Hardwood Hot Takes: Why can’t every night be Senior Night?

College basketball is serious basketball, played by serious people, with serious coaches in charge but that doesn’t mean some fun can’t be had every so often.

Senior Night should be every night

Last night, the Vermont Catamounts celebrated their senior night in their meeting with the Albany Great Danes. In the opening moments of that game, Josh Speidel scored his team’s opening points of the game — the first points of his career.

After the ball went through the net, a celebration commenced and tears were flowing.

It was a special moment for everyone involved. CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander has the clip that represented one of the best moments of the college basketball season.

Speidel appeared in his first career college basketball game. In high school, he was a standout prep school player at Columbus High School in Indiana and a three-star recruit who Vermont had hoped would be a big contributor during his time at the university.

John Becker, who has coached at Vermont since 2006 told CBS Sports, “I thought Speidel was the best player I had ever recruited here.”

When he played AAU, two of his teammates were Kyle Guy and Dylan Windler. Both are now in the NBA; Guy with the Sacramento Kings and Windler with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Windler was even Speidel’s backup at one point.

As a senior in high school, he had grown to 6-foot-8 and weighed 250 pounds. On the final day of January, he put together an amazing game scoring 33 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. He was in contention for Mr. Basketball in Indiana.

However, the next day, Speidel was involved in a car accident on Super Bowl Sunday. He nearly lost his life and was in a coma for the next five weeks. The belief among his doctors was he could potentially be in a vegetative state and need 24-hour care for the remainder of his life.

Speidel was leaving a KFC parking lot and as he was crossing over on a four-lane main road his car was struck directly in the side by an oncoming car. He was the only one injured in the accident.

A traumatic brain injury caused him to miss all but one game of his college career.

His story was so inspiring it was shared on the floor of the United States Senate Monday by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy:

Five years ago to the day of his first college basketball game, Speidel was able to sit up in bed. He suited up for Vermont but he still deals with tremors on the left side of his body occasionally and he has a pronounced hitch when he runs.

However, after spending every day at practice going through balance drills, core workouts and lifting on the side with a trainer one-on-one he was rewarded by Becker with a uniform and the opportunity to start for Vermont.

The moment was agreed upon by Becker and Great Danes head coach Will Brown prior to the game tipping off. After the game, Speidel said, “I did it, I’m a college basketball player, I scored in a college basketball game. You can’t take that away from me. I’m just so forever grateful.”

Fellow seniors Everett Duncan (played with Speidel on the grassroots circuit) and Anthony Lamb (potential America East Player of the Year selection) were also celebrated by the program. Had Speidel never gotten injured this group could have been remembered as one of the best in the history of the Catamounts.

Yet, if this team can take care of business in the America East conference tournament this won’t be the last we see of Speidel and I’m sure that will be a big boost for them, Becker said to CBS Sports, “I don’t think it’s a coincidence we’ve had arguably the four best years in program history since he’s been here with us. There’s something so inspirational, magical about his recovery and his determination and will to get back. It almost seems impossible, thinking back to being by his bedside three days after the accident.”

The Catamounts are attempting to make the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons.

Speidel’s moment was one that won’t be forgotten anytime soon by anyone who was there. It’s a moment that college sports produce better than any other sports league around the world. It’s a moment that we need more of.

Granted, the emotional impact of the senior night comes from players knowing that they will never be back on their home court again but there are still ways to expand these moments so that there’s more to go around.

Each one won’t need a whole presentation and such but what if the final rivalry games players play in got the same love as senior nights. What if conference tournaments highlighted players in their final years? What if one-and-done’s or players who left early also got to be part of the festivities?

Under Tom Izzo, the Michigan State Spartans have undertaken a tradition of players going to half court and kissing the Spartan logo at mid-court before being subbed out for the final time in East Lansing. Izzo will do it with any player regardless of class. When it was clear Miles Bridges would be leaving after his sophomore year, he got the classic send-off along with all of the seniors.

While amateurism is stuffed down our throats when the topic of paying players is brought up, senior night and the events that go along with it are one “amateur” thing that the NCAA needs to play up more. It’s good press, good publicity and overall just plain old good fun.

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