I spent a frigid Saturday enjoying a college basketball quadruple-header at the 2022 Legends of Basketball Showcase at the United Center in Chicago. It was a blast watching eight teams playing in the house that Michael Jordan built.

Following a successful inaugural Legends of Basketball Classic in October featuring Gonzaga and Tennessee, both of which ranked as preseason top-15 programs, Intersport, the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA), the McLendon Foundation and iNDEMAND jointly announced plans to extend the partnership through 2023. The game was the first-ever national telecast of major college basketball on the pay-per-view platform and introduced a new model for raising charitable funds and signaled the fast-approaching start of the college basketball season.

Wanting to soak in as much as possible, I arrived as soon as the gates opened. I positioned myself courtside as the Northern Iowa and Towson teams went through pre-game preparation. One of my great joys at such events is watching the arena come alive as game time approaches.

By the end of the day I saw four exciting games. Because I had no real rooting interest, I simply sat back and savored the action. For those keeping track, Northern Iowa beat Towson, George Mason beat Tulane, Dayton beat Wyoming and NC State beat Vanderbilt.

Sitting that close gives one a greater appreciation of the athleticism of these elite young players. I could hear plays being called. I saw plays executed that I had just seen practiced in pre-game.

Throughout the day the players talked about the excitement of playing where the Bulls won six NBA championships. Fans were happy seeing eight teams they don’t usually see.

In my interview with NBRPA chairman Johnny Davis, he spoke about the inaugural event’s beginning and future. Saturday’s successful event only builds optimism for the future. This was nirvana for a basketball junkie.

— John Wroblewski, online writer