But what about the other candidates? Don't we have a right to know where they stand on basketball? Can Hillary Clinton sink a jumper? How is John McCain's vertical?
It's our civic duty to examine these questions.
Barack Obama
Basketball Pedigree:The junior senator from Illinois plays hoops to stay in shape and as a means of working off the stress of the campaign. He told Sports Illustrated that he dunked on a regulation-height rim at age 16. And he's from Chicago, a town that has produced a long and distinguished list of college and NBA superstars like Dwyane Wade, Antoine Walker and Isiah Thomas. But that early success didn't translate to the hardwood. Obama attended Columbia (undergrad) and Harvard (law school) -- fine instutitions, to be sure, but for Ivy League hoops you're much better off at Princeton or Penn.
Scouting Report:
This political freshman exploded on to the national scene like a Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant or Greg Oden. It's worth noting, though, that of those super-freshmen of years past, Anthony is the only one who won the ultimate prize. Can his energy and enthusiasm make up for a relative lack of experience?
He's a bit suspect on defense.
His tendency is to go to his left.
Hoops Equivalent:
His potential seems limitless, but his experience and track record is very thin. He's high school phenom Lance Stephenson.
Hillary Clinton
Basketball Pedigree:The junior senator representing New York shares the same Chicago roots as her opponent, Barack Obama, but she's better known for the time she's spent in SEC country as first lady of Arkansas and in the Big East towns of Washington D.C., and New York. Another similarity to Obama -- her educational choices indicate that basketball wasn't part of the plan as a future career path. Though Wellesley College is a big win over Mount Holyoke, they're a long way from challenging Connecticut, Boston College and URI for dominance of the New England college hoop scene.
Scouting Report:
She's probably the least physically-imposing of this year's candidates, but she's scrappy and determined, and that goes a long way. Like many of the game's greats, she has a real mean streak that she uses to great effect when necessary. A tremendous teammate. Not someone you want lining up on the other side.
A true opportunist, always ready to exploit situations as they present themselves. Meticulously prepared. Usually unflappable, but can play with emotion when needed.
Equally comfortable going to the left or to the right, depending on the situation.
Hoops Equivalent:
She's working hard to be judged on her own merits, but her greatest asset may be her family name. She's Pat Knight.
John McCain
Basketball Pedigree:A military kid, McCain bounced from navy base to navy base throughout his childhood. Could be worse -- life as an "army brat" didn't hurt Shaquille O'Neal's game any. He's a graduate of the Naval Academy; not much of a basketball school, unless you're looking at the David Robinson era. Represents the land of Lute Olsen's Wildcats but better known as a Beltway insider from the land of John Thompson's Hoyas.
Scouting Report:
He's been around forever: always a contender, but has never won the big one. Think Roy Williams, before moving to Carolina. He's been in the game longer than the others, but that's not necessarily a good thing.
Defense is his strongest suit. He's got more experience on D than the other three competitors combined.
He wants you to think he'll go to his right most of the time; critics will tell you that isn't necessarily so -- that he goes to his left far more often than they'd prefer.
Hoops Equivalent:
He's the elder statesman of the group -- the campaign season would seem odd without his presence. He evokes strong emotions from all observers, but they aren't always positive. He's Dick Vitale.
Mike Huckabee
Basketball Pedigree:Huckabee is from deep up in Arkansas Razorback territory; he probably learned the "Woo Pig Soooey" cheer some time shortly after birth. His alma mater, Ouachita Baptist, is something of a regional power -- though the Gulf South Conference isn't exactly the SEC.
With all due respect to Obama's basketball skills, Huckabee is probably the best athlete of this group. Badly overweight and diagnosed with diabetes, Huckabee took up running in 2003. He lost over 100 pounds, was profiled in Runner's World, has finished four marathons and is planning on running his fifth in Boston this spring.
Scouting Report:
All that running should give him the stamina to play an aggressive press-and-trap defense; he'd be a great fit for a Nolan Richardson Arkansas Razorbacks team. But he's likely to be turnover-prone; in the past he's had a bit of trouble remembering who plays for which team.
His presence on any team would have an added benefit; an ordained Southern Baptist minister, he's more than qualified to run the post-game prayer service.
He'll go right more often than not.
Hoops Equivalent:
He's staunchly conservative and unwilling to bend to crazy new-fangled ideas like "evolution." Sort of like a staunchly conservative coach unwilling to bend to crazy new-fangled ideas like "zone defense." He's Bob Knight.
