MARCH (MERCENARY) MADNESS


Yes I filled out at least 2 brackets - yes, I love the drama, the fundamentals, the upsets, but the whole event is corrupt to its very core. The following are the official men's basketball player graduation rates of some of our public institutions fielding teams in the tournament. I realize these numbers underestimate actual graduation rates to the extent that they include players who move on to the NBA (and who really aren't the ones who needed a college degree to begin with) and transfers who may go onto graduate at other schools, but less than 50% is pathetic by any calculation.


Kentucky (#1MW): 33%, Oklahoma St. (#2E): 43%; UConn (#2W): 27%; Miss. St. (#2SE): 64%;
Pittsburgh (#3E): 30%; Texas (#3SE): 38%; Georgia St. (#3SE): 27%; N.C. St. (#3W): 44%;
Kansas (#4MW): 73%; Maryland (#4W): 27%; Flordia (#5E): 45%; Illinois (#5SE): 46%;
Wisconisn (#6E): 44%; North Carolina (#6SE: 55%); Michigan St. (#7MW: 56%);
Alabama (#8W: 13%); Arizona (#9SE: 23%);
Virginia Comm. (13E), Lousiana-Lafayette (13W), Alabama St. (16SE): 0%


I will be rooting for Duke: 88% (with the rest most likely being Jay Williams and other early NBA entries), and Stanford: 100%. Call me elitist, call me a snob, but at least these teams are student athletes, and not exploided, unpaid semi-pros