Michigan State et al. You don’t expect it from a small Catholic liberal arts college in Moraga, California with an enrollment of 3800 students.  Nothing is scared anymore. Not even the NCAA Tournament.