But what about Derrick Rose, you say? You've read that the freshman has likely attended his last class at Memphis. He never belonged in college if he was going to drop out after not even completing one year.

Academically, he did. The more relevant point is that Rose, considering his intended profession, absolutely belonged in college for one season.

The NBA mandates that a player must spend one year in college and be at least 19 years old before being eligible for the NBA draft. Rose had no choice.

Is Derrick Rose a thug, or a mercenary, because he is enrolled at Memphis yet really isn't all that concerned about pledging Omega Psi Phi next fall? Hardly.

Should that rule be changed? Yes, but to cast aspersions on Rose for conforming to a rule that requires him to attend college is misplacing the blame. The MCAT used to (and may still) have a writing composition component, which seems ludicrous, especially if you've ever attempted to decipher a prescription.

Memphis, the basketball program, has a shadowy past. The last coach to take the Tigers to the Final Four, Dana Kirk, did 40 months of prison time for various white-collar felonies. The program itself was penalized for using ineligible players and that 1985 Final Four appearance was "vacated" from the NCAA Record Book.

Baskerville Holmes, a starter on that team, killed his girlfriend and then himself in March 1997. William Bedford, the No. 6 overall pick in the 1986 draft, is serving time in prison in Fort Worth, Texas, for possession of cocaine and intent to distribute.

That Memphis team, though, went to the Final Four before all but three of these Tigers were born. This Memphis team, which has already set an NCAA single-season record for victories, is on the cusp of winning the school's first national title.

Root against them if you wish. But don't do so out of ignorance.

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