As Richard Kovacevich, former Chairman of Wells Fargo, has stated, “You learn very quickly playing sports that it’s all about the team. It’s the best five players that win the basketball game, not the five best players.”
On Monday the best team, the University of Connecticut, won the national championship. Their opponent, the University of Kentucky, had ‘the five best players’. Actually, they may have had more than five—they’re loaded with half-a-gazillion McDonald’s All-Americans. Their starting five were all uber-talented freshman.
Yes, Connecticut’s point guard Shabazz Napier may well have been the nation’s best player. Yet Connecticut’s talent quotient was dramatically lower than Kentucky’s. In many ways Kentucky is an NBA farm club. ‘One-and-done’ describes what their current freshman are expected to do—namely turn pro. Whether they will or not remains to be seen.
On Monday the best team won, not the most talented team. Connecticut didn’t miss a free throw going 10 for 10 (Kentucky was 13 of 24). Connecticut, who was at a sizeable height disadvantage, out rebounded Kentucky by one. On paper Connecticut should have never been able to out rebound Kentucky—it just doesn’t equate given Kentucky’s superior height advantage and previous dominating performance on the boards all year.
If talent were the ultimate differentiator, Kentucky should have won. They didn’t. That’s because talent, as important as it is, is overrated. At the end of the day, it’s the team that matters most.
Congratulations to the Connecticut Huskies.