This Thursday, officials from the state's community colleges will be meeting in Lynchburg. I'd love to see them devote just a small portion of their time together to the possibility of starting a statewide community college basketball league.
OK, I hear you: Why, in this period of budgetary uncertainty, would they want to even consider something so trivial?
Let me offer a few reasons:
1. Basketball, as a sport, is cheap -- uniforms and basketballs, period. Indeed, in this economy, the players could even pay for their own uniforms. Nor would it be be too difficult to find a faculty member or someone from the community to serve as a volunteer coach. Finally, you could probably find a local sporting goods store that would donate a few basketballs for practice.
2. It would not be hard to find a place to practice and play. The area is full of high school gyms, many of which would be open for at least a couple nights a week.
3. Central Virginia Community College does what it does exceptionally well. It's not designed to be UVa or Virginia Tech -- I realize that. Most of the students want to get in, get out and go to work.
Still, a basketball team would offer some semblance of student body bonding and perhaps even attract a few extra students, for very little cost.
4. Athletically speaking, it would provide an opportunity for some young people who have a too many holes in their game -- or lack the grades -- to play for a four-year school immediately after high school, but have that potential if they can continue to develop.
The thing is, this is not something that one school can do. CVCC has tried to field a team in the past, but the effort foundered largely because the team had no one to play. A statewide league could ensure a steady diet of opponents, most of them within reasonable driving distance, culminating in a state tournament.
Of all the students in the area, the ones at CVCC seem most deserving of a little fun.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement