*Due to a design error, this column was not published on page 27 in issue #4 of “The Epic.”

With basketball season upon us, a lot of people will be ready for the Jayhawks to win the Big 12 again. Or maybe they are hoping that the Wildcats can pull of an upset against the Goliath that is the Kansas Jayhawks. While most people are excited for the college basketball season, I am excited for the best players in the world to compete. I am talking about the NBA.

I am aware that most people favor the NCAA over the NBA. It doesn’t really make sense to me. I ask them “Why would you rather watch amateurs over professionals?”. “The atmosphere is great, I love the crowd is awesome.” Even if the atmosphere is great, when I watch college basketball, the quality of the game is simply not as good as the NBA.  With stoppages in play, commercials, and timeouts, games can last upwards of three hours.  When games are lasting that long, I would rather watch the best basketball players in the world over amateurs.

People will argue that March Madness is the best time of year, and the NBA has nothing to match it. Yes, filling out your brackets and hoping to win your pool is great. And watching an upset unfold can be thrilling. But when you watch the NBA postseason and see the most talented basketball players in the world giving every bit of energy they have, college basketball simply cannot compete with the level of intensity in those postseason games.

My last point is that college basketball does not have the single game heroics that the NBA has. Other than rare occasions like Buddy Hield scoring 46 points against KU last year, for the most part games are not seriously affected by a single player. You don’t see players in college producing the same numbers as Steph Curry or LeBron James. There is nothing better than seeing someone catch fire and take over a game. Very rarely does it happen in college. It’s also amazing to see someone like LeBron James who uses his talent and desire to win to carry his team to victory. That’s something that you just don’t see in college.

At the end of the day, the reason I enjoy the NBA more than the NCAA is simple. The talent level cannot be matched. There are players in the NBA that produce superhuman performances that the players in college cannot match. You don’t see players in college making 13 three pointers in game. You don’t see players in college averaging a triple-double. The fact of the matter is, the NBA is a superior level game.