Youthful bravado is a wonderful thing! (I vaguely remember experiencing it, myself, but that was a long time ago.) Courtney Paris, the record-setting senior center for the Oklahoma University women's basketball team, got people all riled up when she burst forth with an expression of youthful bravado, last week, in a speech she made on Senior Night.  In essence, Paris  pledged to repay her scholarship money (approximately $64,000.00)  to the University if her Sooners fail to win the national championship this season. In her mind, the failure to win a championship will mean that she has not done the job expected of her when she accepted the scholarship to play at Oklahoma.

 

Well, what's wrong with that? Nothing at all.

 

However, for some reason, a certain segment of UConn fans are taking her simple, heartfelt statements as a slam against the Huskies. I don't see any intent of that, reading between the lines, upside down or backwards. I do see a spirited, competitive young woman who believes that she plays for a team with the ability to win a national championship and that she herself is (or should be) a key player in that process. I think she's right, personally. And I suspect that Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale would agree with me. In fact, Coale most likely made many similar statements to Courtney Paris during the recruiting process. There's no reason for all the uproar in the wake of Paris' comments. I wouldn't hold her to that pledge, though.

 

Why?  Many reasons. First, the personal ones:

 

Paris did earn her scholarship money. She's started every game at Oklahoma for the past four years and will leave as the all-time leading scorer. (She was #3 at the end of last season, only 46 points behind the #1 scorer.) She's led her team to an 81-19 record in her first 3 seasons, with 92 consecutive double-doubles to her credit, during that time span.

 

She did the role model thing. She represented her University honorably (no suspensions or arrests) and appears to be one of the thousands across this nation who embody the NCAA ideal of the "student athlete."

 

She doesn't owe Oklahoma anything more than that--but it's impressive (if a bit impulsive and grandiose) that she thinks she does. It shows gratitude, loyalty and commitment--all fine qualities.

 

The more practical reasons?

 

Talent or not, a national championship is never guaranteed. Oklahoma is not the only team with the right stuff to win a national championship that fell a little short of the goal. LSU played in 5 straight Final Fours, recently, and came home without a trophy. If I recall correctly, UConn was "supposed to" win the last two--except that they didn't. Tennessee did win the last two, yet Coach Summitt bemoans the 10 she didn't win in intervening years between her championships. (UConn won a handful of those 10.) Stanford looked like a team to bet on, last year, and also looks pretty good right now and for a couple more years, as well.  Maryland, Duke and North Carolina would probably be peeved if I left them off of this list. Baylor, too. Certainly Auburn. Louisville, Ohio State, Texas A&M, California, Florida, Notre Dame, Virginia, Florida and Vanderbilt all believe that they're in the race, too. Not to mention all the mid-major schools who are already lining up for NCAA tournament seedings. Maybe my alma mater, East Tennessee State University, will win the national championship! Come the Madness of March, everyone can dream...

 

The NCAA tournament is jam-packed with talented teams, loaded with talented players. But only one team completes the six-game winning streak to bring home the championship trophy. The other 63 teams all go home disappointed. But the failure to win the championship doesn't define the success of their season. For some teams, just making the field of 64 is a huge accomplishment. While each of the teams (no doubt) has a plan to win the national championship, about half of them don't have a serious expectation that they can do so. Success isn't ALL about the prize. Vince Lombardi's bombastic pronouncements aside, it actually is important how you play the game (and what you learn while you're doing it.) The journey is just as important as the destination, as are the people and lives you touch along the way. Cliches? Maybe. But it's still true.

 

You did your part, Courtney Paris. Good luck in the NCAA tournament and when it's over and the semester ends, cross that stage and accept your diploma, then walk away knowing that you gave Oklahoma (and probably many, many people you'll never know about) four years of hard work and the best effort that you are capable of.  If you can honestly say that you did, you don't owe anyone more than that.