re: NIT: LSU Men hosting North Texas in Opening Round, Tuesday at 6 PM CT, SECN/ESPN+

quote:

---

Watch an actual college basketball coach (as opposed to ignorant TD posters) educate on why a team SHOULD take the opportunity of going to the NIT, and why excuses like needing to recruit or address the portal, are just that, excuses

---

I don't know if I'd throw Tom Crean out there as the spokesperson for playing.

That aside, I doubt ANY of the coaches for the teams that declined to participate did so unilaterally without first talking to their players. And I would be willing to bet anything that if you got the players of those teams in a candid moment most (not all) would tell you they didn't want to play. No different than football players opting out of non-playoff bowl games.

For us, as fans, consuming college basketball is easy. All we have to do is so up for a game or two a week for two hours, or flip on the TV. For the players it is a 5+ month physical and mental grind starting in October. When at the end of the season the option is practice, travel, play in a tournament that really is for no stakes (and is mostly ignored by the public with the actual playoffs going on), or rest, many will chose to just shut it down and move on. The coaches will respect the wishes of the players.

The transfer rules have expedited that process. It opens today and guys that want to transfer often want to get in ASAP. If they are playing in the NIT they will probably wait out of respect to their team, but they'd rather get the process started. For coaches, it is cutthroat recruiting that they have to get a jump on.

As far as using it to "develop your team for next season" that's great!...if you have most of the same players back for next season. In this age that is not always the case. For LSU 4 core players are definitely gone (Wright, Baker, Hannibal, Dean). Another, Wilkinson, seems likely to be moving on as well. So yes, another game for guys like Ward, Reed, Williams, will be nice, a coach isn't really doing a lot to "develop next year's team" because next year's team will be much different.

If I were a coach I would encourage my guys to play. But I would ultimately leave it up to the players. Success in the NIT doesn't always translate to the following year. In fact, you saw a lot of the top seeds in last year's tournament get bounced early. Likely because of lack of motivation.

For McMahon it represents progress he can, hopefully, sell on the recruiting trail. For us fans, it's another opportunity to watch a team we are interested instead of NCIS: Delaware. But I wouldn't look into it too much more than that.