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Kansas (and college basketball) Spurned

Basically any player with NBA aspirations will likely not choose college at all or choose it for 1 year of college to mature physically and showcase his skills for the NBA. College is all about preparing students for their professional career. In the future college basketball will have far fewer professional basketball players for 4 years. The rosters will be more stable but the product and talent on the court will be inferior and far less exciting. There will never be another team like the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers.
 
Basically any player with NBA aspirations will likely not choose college at all or choose it for 1 year of college to mature physically and showcase his skills for the NBA. College is all about preparing students for their professional career. In the future college basketball will have far fewer professional basketball players for 4 years. The rosters will be more stable but the product and talent on the court will be inferior and far less exciting. There will never be another team like the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers.

If I was a OAD-level player, I wouldn't want to mess with college. To me, that would seem like a huge distraction...having to keep up with classwork, deal with the whole party scene, etc.

I would want to be solely focused on basketball. And if an NBA gig wasn't immediately available, I'd be finding somewhere to play that I could best position myself on the NBA radar.

I think athletic scholarships should go to athletes who are genuinely interested in pursuing a college degree. If they're good enough to play professionally afterwards, that's great. If they only play a few years and plan to finish their degree after their professional days are up, even better.
 
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Be careful what you wish for.
Do you never want Indiana's Mr. Basketball?

If Indiana's Mr. Basketball wants to be at IU for all the right reasons, and he's good enough to help us be a championship caliber team, then of course I'd love to have him.

But if his actual attitude resembled what Hampton is saying, then I'd just as soon he went to New Zealand or somewhere like that.
 
I should add to this, BTW, that I think players who think like Hampton should make every effort to make their intentions not to attend college clear to potential collegiate suitors as early as possible.

I remember when Brandon Jennings and Mudiay both committed to colleges (Arizona and SMU, respectively) only to back out a year later to play overseas. That's pretty inconsiderate.
 
I should add to this, BTW, that I think players who think like Hampton should make every effort to make their intentions not to attend college clear to potential collegiate suitors as early as possible.

I remember when Brandon Jennings and Mudiay both committed to colleges (Arizona and SMU, respectively) only to back out a year later to play overseas. That's pretty inconsiderate.
That is all great but do you he sat on this decision all year? How do you know that he didn't inform these schools that he was looking into pro ball overseas.
 
That is all great but do you he sat on this decision all year? How do you know that he didn't inform these schools that he was looking into pro ball overseas.

I don't know that. And I didn't suggest that he did or didn't say or do anything. I have no idea what he told the schools pursuing him, or when he told them.

I'm just talking generally, not about Hampton himself. I don't have the slightest problem with players who have no interest in playing college basketball and who want to jump right into the pro ranks -- especially if they're probably already good enough to make an NBA roster. I think it's better for college basketball if such players did something else while they're awaiting their pay day.

But I do think it's bad form to do what Jennings and Mudiay did -- go through the recruiting process, commit to play at a school, only later to back out and sign a contract to play overseas while awaiting their shot in the show.
 
Basically any player with NBA aspirations will likely not choose college at all or choose it for 1 year of college to mature physically and showcase his skills for the NBA. College is all about preparing students for their professional career. In the future college basketball will have far fewer professional basketball players for 4 years. The rosters will be more stable but the product and talent on the court will be inferior and far less exciting. There will never be another team like the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers.

It will be fewer than 10 players a year. College basketball will be fine and there isn't going to be a significant difference in the product or talent. College is still the best choice for players to get exposure and improve their draft status, if they aren't a OAD.
 
It will be fewer than 10 players a year. College basketball will be fine and there isn't going to be a significant difference in the product or talent. College is still the best choice for players to get exposure and improve their draft status, if they aren't a OAD.

I agree. We're probably only talking about a very limited number of players. Getting rid of the OAD option will encourage more guys to find other professional options as their springboard.

This isn't going to diminish college basketball much, if at all. Sure, the NCAA will miss out on having freshman phenoms like Zion Williamson. But, IMO, whatever loss that causes will be more than offset by having more players who play longer college careers. And I think it's great for any college program to have kids play for 4 years.
 
