Dave Odom, fresh off of winning the NIT, made a public argument for Notre
Dame's Troy Murphy to stay in school, saying he'll have his degree and that
life is about more than money. The argument is a hard sell in a society which
prefers Kobe Bryant to Steven Hawkings when it comes to choosing heroes, but
fundamentally Odom is right: life is about more than just what you have or who
admires you because you have a lot of stuff. George Carlin had a hilarious bit
about if you had everything in the world where would you keep it?Â
It's hard to argue with the money, particularly in a society with the values
this one has, for better or worse, but if you ask someone like Madonna, who has
a fundamental sense of loneliness, if the money is a good substitute, she would
tell you know. Shaquille O' Neal, who is a terrible rapper, nonetheless
had a very moving piece called something like "my biological didn't
bother." He had a loving stepdad, but nothing he owns will repair that
wound.
Odom gave excellent advice; let's hope Murphy still finds joy in exploring
his intellect.