Everyone knows that Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James famously did not attend college although he did have his choice of top schools. He went right to the NBA from high school and has never looked back. But with James being connected to the ‘one-and-done’ rule and arguably the best ‘preps-to-pro’ player ever, it’s hard not to talk to him about the recent drama involving the NCAA and their basketball talents.
Arizona coach Sean Miller was recorded on wiretaps discussing payment for top recruit DeAndre Ayton and numerous programs and players have been implicated in a number of NCAA violations involving payments for players. Many people are not surprised by this development, including LeBron James.
Following comes from Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“I don’t know if there’s any fixing the NCAA. I don’t think there is,” James said Tuesday. “It’s what’s been going on for many, many, many, many years. I don’t know how you can fix it. I don’t see how you can fix it.”
“I’m not a fan of the NCAA,” James said. “I love watching March Madness. I think that’s incredible. I’m not a fan of how the kids don’t benefit from none of this, so it’s kind of a fine line and I’ve got a couple boys that could be headed in that direction, so there’s going to be some decisions that we as a family have to make. But I know, as the NBA, we have to figure out a way that we can shore up our farm league, and if kids feel like they don’t want to be a part of that NCAA program, then we have something here for them to be able to jump back on and not have to worry about going overseas all the time, I guess.
“We have to figure that out, but kids getting paid is nothing new under the sun. You all seen ‘Blue Chips’? It’s a real movie, seriously. … The NCAA is corrupt, we know that. Sorry, it’s going to make headlines, but it’s corrupt.”
