Sankey's Patience Spared Teams Like Arkansas, Kentucky

For once the SEC chose not to be on the cutting edge of sports.

The conference almost wrecked its shot at a national championship when Florida nearly took down Alabama in the inaugural SEC championship game. However, the Tide went on to win the national title and the wild, must-watch atmosphere surrounding the SEC championship game gave then commissioner Roy Kramer permission to print money from television networks.

The conference has been out front when it comes to conference expansion, which is why the SEC has maximum dollars with limited travels. However, with schools filling the coffers to pay for football coaching staff buyouts rather than NIL, it's tempting to jump on the next big thing rather than fall behind like the SEC has in football in regard to the Big Ten.

However, Commissioner Greg Sankey held firm while the Big 12's Brett Yormark became the conference leader who stepped out onto the ledge of future innovation in sports this time. While the Big 12 guaranteed itself maximum eyeballs by having its elite teams packed full of first round draft picks play on a fancy LED court, Sankey opted to go the opposite direction with a bright, well-lit hardwood surface for the SEC Tournament.

The numbers might be lower, but he was betting his players would be safer and fans at home would have a better viewing experience. Turns out, as is often the case, he was right.

Yormark chose to have his tournament play out on a textured glass surface on which his schools have never played. There was no opportunity to figure out which shoes might work best or whether shoe companies needed to adjust their soles for LED play and provide players who have NIL deals footwear specifically for the tournament.

As the men and women's tournaments played out, it was a constant roller coaster. Fans thought it was cool to see various graphics flash up on the playing surface.

However, the choice to go with a gray court made for a miserable viewing experience on television, by far the biggest source of revenue. As with all gray courts, it was hard to see the play going on as not enough light reflected up off the floor onto the players to make a nice clean picture.

Teams wearing dark jerseys were especially difficult to follow. But there were the flashy add-ons.

Literally flashy. When players dunked, the entire area inside the arc lit up. If a player hit a three, a light flashed across the arc.

However, as games went on, losing teams regularly complained about a slippery playing surface. Players also mentioned the constant flashing lights on the floor throughout the game causing migranes to those who are sensitive to such things.

On top of that, teams watched in horror as players ended up in baseball slides and face plants on the slippery surface. Injuries started to mount, but the one that brought everything to a halt was that of Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson.

Anderson pulled his groin while slipping during the game against Iowa State, leaving the Red Raiders not only without All-American JT Toppin after a season-ending injury in the regular season, but an All-Big 12 performer now in Anderson.

Anderson is expected to make it back for the NCAA Tournament next week, but Sankey had to have watched and imagined SEC Player of the Year Darius Acuff getting hurt, leaving John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks short-handed for what is expected to be a solid run during March Madness.

The mental image of the Hogs' Trevon Brazile taking off on one of his high-flying dunks at full speed only to have his feet go sliding upon landing, leaving him to crash hard on the back of his head had to have crept in. Suddenly SEC fans would not only potentially see the end of an NBA dream, but also watch from home as a player's life was suddenly in danger.

No, Sankey is well aware he made the right call. As of Friday morning, so is Yormark.

In a moment of extreme embarassment, the Big 12 ended its LED basketball court experiment amid pressure from players and coaches. Gone is the ugly gray surface with its ability to run a Phillips 66 ad on a moment's notice.

In its place will be a hardwood court rushed in from wherever Yormark keeps extra basketball courts laying around. For schools like Arkansas and Kentucky, which would have been in prime position to bring in LED courts as a source of income and recruiting bait, it's a giant warning sign without any of the financial or human cost.

Sankey's patience did the work for them. The Big 12 suffered the embarrassment and the SEC took in the intel free of charge.

For once the SEC wasn't on the cutting edge. And just like all those times the coference was, it was the right call.

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