NCAA TOURNEY MAKES ITS NAME

This tournament was becoming obsolete. At least that’s what we heard. Obsolete, like the hook shot, the two-hand set and the give-and-go. All of the defections had robbed the NCAA tournament of its glamor. Its stars. Or so we thought. No Allen Iverson. No Kevin Garnett. No Stephon Marbury. This tournament had no names. No charisma. Nothing to sell. But we learned some lessons about basketball last week. We were taught by the no-names. The Who’s He instead of the Who’s Who of basketball. . . . A 13th-seed, Valparaiso, the school from northwest Indiana, is alive with a story more improbable than “Hoosiers.” This time it is Homer Drew instead of Gene Hackman coaching. And it is Homer’s son, Bryce, hitting the big shots. Their hugs after these games are all about family and the pride of a father for his son. This was the start this tournament needed. It was the necessary reminder that the games make the names.