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For CBS sports analyst Greg Anthony, the chaos of the NCAA tournament is a welcome change. After several years of covering the NBA for ESPN, Anthony joined CBS in 2008 and currently works as a lead studio analyst. During a recent interview with rolling out sports at the CBS offices in New York, Anthony discussed the excitement of March Madness and offered his opinion on compensation for student-athletes. –amir shaw
What are the differences between the NCAA tournament and the NBA playoffs?
I think [there’s] a huge difference between the collegiate and professional game. In the NBA, you have professionals who view the game as a job. With students, they approach it differently. … When it comes to the tournament, it’s single game elimination. Unlike with the NBA game, the best team doesn’t always win. There’s more tension involved. Every time you take the floor, it’s an elimination game.
Schools receive major endorsements for participating in the NCAA tournament. Should student-athletes get paid?
I don’t think student-athletes should get a big payoff, but they should receive a stipend that will allow them to have a similar collegiate life as other students. Student-athletes have tremendous travel schedules along with their studies. But it’s a unique opportunity. If you told any young person that they could go to college for free and have the experience of playing football and basketball, it would be hard to pass up. You would hope that from the experience, the students [could] pursue careers that [would] allow them to have success.
What lessons in basketball can prepare you for life after the game?
It doesn’t matter how much you prepare for a game, things will change and you have to improvise and adapt to your environment. In life, things aren’t always going to be conducive to you being successful. You will not always get the best hand or best match-up in the tournament. How you approach dealing with difficult circumstances on the court will help you in life. My grandmother used to tell me that ‘as a black American, you can’t be good, you have to be better.’ That encouraged me to strive for excellence on and off the court.
