The major theme of Last Shot is the role of compromised morals and ethics in college basketball. Feinstein drives home the absence of scruples through Whiting, who teaches a class at Minnesota State called “Ethics and Morals in American Society Today” but is one of the men blackmailing Chip. This astounds Stevie and Susan Carol: If Whiting is ethical and moral, then ethics and morals don’t mean what the reporters believe they should. Whiting’s behavior is immoral and unethical; it represents the short supply of decency in college basketball. As the mystery unfolds, the absence of good actors grows. Minnesota State’s former dean, Minnesota State’s president, and Duke’s board chairman also display a lack of principles. What motivates these men is greed and personal ambition.

Aside from the specific scheme, Feinstein presents college basketball as corrupt and compromised due to money. The Final Four is supposed to be about basketball, but he shows that its fundamental purpose is profit. Weiss says that CBS pays “a billion dollars for the TV rights” (47) to broadcast the games, and this compromises college basketball because it creates the need for TV time-outs so CBS can run commercials. The NCAA’s preoccupation with money manifests in its deal with the New Orleans police: They have “to arrest anyone selling nonofficial merchandise,” as “the NCAA wanted to make everyone buy their stuff” (111).