The Madness is Over

                                                                                             CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/AP

What a tournament it was. The University of Connecticut made an improbable run and defeated the University of Kentucky in the 2014 National Championship Game. Funny to think how Saint Joe’s was just one rebound away from sending UConn home in the first round and now UConn is the national champion. Kevin Ollie did a remarkable job coaching this team to a championship. What was the highlight of this tournament? You probably can’t pick just one. March Madness, to me, is without question the best sporting event of the year. There were so many things that happened throughout the tournament so here are three topics that may have gotten lost through the madness.

1. Steve Masiello lies on his resume: If you didn’t hear already, Steve Masiello, who coached Manhattan College to a near upset of the University of Louisville, was about to be named as the head coach at the University of South Florida. The University of South Florida took the time to do a background check and found out Steve Masiello never graduated from the University of Kentucky which he had put on his resume and rescinded the initial offer. This made me wonder had Manhattan College got blown out by Louisville, would we even have known Masiello lied on his resume? Would bigger schools looking for successful coaches to take over their program come calling to Masiello? Manhattan College obviously did not do a thorough background check before hiring him as a head coach in 2011. As of today, Masiello is placed on leave at Manhattan and can resume his coaching duties after he completes his degree.

2. Coach's bonuses: It is crazy how much coaches are making because their team made the Final Four. Kentucky’s assistant coaches totals to around $300,000 in bonuses for making the Final Four. Steve Berkowitz broke the bonuses down for the Final Four teams. I know that coaching can be a challenging task, but I know for a fact that they are not the ones producing on the court so I find the bonuses to be absurd and I’m sure I’m not the only one. John Calipari just lost $350,000 by losing in the national championship. Man, life must be tough for him.

3. Adreian Payne’s beautiful relationship with Lacey Holsworth: With the two topics above not being happy topics, it was time to put one in here. Adreian Payne, a senior at Michigan State, developed a strong relationship with Lacey Holsworth. Lacey Holsworth is an eight year-old girl who is battling cancer. When Adreian visited her at the hospital two years ago, they developed a strong relationship. So strong, that when Michigan State won the Big Ten championship game, Adreian wanted Lacey on the court to help him cut down his share of the net. She also walked out with him on senior night. This is one of the feel good stories of this tournament and it made Adreian Payne someone everyone should root for. Lacey Holsworth is a strong young girl, and we should all be praying for her.

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Alan Liang is a junior Drexel Sport Management major with minors in Marketing and Business Administration from West Windsor, NJ. Alan scores baseball games for Baseball Info Solutions and is currently on co-op with the Philadelphia 76ers in the camps department. Follow Alan on Twitter @AlanLiang29. 

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