As mentioned awhile back, I have a few of these in various stages of development. With the college basketball season complete, seems like a good day to dust off this one.
This idea comes from a KU-centric podcast I listen to regularly. During the holidays they had a segment where they selected an elite program they would choose to be a fan of if KU was not an option. This came on the heels of Indiana’s visit to Lawrence in December. All of the hosts were at the game and mentioned how great the IU fans were: very respectful and interested in the history of KU hoops and Allen Fieldhouse while being passionate about their own team.
So today I’ll rank three big time programs that I could support, and three I would never cheer for, if I had not been #blessed to be born in the Jayhawk state.
Programs I Could Follow
3 – Arizona. The Wildcats have been good for the better part of 40 years. They tend to dominate the Pac-Whatever the way KU has dominated the Big 12. They have a fun, loud home court environment. They generally have really good players, many of whom go on to play in the NBA. Good weather if I were to visit for a game. Usually have solid uniforms but they’ve also had some missteps in recent years.
2 – UCLA. My dream school as a kid. One of the absolute coolest athletic programs in all of sports. Tons of history. Peaks and valleys in the modern era, but they really should be decent most of the time. A typically bandwagon LA fanbase so it seems like if I went all-in I could get pretty good season tickets easily. Cool uniforms, which is always a bonus.
1 – Indiana. Kind of a cheat since I live in the Hoosier state, my wife went to IU, and I have a graduate degree from the school. I’ve not liked IU at any point of my 20 years here, so it would take some work. Still, the Hoosiers are in many ways the most similar program to KU. A top five history. Midwest fans who are knowledgable and intense but have an appreciation for good ball no matter who plays it. KU and IU fans are arrogant in very similar ways, too. Assembly Hall is ugly and strange, but is a real monster when the Hoosiers are playing well. Plus odds are at least one of my kids will go there.
HM: Villanova
Pre-Jay Wright retirement they had a cool combination of small, local school with big time national success. Cool uniforms. Not sure if that will be sustained with him gone.
Programs I Could Never Follow
3 – Baylor. I’m not sure there are many actual Baylor hoops fans. Sure, a lot of Baylor alums enjoy the success of their team. But it’s Texas: all they really care about is football. I’ve seen way too many big games in their arena between two ranked teams with a ton of empty seats. For a religious institution, they sure have had a lot of really, really bad scandals, ones that go way beyond paying a power forward to enroll. The school has always shirked any responsibility for the issues inside their athletic programs. Which makes Scott Drew the perfect coach for them. Just like the institution, Drew is, and always has been, a giant phony. He’s as dirty a recruiter as there is but camouflages it behind the shield of Baylor, the Baptist church, and the Bible. He co-opted the success of the Baylor women’s program until he won a title of his own. He has a lot of “Look At Me” to his personality. The shade of green they use is a terrible color for uniforms. Don’t get me started on their neon yellow ones. Chip and Joanna need to go away.
2 – Kentucky. UK fans are a true mixed bag. I’ve met some incredibly nice ones who are a delight to talk hoops with. I’ve met others who are embarrassments to the concept of fandom. You can say that about every fanbase, whether the program is good or bad. But it feels like more Kentucky fans than any others will go out of their way to tell you how good they are and diminish anything your school has done. There are a ton of UK fans in Indianapolis, which is super annoying. More of an NBA than a college feel about every aspect of the program. The Rupp Arena crowd is a weird combo of rich, horse people and Kentucky rednecks, neither group being one I would hang out in. Rupp is loud but it has no charm. Cal is an ass who has been wasting great recruiting classes for nearly a decade.
1 – Duke. Even with Coach K gone, the air of superiority and entitlement around this program is unmatched. I don’t think Jon Scheyer, or any future Duke coach, will ever have any interest in removing the sanctimonious stink of the K era. Most of their “fans” had no chance to be admitted to the school. They use Duke’s academic reputation to hide that the program is exactly the same Nike-fueled basketball factory that Kentucky is. They defended Greyson Allen. Paid Zion’s dad but KU will get punished for it. K colored his hair for years.