Yahoo article: "NBA lifts 'big middle finger to the NCAA' with move to secure top hoops prospects"
Yahoo's Pete Thamel put out a good article today addressing the decisions of Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd entering the NBA's G-League and what it means for the future of college basketball.
LINK: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/the-nb-as-lifts-a-middle-finger-to-college-basketball-205205349.html
I figured this would come at some point, but it's coming much more quickly than I imagined. It's been a long time coming. My favorite quote from the article:
"In many ways, Silver was smart to do this to keep top players like LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton from going overseas. The NBA realized that no good business would ship its biggest stars to another continent. Meanwhile, the NCAA hasn’t figured out a way to court and accommodate basketball’s top stars, but we can look forward to a committee to assemble so they can announce nothing of particular note sometime in 2029. That’s the NCAA way: Keep the status quo and hope the issues go away."
Bakes said it best this morning on Michigan Insider. The new G-league will help schools like Michigan and hurt schools like Kentucky. Let’s all hope this pays out and we get kids who want to play ball for U of M and not one and done prima donnas who will go the G league route. Makes Juwan’s job easier wrt recruiting.
I think we're at the beginning of a pretty big change for college basketball. But as others have said, I think this is good for the sport overall. I don't want Michigan competing for or landing kids who are going to college for a year because they feel like they have to. You're going up against a bunch of bag men in those recruitments. There's also a good chance that having such a kid on your roster means having a guy with one foot out of the door the whole time. And the Greens and Todds of the world should be able to make money playing basketball. I hope the G League takes even more players who would otherwise be one-and-dones.
The bagmen resources will shift from top 10-15 players to the next tier and blue blood programs will shift their strategy into recruiting more of that tier.
Mostly good comments on here but I'm halfway through and I haven't seen yet:
This is the way baseball and hockey have done for a long time
Yes there is more money involved here, but a big part of that is March Madness. I agree with Brian (IIRC) post that NCAA is better with Zion than without, but you know what? If he wants to make cash let him. March Madness will make money with or without him (& with or without Duke TYVM Lehigh)
It will be interesting to see how many guys decide to go to college because a year at Duke builds your profile for potential endorsements in a way that the G League presumably won't and how many players take the immediate cash. That could be a tough call for a guy like Williamson if his family is not in dire financial straits.
Yeah, the cash will be tempting but I think some guys will still pick college for the 'brand building'. No one's going to be watching your games when you're playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in front of a few hundred people if that. You can get famous in the NBA, but your national exposure is way less in the G League than the NCAA
So let me get this straight. A giant billion $ organization that requires highly specialized, highly skilled employees has no organized system for developing these employees. They force all potential employees to go someplace else to start their development. This other place (with which the billion $ organization has no formal connection with) requires the potential employees to also spend time training for something many of these potential employees have no interest in training for. The billion $ organization then creates a way for 5-10 potential employees to skip going to this other place and enter a training program the billion $ organization owns. Where exactly is the giant middle finger in this scenario?
The concensus on this topic is surprising. If you read some of the comments in the story and compare with this blog, we all appear to be in lock-step. The reaction almost unanimously "Who Cares, Let 'em Go". These kids have great talent and can now get paid and not have to hide the income from the NCAA.
I think Kentucky, Kansas and Duke fans may look at it differently but as a Michigan fan, I'm all for less one and done players. I think one and dones will still happen but to a much lesser extent. The downside is that this probably makes college basketball better off and through no particular action of his own, Mark Emmert will look good.
April 17th, 2020 at 11:41 PM ^
You know who loves this?
John Beilein.
I see no issues with this. There is a glut of talented players at the college and NBA level. Not all players are good enough for the NBA, but a lot are good enough for the NCAA. Some players need to develop and some don't.
I don’t know why this is so difficult. Just do what baseball does. That is all.
Or even what hockey does! It's only basketball and football that are handled so stupidly.
Because there's no money to be made for the minor league system. Why would they invest money in it (though NBA has started to do it recently) when they have a free minor league system in NCAA? Look at XFL(twice), AAF, etc. they all have failed mainly because they don't have the money to do it long term
Baseball came to my mind too. Don't most excellent high school baseball players typically sign MLB contracts and then go to a farm team? I wonder how many kids accept a baseball scholarship and then leave for the MLB after only one year.
I have said this for years.
Adopt the hockey model where players still in school get drafted and the NHL lets them know when to turn pro.
Its the only way.
Wetzel just argued for this on Yahoo and it's such a no brainer.
I'd go further and get rid of rules against kids having agents. Just make agents register and keep the shyster thieves out. It's absurd to tell a college kid that because he's in college he's not allowed to hire a lawyer or someone else to negotiate on his behalf, and the ban gives a leg up to real creeps who won't follow any rules anyone comes up with in worming their way into these guys lives.
April 17th, 2020 at 11:24 PM ^
You mean that college players will actually be college students now?
*Gasp*
How awful.
April 18th, 2020 at 11:15 AM ^
LOL, yea.
April 18th, 2020 at 11:19 AM ^
This hurts the elite basketball schools but probably HELPS the competitiveness of college basketball.
Imagine if football players could go straight to the NFL. It wouldn't hurt Minnesota, but it would sure hurt Bama, Clemson, OSU, etc.
Wetzel had that column up about how insane it is that the NCAA tells kids they have to declare for the draft and can't return. It just screws college basketball!
Get rid of declaring for the draft, let the NBA draft whoever they want and let kids stay in college if they wind up drafted in the 2nd round or worse, like if the Cavs draft them. Make college ball an attractive choice for talented kids who want to control their destination and stop being the NBA's whipping boy.
This is the best thing to happen to the NCAA, maybe it will clean it up and even out playing field, keeping kids around for 3-4 years and improve the game!