If there was any time to talk about this. It is now. There are many, MANY, many, many things that are wrong with the NCAA and the product they put out these days. The shot clock. Way too long. Puts me to sleep. Timeouts. Way too many. When you have timeouts in reserve. Snatch those away. Those are things that the NCAA can change and SHOULD change. Do not hesitate to make your game interesting. We’ll wait on that.
But there’s one thing that is in the chewy nougat center of all of USA basketball, NCAA and now NBA. The “1 and Done Rule”.
The 1 and done rule has got to go. It’s gaining more negatives than positives. The premise is silly now. Back in the day it seemed good but I can’t see who is gaining benefit from this. A year in College, in my mind, is pointless for the aspiring baller of today.
The college game is so terrible that one year of it doesn’t help at all. Here are 3 reasons as to how it’s becoming a disease and why it should be gone.
1) The Draft Is Now A Crap Shoot.
Take this year’s NBA Draft for example. The common consensus is saying either Karl Anthony-Towns or Jahlil Okafor will go first. Two Freshmen who look pretty good but not the greatest ever. This Draft perfectly helps my point. Teams don’t exactly know what they’re getting. But when you look at a senior like Frank Kaminsky, you know what you’re getting. A 7-footer who can shoot from anywhere, not the most physically imposing but that never stopped Tim Duncan now did it. I would hate to be Phil Jackson right now. Picking between two Freshmen who played a year in a game that is terrible right now. The combination of the NCAA game and 1 and done is a recipe for tragic careers and potentially sending teams like the New York Knicks back a couple of years.
2) “Chasing the dream” has a delusional meaning.
Oh my days I hate that quote. So overused these days. So when I watched the 7 Kentucky players ALL say they’re “just chasing the dream”, I wanted to blow my brains out. That quote is for people like Steph Curry and James Harden. People that are on potential championship teams and are prepping for the playoffs. Is “the dream” seriously to be a bench player for 2-3 years, bounce in and out of the D-League and maybe, just maybe get a starting gig? No. That’s not the dream. But with all these young people declaring for the Draft, the Dream has been blurred.
I respect people like Louisville’s Terry Rozier who said that he’s only going pro to take care of his mother who works two jobs for her child. What happened to that? What happened to taking care of family?
3) Coach Cal. Pick a lane.
The man who made it famous. Mr John Calipari. Don’t get me wrong. I like him. Great college coach. He’s no-nonsense and that’s commendable. But I can’t deal with his attitude towards the 1 and done. He said in a recent interview with ESPN’s Andy Katz that
“I don’t think any of these kids are ready.”
That quote right there should be the trigger to end all of this. If John Calipari. Mr 1 and done, doesn’t think these kids are ready. Then why are we doing this?
Solution: There are Options.
Now, lets do a little hypothetical.
The camp that includes myself, Mark Cuban and several of my colleagues here at Def Pen. We finally got the attention of the NBA and Adam Silver (Who also wants a two-year minimum) announced that the 1 and done is gone.
Cuban and I go on his private jet and we sip on some premium 20-year-old scotch. But then the NCAA is at an uproar. Players talk about “we want the freedom to choose”. Don’t worry guys. We are in an age where college is not the only place to go.
Europe, China, D-League. These are all avenues that you can take. If you really can’t stand being in College for one more year, if you think that you have the talent to be in the NBA. Prove it. Go to Europe. Go to China. Go to the Development League. There are options for you.
Brandon Jennings didn’t go to college. Instead. He went to Italy to gain worthy knowledge. PJ Hairston was expelled from North Carolina. Went to the D-League and he was the first D-League player to be drafted into the NBA. Emmanuel Mudiay! He’s a legitimate top 5 pick in this year’s NBA Draft but after Adam Silver says his name, he won’t say SMU. He’ll be saying, Guangdong Southern Tigers, Mudiay’s team in China.
The 1 and done is obsolete. The reason why Mark Cuban keeps saying that the college game is horrible is because he knows that the international game is better now. I watch Euroleague games now and again and they don’t put me to sleep. It’s actually not that bad. I don’t know any of the players and frankly, I don’t care. The college game is ill. Offense is down, attendance is down and TV networks pray that March Madness holds out because that’s all we watch. I mean come on. Do you seriously look at a game on in January and go “Oh yes please! Honey, clear my schedule I’m going to watch some College Basketball”. Exactly. I leave you with a quote from ESPN’s Jason Whitlock who said something during March Madness that stuck with me.
The NBA needs to realize college basketball’s problem is also an NBA problem. American basketball is not healthy. #FixBasketball — Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) March 22, 2015
The problem won’t be done until the NBA get into gear. Listen to their commissioner for once and FIX BASKETBALL in the US of A.