Once again, I think it all comes down to what you think the "purpose" of college athletics is/should be. I do not think the purpose of college athletics should be to serve as a minor league for a sport. It should be there to complement the values that are held by the university, and to equip and reward young men and women for striving for excellence, hard work, perseverance, good sportsmanship, team work, and the ethical pursuit of both individual and team goals.

Old-fashioned, I know.
 
I would rather watch a '' team'' develop and play than a phenom for a year. How many players from the RMK era would have ever been one and done? Isiah and who else? Yet IU had good teams and several All Americans in those years
 
Once again, I think it all comes down to what you think the "purpose" of college athletics is/should be. I do not think the purpose of college athletics should be to serve as a minor league for a sport. It should be there to complement the values that are held by the university, and to equip and reward young men and women for striving for excellence, hard work, perseverance, good sportsmanship, team work, and the ethical pursuit of both individual and team goals.

Old-fashioned, I know.
look! there goes a unicorn!
 
I agree. We're probably only talking about a very limited number of players. Getting rid of the OAD option will encourage more guys to find other professional options as their springboard.

This isn't going to diminish college basketball much, if at all. Sure, the NCAA will miss out on having freshman phenoms like Zion Williamson. But, IMO, whatever loss that causes will be more than offset by having more players who play longer college careers. And I think it's great for any college program to have kids play for 4 years.
I agree from that standpoint, but the level of play will be like 2nd tier non-championship teams of the past 50 years. Good teams, good talent, but never Great Teams with Great talent. Non Blue Chip Teams like Purdue who could never stack enough high level, and NBA talent on their roster to have any realistic hopes to ever win a National Championship will now have a more level playing field with almost all of the professional talent removed before they are upperclassmen. I think you will have better team chemistry, less turnovers, more team scoring approach, less attempting to showcase their professional potential type college teams. More true student atletes. More mid major teams like Wichita State, Butler making big waves in the NCAA Tournament. More parity in college basketball. Those are all good things. However there will be less premier talents, no longer will Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Zion, Anthony Davis, Lew Alcindor/Kareem Jabbar, Wilt, Bill Russell, Oscar, Bill Walton, Patrick Ewing, Akeem/Jakeem Olajuon, type talents be playing college basketball. As a fan, I am not planning my day around watching a college game that does not include IU with zero NBA talents, zero excitement, unlikely chance to see a play that you will never forget. College basketball will go from the greatest sport in the world, to Meh. Fans of individual college basketball teams will remain strong, but overall college basketball will be forever changed into watching replays of past teams that we will never see the likes of ever again. What would college football be if no NFL players ever played in college or only played one season? College football would be not very good would be the answer. The talent level would go from the likes of Professional Baseball AAA to Single A Rookie Ball. The HS Prep schools will have more NBA talent than most college teams.
 
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I agree from that standpoint, but the level of play will be like 2nd tier non-championship teams of the past 50 years. Good teams, good talent, but never Great Teams with Great talent. Non Blue Chip Teams like Purdue who could never stack enough high level, and NBA talent on their roster to have any realistic hopes to ever win a National Championship will now have a more level playing field with almost all of the professional talent removed before they are upperclassmen. I think you will have better team chemistry, less turnovers, more team scoring approach, less attempting to showcase their professional potential type college teams. More true student atletes. More mid major teams like Wichita State, Butler making big waves in the NCAA Tournament. More parity in college basketball. Those are all good things. However there will be less premier talents, no longer will Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Zion, Anthony Davis, type talents be playing college basketball. As a fan, I am not planning my day around watching a college game that does not include IU with zero NBA talents, zero excitement, unlikely chance to see a play that you will never forget. College basketball will go from the greatest sport in the world, to Meh. Fans of individual college basketball teams will remain strong, but overall college basketball will be forever changed into watching replays of past teams that we will never see the likes of ever again. What would college football be if no NFL players ever played in college or only played one season? College football would be not very good would be the answer.

I think, at least, we can agree that college basketball will be world's better than your typing.
 
