I sat down to write a post about Norman Powell and had no idea what to say. After 10 minutes of staring at a blank Word document, I started to think about taking the easy way out and just throwing a bunch of links to videos and Vines of Powell attacking the rim and finishing in a variety of spellbinding ways. But that would be taking the easy way out, something Powell never did in his four years at UCLA. So instead of getting to spend a few minutes geeking out on dunks and twisting, merry-go-round finishes, you’ve got to read my blather for a few hundred words. And you’ve got Powell to thank for that.

Norman Powell Has Been UCLA’s Heart and Soul For Four Years. (Associated Press)

Think back on your favorite Bruins in the past decade or so, whether you count yourself as a UCLA fan or just a fan of college basketball. Guys like Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams, Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Arron Afflalo, Jordan Farmar, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute are the names that likely come to mind. One thing all those players have in common is that none ever saw their own Senior Day. Now, let’s be clear; I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. But there is something special about a senior’s growth that occurs over four years — about the dedication and drive you need to begin something as difficult as being a student-athlete and seeing it through to the very end. And there is something special about seeing a guy like Powell come down the stretch and lift his game to a higher level in pursuit of righteously closing out that career.

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Today’s game against Oregon will be Stanford’s last at Maples Pavilion in the 2014-15 campaign (at least, Stanford hopes that it’s the last game at Maples this year), meaning it’s Senior Day for Stanford’s Big Three of Chasson Randle, Anthony Brown and Stefan Nastic.

Obviously Johnny Dawkins and staff knew what they were doing when they recruited the Rock Island stud, but the first hint I got that Chasson Randle was going to be special was in the summer before his freshman season. On the first day of summer school, Randle was in the gym working out at 7:00 AM. This wasn’t for some scheduled workout, mind you; he just wanted to come in on his own and get shots up. And gotten shots up he has. 1,632 of ‘em, in fact, by far more than anybody in Stanford history. Sure, he isn’t the most efficient player, and yeah, you’d like to see your head man shoot better than 40 percent from the field. And most definitely, you’d like to see a guy at his size distribute the rock a little more.

Chasson Randle: Bulldog.

But Randle is what so few Stanford basketball players over the years have been. He’s a dog, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. You want a bucket? Chasson’s your guy. He might not always make it, but he’s never scared of the moment. And that’s what I’ve always appreciated about him — he wants the basketball; he has never shied away from taking the big shot. It hasn’t always worked out, and he has certainly done things that have cost Stanford games in the past (fouling a half-court shooter as time expired in a tie game against Minnesota in the Bahamas is something I won’t soon forget) but not too many people have the gumption to challenge the nation’s leading shot-blocker with the game on the line (see: Stanford’s overtime win against Washington when Robert Upshaw was still lacing ‘em up). He made that one.

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When David Kravish first stepped on the California campus as a student back in 2011, the freshman was listed at 6’9” and 207 pounds. In an ideal world, maybe the raw and impossibly skinny recruit out of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, would have had a chance to wear a redshirt, spend a year hitting the training table and prepping for wars on the block against Pac-12 bigs with some time on the scout team. But with senior Harper Kamp the only battle-tested big man on the roster, Richard Solomon’s maturity problems and Kravish’s willingness to scrap and a serviceable little 10-foot jumper, he was welcomed right into 24 minutes per night against high-major competition. This meant that skin-and-bones Kravish was forced to go toe to toe around the league with upperclassmen like Brock Motum (230 pounds), Jason Washburn (245), Tony Woods (250), Aziz N’Diaye (260) and Joe Burton (280). All Kravish did that season was what little he was asked to do: rebound the ball; bust his butt on defense; set some picks; and make the simple plays. When it was all said and done, he averaged 6.9 points and 5.6 boards per game, and posted a 118.4 offensive rating while shooting a 59.4% eFG, good for 60th in the nation.

David Kravish as a Freshman, Playing The Part of a Skeleton

Kravish’s four years of collegiate eligibility have now mostly come and gone and his body now pays great testament to all the hard work and dedication he’s put into it. He’s now listed at 6’10” and 240 pounds, and young pups around the league with any number of body types can look at Kravish as great proof of what four years of hard work can do. Now he’s the upperclassman bully. He put in his time, stuffing his face with all manner of food in order to pack the pounds on an unwilling body after hours on conditioning or weight training. And – get this – he did all of this while on pace to graduate in four years from Berkeley with a pre-med degree. Stud. Kravish will be sent off on Sunday afternoon to a rousing ovation as the California community will celebrate his career on a well-earned Senior Day.

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Over the years, college basketball seasons develop a rhythm of their own for me. There are the manic early days of the season when I’m scrambling around between many different channels and early season tournaments to get a feel for new teams and new players, all while trying to keep up with the stretch run in college football. December rolls around and the pace slows some with finals in time for the holidays and I watch fewer games more intently. The New Year brings a new flash of excitement as conference play starts. There’s a light schedule for Big Monday, then Tuesdays and Wednesdays bring an abundance of games before Thursday lightens up again and we all take Friday easy (usually) in preparation for the weekend. Saturday is always an overwhelming cavalcade of game after game from early morning to late night. Sunday is a light dessert. Then rinse and repeat. You get used to the schedule and begin to take the college basketball season for granted. It will always be like this, right?

Joseph Young’s Senior Day Marks The Beginning Of The End Of Another College Basketball Season (Daily Emerald)

And then some day you look up and another page on the calendar is gone and that shortest of months is nearing its end and – holy crap! This season is almost over! If it was midnight and I had a couple drinks in me, maybe I’d draw a parallel between a college basketball season and a life well lived. But it’s not. It’s 9:00 AM. And I’m already getting off track. You see, one of my favorite parts of a college basketball season begins this weekend: Senior Days. It’s a chance for programs and fans to pause for a moment in that busy and all-t00-fleeting season to say thanks to those guys who have paid their dues and made their way to the finish line of their collegiate eligibility. Back in the old days, that usually meant the end of a four-year career at one spot. These days, those seniors are a rarity; sometimes guys transfer three times; sometimes they bounce to a new school just for their final season. But in all cases, seniors are a special breed in college basketball. There’s a whole lot of water under the bridge by the time you get to that year. Games have changed; life has imparted lessons. Guys who came into school as bright-eyed brash freshmen have turned into grizzled, weathered veterans with the experiences that will serve them well as they head out into life.

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Oregon locked up a bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in its upset win over Arizona, and six Seniors played their final game at Matthew Knight Arena in the process. We break them down below:

It’s Been An Up And Down Season For Senior Mike Moser, But The Forward Has Averaged 17.7 PPG Over His Last Seven Games To Propel The Ducks Onto The Right Side Of The Bubble. (Michael Shaw/AP)

Hopes were high when Mike Moser announced his intentions to transfer from UNLV to Oregon last summer, and expectations immediately rose for the Ducks. There were talks before of a top-four finish to follow up their Sweet Sixteen appearance, but with the addition of Moser, competing with Arizona for a conference championship seemed achievable. And for the first two months of the season, things were great. The forward dropped 15 points in the first game of the season against Georgetown, and added another 24 in a huge road win in overtime at Mississippi. The Ducks were riding high, but the losses began to accumulate rapidly as Moser’s production waned. He hit a nasty shooting slump and lost all confidence while Oregon dropped six of seven games in the month of January, but as he slowly began to get his stroke back, Dana Altman‘s team finally started to pull out the close games that they had been losing before. They are now a lock for the NCAA Tournament, and it’s no coincidence that Moser has averaged 16.8 PPG since February 8, a stretch where his team has gone 7-1.

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