I Wish That I Knew What I Know Now

I'm guessing that's what Tim Jarmusz is going to be telling himself in three and a half years. Ah, Rod Stewart and the Faces, so wise. If you don't know what I'm talking about, here it is. The Badgers' third freshman, the reigning Wisconsin State Gatorade Player of the Year, Tim Jarmusz, opted not to redshirt this season, "burning" his option by playing a paltry 3 minutes of mop-up time in the men basketball Badgers' victory over Savannah State last night. Bo claims that he leaves these decisions up to the players themselves, so it looks like it was a choice made by Jarmusz himself.

If you all haven't gotten a sense yet, I don't think that was the smartest idea. No offense to Tim, but it doesn't look like he's going to play a ton this season, especially now that Bo seems to regard Joe Krabbenhoft, aka the Hoft, as a big two guard. That'd make Tim the fifth guard, and the third two-guard, behind the Hoft and Jay-Bo. That's not a role that's going to see a ton of playing time. In fact, that looks like a recipe for a Stiemsma-like freshman season. The Stiemer hardly played as a freshman, and made his most significant contribution guarding North Carolina's big man in UW's Elite Eight loss when Chappell and Wilkinson got into foul trouble. He played about 8 minutes that game.

Now, I can't speak for Stiemsma, but as a UW fan, I would be ecstatic if Greg were only a junior eligibility-wise. He only seems to be improving and gaining confidence, and next year Butch will be gone, which would have left Greg as the team's only true big man with any experience. The center position would have been his. The same deal will probably happen with Jarmusz. The Badgers do have a two-guard, Robert Wilson, coming in next year, but there's no three on the horizon, and when the Hoft and Landry graduate, if Jamusz improves as he probably will, that position would likely be his for his third, fourth and (now hypothetical) fifth years. What Greg did, and what Tim has now done, is choose a tiny number of minutes in their freshmen seasons (probably not playing in most games) over a colossal amount of playing time as a fifth-year senior. I don't think that's a very smart trade.

Plus, hello teenagers, college rules. Tons of freedom, lots of cute folks with dating potential around, free or reduced cost birth control, constant social opportunities, the ability to truly follow your intellectual interests-- man, college is awesome. And if you're on a five-year track, you can spread out your coursework (thus reducing your stress), experiment with different subject matters, and enjoy yourself a bit more, especially if you don't have the specter of tuition payments or loans hanging over you. Sadly, it's usually not until you get out of college that you realize that you should have delayed your graduation for as long as possible. That's why you see so many twenty-somethings desperately trying to get into graduate school. And life as a UW undergrad? At the number one beer consuming school in the nation? Argh! Someone should have talked Tim off the ledge. I swear, he will "rue the day" (as Kent in Real Genius says) he threw away another free year in college for two minutes a game. Ah, I can't help myself: "Rue the day? Who talks like that?"