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Does anyone know the percentage of kids that at some point think they are oad but end up 2+ year players? I’m guessing the kids that save their careers by learning they weren’t oad is greater than the success stories and percentage that end up ruining their lives. Certainly there are obvious oad (and Romeo is deserving of sticking with his choice) but they are also the only ones that you hear about in press
 
Does anyone know the percentage of kids that at some point think they are oad but end up 2+ year players? I’m guessing the kids that save their careers by learning they weren’t oad is greater than the success stories and percentage that end up ruining their lives. Certainly there are obvious oad but they are also the only ones that you hear about in press
The dream of chasing Millions of $$$ is strong. No other career choice, even including a college degree will ever pay as well.
 
isiah was not a oad
In the future he would be. Isiah Thomas today would never be a College Sophomore. The entire talent drafting dynamic could potentially change. There was no G-League in 1981. NBA did not draft strictly on potential, but where the almost finished product was. I am waiting for a non HS Senior to challenge the NBA early entry rule.
 
College Basketball is definitely not as strong or as much fun to watch today as it was 20 years ago and further back.
 
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College Basketball is definitely not as strong or as much fun to watch today as it was 20 years ago and further back.
oh I don’t know. I found the last elite eight and final four games this past time intensely interesting and very good basketball.
 
oh I don’t know. I found the last elite eight and final four games this past time intensely interesting and very good basketball.
They would have gotten smoked by 1968 UCLA, 1973 UCLA, 1976, 1981 Indiana.
 
In the future he would be. Isiah Thomas today would never be a College Sophomore. The entire talent drafting dynamic could potentially change. There was no G-League in 1981. NBA did not draft strictly on potential, but where the almost finished product was. I am waiting for a non HS Senior to challenge the NBA early entry rule.
Agree. And they were not giving “set for life” contracts to rookies. The money has changed things night and day. And overall I think that’s a great thing despite what some selfish fans will say.
 
They would have gotten smoked by 1968 UCLA, 1973 UCLA, 1976, 1981 Indiana.
Sorry, I don’t do past tense retroactive fantasy basketball. I prefer watching it live as I did in 1973 or 1976 or 1981 or 1987. We just have to disagree on this.
 
I agree from that standpoint, but the level of play will be like 2nd tier non-championship teams of the past 50 years. Good teams, good talent, but never Great Teams with Great talent. Non Blue Chip Teams like Purdue who could never stack enough high level, and NBA talent on their roster to have any realistic hopes to ever win a National Championship will now have a more level playing field with almost all of the professional talent removed before they are upperclassmen. I think you will have better team chemistry, less turnovers, more team scoring approach, less attempting to showcase their professional potential type college teams. More true student atletes. More mid major teams like Wichita State, Butler making big waves in the NCAA Tournament. More parity in college basketball. Those are all good things. However there will be less premier talents, no longer will Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Zion, Anthony Davis, Lew Alcindor/Kareem Jabbar, Wilt, Bill Russell, Oscar, Bill Walton, Patrick Ewing, Akeem/Jakeem Olajuon, type talents be playing college basketball. As a fan, I am not planning my day around watching a college game that does not include IU with zero NBA talents, zero excitement, unlikely chance to see a play that you will never forget. College basketball will go from the greatest sport in the world, to Meh. Fans of individual college basketball teams will remain strong, but overall college basketball will be forever changed into watching replays of past teams that we will never see the likes of ever again. What would college football be if no NFL players ever played in college or only played one season? College football would be not very good would be the answer. The talent level would go from the likes of Professional Baseball AAA to Single A Rookie Ball. The HS Prep schools will have more NBA talent than most college teams.

It's been this way since the mid 90's when kids started leaving early.

The only one and done freshmen who have impacted the game in my mind was Oden, AD, Zion and maybe Towns because of the team he was on.

I'm sure there is more (maybe Okafor and Tyus Jones) but they weren't must see tv like Oden, AD and Zion.

Nobody missed Muiday and Jennings. Nobody missed BJ Mullens or Lebrasseur or Shelby or even Wiggins and Embiid.

I agree with you that the game was better in the 80's and early 90's when most of the best talent stayed...but once Kobe and KG found success it watered the game down, but yet it grew.
 
If I was a OAD-level player, I wouldn't want to mess with college. To me, that would seem like a huge distraction...having to keep up with classwork, deal with the whole party scene, etc.

I would want to be solely focused on basketball. And if an NBA gig wasn't immediately available, I'd be finding somewhere to play that I could best position myself on the NBA radar.

