The following article was written for Campus Progress by writer Jason Howler.


I'm a former student-athlete. I was a guard/forward on the men's basketball team at Vanderbilt University. Let me be clear, I was by no means a superstar. I started most games from my sophomore year on and was known as our "defensive stopper." My claim to fame was that I just tended to simply work harder than everyone else. I suppose in that regard I was the typical "white guy," the one who is not as talented as everyone else but tends to work even harder to make up for those deficiencies. Sure, every once in a while, I electrified the team with a few dunks, but for the most part, I was the mild-mannered kid keeping everyone on the same page, serving as the quiet glue for our offense.

Despite spending time inside the world of big-time college athletics, I still find it to be a bit of a conundrum. Obviously, almost no sport, with the exception of football, gets as much hype or excitement as basketball. I can attest that, during my college career, there was no bigger thrill than to watch my school being posted on selection Sunday. My next greatest thrill was then proceeding to reach the Sweet Sixteen before getting waxed by UConn in 2004.

Most of you reading this article right now have probably filled out a bracket and entered it in a pool of some sort. In fact, today, the day after the finals may be your first day of full-on productive work in a while.

So, now that the "madness" is over, let's take a step back and remember that these (we) are just kids. All this confusion, anticipation, money and enthusiasm rest in the hands of a 21 year old young man, who today is back, sitting in classes, trying to learn will sit in a how to contribute to society when their time is up.

The same kid making plays on Thursday afternoon just chugged his first (legal) beer a few months ago. It is astounding when you put things in proper perspective. Would you be willing to place that type of responsibly and pressure on a 21 year old in the business world trying to close a deal?

This is our time to shine. And that knowledge weighs heavily. In the back of each player's mind is the opportunity to get a spot on that saccharine "One Shinning Moment" song at the end of the tournament. So players wear their hearts on their sleeves. We put it all into the game, and a loss can be hard to take, even if it is those very real emotional highs and lows that let the viewing public connect with the players.

Coming from a relatively small private university which has done away with its athletic program and from a guy who would rather watch a movie on the couch than go to a bar, I am the first to admit that I may not have the 'pulse' on the world of college basketball. For me, however, balancing athletics and academics was never that tough. The fact is once you get yourself into a routine of going to class, to practice, then studying, keeping up in the classroom really isn't too bad. In fact, I used to do my best work in the heat of the SEC schedule and would suffer most after the season when I had nothing to do. But I guess that isn't true of a lot of my peers.

For me, the most significant hardship a college basketball player faces isn't academics but expectations. The pressure comes from coaches, fans, the media, family, friends, and, of course, ourselves. We always knew that if we didn't play a certain way or score a certain number of points or win a certain number of games, we could hurt the reputation of our team and our school. A successful college athlete is successful because they learn how to always be a college athlete. You are always on. At every practice, in every class, at every game, you are in public and being thought of and judged as a college athlete.

So, finally, what happens next? I am currently trying to figure out my life after being a basketball player for a Division I team. All my life, I was Jason, a basketball player. It was just assumed by everyone around me that I would play pro one day in one capacity or another. My identity was intertwined with the sport itself. As soon as I lost my last game, I had to realize that I wasn't a basketball player anymore, I didn't have to go shoot in the gym or be at practice the next day. As scary and uncertain as that was, it is also quite liberating. Fortunately, I realized professional ball wasn't in the cards for me well before my time was done so I focused on starting a business career and finishing my degree in Human and Organizational Development. There is a point in every athletes life where he must look in the mirror and know it is time to move on. The ones who fail are the ones who can't give it up, who can't find a new identity.

So, for those of you who watched the final game and lamented your lost tournament pool as UCLA got beat down, remember that they are only kids and except for a rare and lucky few, this is their one shot to make a name for themselves before heading back to class and before entering the work world to compete against you.