My brother-in-law is a basketball geek, like me. Also like me, he attended Michigan, except during his days as an undergrad, he was languishing in the mediocrity of the Amaker era. Unlike me, he didn't have the opportunity to take this class.
I called him up the after the first class of the semester and told him immediately that the five Michigan freshman basketball players were in the course. I told him that I had nervously sat in front of Mitch McGary and that he had personally handed me the stack of course syllabi. I told him on the Monday after the Ohio State game, that Nik Stauskas had admitted to us that the Buck Nut fans were the "loudest I've ever heard a crowd in my life" and that when he was running alongside Trey Burke during a fast break in the second half that Burke couldn't even hear his frantic screams for the ball over the raucous student section. I told him that Caris LeVert doesn't ever talk. I told him that the textbook for the class was by the same guys behind FreeDarko.
His response: "I'm jealous, man." Which I know is an understatement. I know he's more than jealous.
He would kill to be sitting in my seat.
I feel it necessary to answer a rhetorical question. Why am I taking this class? Why was I so persistent in my emails throughout the last 3 years to Yago, begging to get into his elusive "Basketball" class? Other than the superficial fact that the university is offering a fucking class devoted purely to the study of basketball. (Seriously, how awesome is that?)
I think part of it is an urge to fill the gaps in my personal dossier of basketball knowledge. Two years ago, I read Bill Simmons' Book of Basketball, a lengthy (to put it mildly) book which meticulously traces the history of the NBA. Being in Yago's class would only complement all of the random shit I read in Simmons' book, giving it a social framework with which to contextualize it. Well, I can say that what I've learned about so far in the class has been fascinating — the mythical quality to James Naismith's invention of the game, the quirkiness of the original rules and how they evolved into what they are today, the barnstorming teams of the early 20th century and the eventual formation of the NBA. All of this new knowledge enhances the Simmons' text; my conceptual knowledge of the history of the game is slowly rounding into form.
But if I were to be honest with myself, the biggest motivating factor in why I wrote all those emails was because I wanted to come into contact with the basketball players themselves. And when I say "come in contact," I mean to watch, to observe, to listen to what they have to say. I think as fans, we're fascinated by how the stars we see on TV act in real life. We want to identify with them. How are they like as people as opposed to basketball players? It's hard to discern their true character traits when they're answering questions at a press conference. They're guarded. They recite politically correct responses that their coaches taught them to say. This class is my opportunity to catch a glimpse inside the mind of future NBA players. Their true, open and honest mind. How many fans have that kind of access? Not many.
I'm trying to wrap my mind around what it is happening right now. As I sit here typing, the Michigan basketball team is the #1-ranked team in the country. I repeat, in the country! A feat, Yago pointed out at the end of our last class on Wednesday, that Michigan hasn't accomplished since the Fab Five twenty years ago. Tomorrow night, Michigan plays third-ranked Indiana at Assembly Hall. ESPN Gameday will be there, along with Jalen Rose. It's the first time ever, that two of the top three teams in the country have played in that hallowed arena. And on Monday afternoon, after I and the rest of the country has witnessed what has happened in Bloomington and digested it all, I will have a backstage pass to a raw, unfettered question-and-answer session with five of the quintessential members of the Michigan basketball team. Though I would like to, I can't shake the feeling that this is kismet.
This team is special. With the exception of the 2003-2004 Detroit Pistons, this is the most fun I've ever had watching a basketball team that I actively root for. There's an overwhelming sense around the people that I've talked to, including myself, that this team will be raising not one, but perhaps two or three championship banners by the time the season is over. I'm secretly scared that I'll somehow mess the whole thing up, that because my life has now come in contact with them, their team chemistry will be thrown off, their subsequent victories and trophies will somehow disappear into oblivion. This, I understand, is irrational. But I guess that's a natural response when being near the athletes that you admire.
What I'm trying to say is that I'm extremely lucky that I'm in this situation, that I'm in this particular class, during this particular year, with these particular people. And I'm trying to relish it as much as I can. I know that my brother-in-law would.
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