I think athletic scholarships should go to athletes who are genuinely interested in pursuing a college degree. If they're good enough to play professionally afterwards, that's great. If they only play a few years and plan to finish their degree after their professional days are up, even better.
I wish they listed a player's major during player introductions. It would be interesting to me to see what a player is in school to study. It is true many freshman don't declare a major right away. It would be interesting to know if a school like UK or UNC has a starting 5 with any declared majors.
 
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I agree from that standpoint, but the level of play will be like 2nd tier non-championship teams of the past 50 years. Good teams, good talent, but never Great Teams with Great talent. Non Blue Chip Teams like Purdue who could never stack enough high level, and NBA talent on their roster to have any realistic hopes to ever win a National Championship will now have a more level playing field with almost all of the professional talent removed before they are upperclassmen. I think you will have better team chemistry, less turnovers, more team scoring approach, less attempting to showcase their professional potential type college teams. More true student atletes. More mid major teams like Wichita State, Butler making big waves in the NCAA Tournament. More parity in college basketball. Those are all good things. However there will be less premier talents, no longer will Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Zion, Anthony Davis, Lew Alcindor/Kareem Jabbar, Wilt, Bill Russell, Oscar, Bill Walton, Patrick Ewing, Akeem/Jakeem Olajuon, type talents be playing college basketball. As a fan, I am not planning my day around watching a college game that does not include IU with zero NBA talents, zero excitement, unlikely chance to see a play that you will never forget. College basketball will go from the greatest sport in the world, to Meh. Fans of individual college basketball teams will remain strong, but overall college basketball will be forever changed into watching replays of past teams that we will never see the likes of ever again. What would college football be if no NFL players ever played in college or only played one season? College football would be not very good would be the answer. The talent level would go from the likes of Professional Baseball AAA to Single A Rookie Ball. The HS Prep schools will have more NBA talent than most college teams.

I agree that college basketball will lose out on some stars (however brief their stopovers might otherwise have been).

But...

(a) I really think we're talking about a relatively small number of players

(b) How commonly is it the case that great talents fly under the radar? Coming out of HS, how highly recruited was Stephen Curry? Ja Morant? Victor Oladipo? Damian Lillard? Kawhi Leonard? Jimmy Butler?

(c) I continue to believe that a team can play great basketball without big name stars -- or, at least, with stars that aren't just biding their time waiting for the NBA to come calling.

I really do think that ending the OAD will be a net benefit for college basketball.
 
I would want to be solely focused on basketball. And if an NBA gig wasn't immediately available, I'd be finding somewhere to play that I could best position myself on the NBA radar.

Disagree wholeheartedly. Outside the NBA, there is no bigger exposure than NCAA basketball. RJ Hampton is making a HUGE mistake going to Australia. Yeah, he'll make close to $100k this year, but in the long run is it worth it? Go play at Duke or Kentucky and you're on national television 30+ times a year. He'll get far better training, coaching, exposure, etc playing for someone like Cal or K than in New Zealand, and I don't even think it's a question.
 
Disagree wholeheartedly. Outside the NBA, there is no bigger exposure than NCAA basketball. RJ Hampton is making a HUGE mistake going to Australia. Yeah, he'll make close to $100k this year, but in the long run is it worth it? Go play at Duke or Kentucky and you're on national television 30+ times a year. He'll get far better training, coaching, exposure, etc playing for someone like Cal or K than in New Zealand, and I don't even think it's a question.

You also do not have any limitations on the amount of time you can work on your game when you go overseas.
 
You also do not have any limitations on the amount of time you can work on your game when you go overseas.

You think someone playing for the New Zealand Breakers is putting in more work than a player from say Kansas, Kentucky, or Duke on top of getting better coaching, instruction and more importantly bigger exposure to best position themselves for the NBA draft?

In what world?
 
Whether there are one and dones or not - College Basketball will always be good for fans, because of the rivalries, the conferences, etc.

Pride in team goes farther than the current coach or players...and I think that fans won’t tell a big difference, not enough to give up tickets or watching their favorite teams.
 
Whether there are one and dones or not - College Basketball will always be good for fans, because of the rivalries, the conferences, etc.

Pride in team goes farther than the current coach or players...and I think that fans won’t tell a big difference, not enough to give up tickets or watching their favorite teams.

I agree.

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(I even threw in a gif, just for you.)
 
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