The most wonderful time of the year...

Madness is upon us. But before you polish your glass slippers, remember these truths before you choose your date for the Big Dance:

Beauty is timeless. [AKA The Kate G. Rule] 

She’s called a classic beauty for a reason.

Translation: Strong fundamentals equate success in March (to an extent). Make your free throws. Shoot a high percentage from the field. Limit your turnovers. It might be that simple.

Everyone wants to dance with the 'Party Girl.' 

She’s the most popular girl at the dance because she gives everyone the best chance to score.

Translation: You have to play defense, at least a bit, to win a National Championship.

Avoid Girls With Jealous Ex-Boyfriends. 

You can’t hide from your past, even if you were young and foolish at the time.

Translation: Bad habits always surface. Good teams can hide flaws for a period, but three weeks is a long time. If you’ve struggled with it all season, even off and on, you can’t put it aside for six games.

Make-up and a fancy gown are not enough. 

Contrary to popular belief, getting rid of glasses and ponytails does not make you the Prom Queen.

Translation: So what if you won your conference tournament? Who cares if you have been on SportsCenter, start a potential lottery pick, and have a coach on the short list for the Arizona job? It does not make you a National Champion. It makes you the likely recipient of an early off-season.

This is NOT another Teen Movie.

The Ugly Duckling only becomes the Prom Queen in awful teen movies. In real life, everyone knows who she is before school starts in September.

Translation: Davidson doesn’t win National Championships. There are no surprises in the Final Four. In other words, if you are picking upsets, pick them earlier rather than later. 

The reality is that the National Champion is not going to surprise anyone. It was in the preseason Top 25. It will be from a major conference. It will be made of All-Stars, future pros, and a Hall of Fame (caliber) coach. This is not its first successful season and it won’t be its last. In other words, the National Champion is not Cinderella. Cinderella is irrelevant. But, if you still want to know who she is, keep this in mind:

Cinderella does not dream of attending the Dance.

She’s been planning on going all her life.

Cinderella is not cleaning the house.

She is in the weight room.

Cinderella is not hoping to be rescued from her ugly stepsisters.

She is practicing a new offense that will beat them by double digits.

Cinderella does not have a fairy godmother with a magic wand.

She has Championship banners and retired jerseys hanging from her rafters.

Cinderella does not wear a glass slipper.

She wears AJ XIIs

Cinderella does not have to leave at midnight.

She’ll be at the after-party, the after-after-party, and the hotel lobby.

Cinderella does not live happily ever after.

She gets ready for next year.

Cinderella does not exist.

[Chapters One and Three coming soon.]