Kobrin: Enthusiasm vs. ego

College basketball is becoming more and more like the NBA, and that is why Greivis Vasquez is the best player in the NCAA.

Now, don't take that to mean college basketball is becoming the plodding grind fest that characterizes much of the pro game. Only the Big Ten Conference plays like that, and nobody likes Big Ten basketball. What I mean is that freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors are expected to act like professionals more and more. They must arrive at work, occasionally conduct a very scripted and self-effacing interview, contain themselves and their emotions and "get to work" while on the hardwood.

A sense of head-down, dungarees-low, hard labor has crept into our game. Nineteen and 22-year-olds are expected to behave with "class" and "poise," code words for "not being uppity" (and if you think there aren't racial undertones to "professionalism" in sports, you're delusional. Just take a look at the NBA's attempts to make Allen Iverson take off his chains and wear a suit). It's not a completely awful thing. There certainly is something to be said for sportsmanship and respecting the game. I completely agree that athletes should be cognizant that they represent the school named on their jersey. But why set the standard for the hardwood so high when the bar for the stands is refraining from saying "F---" into an ESPN camera?

College basketball is more fun because it's amateur. It's high-flying, fluid, chaotic, youthful and emotional. When NBA teams win big, fans ride home happy. When NCAA teams win big, fans rush the court and mosh with the players. Phil Jackson celebrates with a Zen-like smile after a championship; Jim Valvano dashes around looking for someone to hug. Emotion and passion are integral parts of the game. Stifling them just hurts the entire experience.

Which leads me back to my original statement. Many say Greivis is too much of a showboat or a ham. He must stop acknowledging the student section during games, stop posing after making 3-pointers and stop engaging the opposing students on foreign courts. Why?

Duke already refers to us as "Fallujah Park." A UNC fan told us to "go back to the ghetto" following our recent upset. Of course, if Greivis had run back on defense without any display of emotion this never would have happened. Come on now, ask any coach or player, past or current, how a team earns respect, and they will tell you it's by winning. A team builds a profile of respect by wining games, not acting politely.

And that's exactly what Greivis does. He wins, and he enjoys the game while he does it. Watch him during warm-ups when he's joking around with his teammates, keeping everyone loose. Watch him during stoppages in play when he's schmoozing with refs. Watch him on court when he sprints at a teammate for a chest bump after a dazzling assist. Watch him whip a 19,000-person arena into a frenzy with one glance after a big shot. Watch him intimidate the hell out of Duke fans with the same look.

He isn't showboating. He isn't being a hot dog. In his own words, "this jersey means so much" to him. Greivis plays with a zest and pride is unmatched by any other player on the Divisiion I level. Oh, and by the way, he's a pretty rare talent. The kid came in as a freshman, took over the starting point guard duties midway through the season and helped bring us back to the NCAA tournament. He came into this year expected to help gel and lead a team integrating six new players and has done a pretty damn good job of doing so if record is any indication.

Understand his displays, don't chastise them. Every look, pose, yell and gesture is an invitation. He wants the four guys around him to enjoy the game as much as he does. He wants the 19,000 people around him to enjoy the game as much as he does. He wants to win, and he wants to have fun doing it. He wants to play college basketball.

Daniel Kobrin is a senior government and politics major. He can be reached at dkobrin@umd.edu.