College basketball is a broken sport

[Knicks411]

Why because there are 4 teams that have a shot to win it every year, the rest of the league is horrible. Look at the Sixers, they are the worst run franchise in sports, they aren't even trying to put a competitive team on the court. The league is nowhere near where it was in the 80's or 90's.

Yeah it's nothing like the 80's and 90's when every team in the league had a chance to win the title. I yearn for those days. You had the Lakers and the Celtics and the Pistons and the Bulls. I just named 13 of the 14 champions from 1980-1993. From 1980-98 you get 16 of the 19 champions.

Basketball is a sport where the best player has a disproportionate impact on the game, relative to other sports. Throw in a best of 7 playoff format and the best teams are going to win a large % of the time. Whether you consider that a feature or a bug is up to you, but let's not act like it's a new thing.

 

[Briancuse]

Yeah it's nothing like the 80's and 90's when every team in the league had a chance to win the title. I yearn for those days. You had the Lakers and the Celtics and the Pistons and the Bulls. I just named 13 of the 14 champions from 1980-1993. From 1980-98 you get 16 of the 19 champions.

Basketball is a sport where the best player has a disproportionate impact on the game, relative to other sports. Throw in a best of 7 playoff format and the best teams are going to win a large % of the time. Whether you consider that a feature or a bug is up to you, but let's not act like it's a new thing.

There were more competitive teams down the line though.

 

[Knicks411]

There were more competitive teams down the line though.

Were there? You've got the Sixers now, which, fair enough, they are kind of a disgrace. But there were lots of bad teams back in the day; it was just that every game wasn't on tv and all anyone really cared about in the 80's was the Lakers and the Celtics.

 

[two3zone]

Gs, Sa, Cle, Okc

You must not watch a lot of basketball if you think those are the only 4.

 

[oddo033]

Why because there are 4 teams that have a shot to win it every year, the rest of the league is horrible. Look at the Sixers, they are the worst run franchise in sports, they aren't even trying to put a competitive team on the court. The league is nowhere near where it was in the 80's or 90's.

Regardless of the sport and year there are awful teams. I can argue that the talent is equivalent or better than it was then. There were awful teams back then as well!

 

[Briancuse]

You must not watch a lot of basketball if you think those are the only 4.

What team did I leave out, do you think is a legit title contender?

 

[two3zone]

What team did I leave out, do you think is a legit title contender?

Portland was for sure. Since DWade jumped into the fountain of youth they're dangerous, imagine if they had Bosh.

 

[Briancuse]

Portland was for sure. Since DWade jumped into the fountain of youth they're dangerous, imagine if they had Bosh.

Neither of those teams have a prayer of winning a title.

 

[two3zone]

Neither of those teams have a prayer of winning a title.

Did you watch the Portland and Golden State series?

Miami is very very good when healthy, they absolutely have a chance.

 

[SWC75]

Let the kids who want to go right to the pros do so and let the pros take care of them. Let the colleges build teams with players who want to be in college and a re more likely to stay for four years. UCONN and Villanova won with teams like that. The quality of their play wasn't poor. The popularity of the game won't fade because we don't have the one-and-doners because the game represents small markets that don't get pro ball and will still want to be represented.

 

[Briancuse]

Did you watch the Portland and Golden State series?

Miami is very very good when healthy, they absolutely have a chance.

Yes some of it, lets be honest if The Clippers didn't have all those injuries, Portland probably isn't playing in the 2nd round. They are a nice team, nowhere neat being a title contender, the same goes for Miami.

 

[cuseattle]

We are just waiting for GS and Cleveland.

 

[cuseattle]

Like when we waited for the celts and lakes in the 80s.

 

[AlaskaSU]

The quality of play between the pros and college is night and day. There is no longer any comparison. The pros hit their shots and their shots are far more difficult. The best pros are bigger and stronger and far better than most any of their predecessors. There are no longer any great players in college. As soon as they flash potential they are gone. The top handful of college players, at the most, get good PT their first year as a pro, where they generally are little more than a fifth wheel. There are only a few exceptions and some years no exceptions. The best college players start out as NBA understudies.

Due to both lack of talent and turnover, college ball will be relegated to parochial interest. There will still be interest in the Big Dance, but regular season interest will fade for general audiences.

The regular NBA season does not have as much interest as it might if fewer teams made the playoffs but there is still enough stability that fans support their teams by identifying with their players. Due to turnover, college ball is too unstable to form such allegiances among non-affiliated fans.

 

[Newhouser]

They're getting a free education plus full cost of attendance. Only the top 2% of div 1 athletes are justified in pursuing a professional career without a degree to fall back on.

As UNC proved...we dont know if their getting an education.

 

[Hoo's That]

Let the kids who want to go right to the pros do so and let the pros take care of them. Let the colleges build teams with players who want to be in college and a re more likely to stay for four years. UCONN and Villanova won with teams like that. The quality of their play wasn't poor. The popularity of the game won't fade because we don't have the one-and-doners because the game represents small markets that don't get pro ball and will still want to be represented.

Tell that tot the NBAPA and the owners. It's the Collective Bargaining Agreement that created the one-and-done, not anything the NCAA did. It would be great if they adopted the MLB system, both in draft rules and viable minor leagues, but I'm not holding my breath. I'd also love if football had a viable minor league.

 

[doc05]

The NBA game is so far superior to the college game it's laughable to try and argue otherwise. These kids dream to play in the NBA -- if they have a legit shot, then by all means go for it, understanding the pros and cons of the decision.

 

[kirbivore]

IIRC ten franchises have won a title since 1980. The lack of parity is not new.

Lakers, Celtics, Sixers, Pistons, Bulls, Rockets, Spurs, Heat, Mavs, Warriors

 

[kirbivore]

Per the thread title the new college hoops theme song

 

[Briancuse]

Did you watch the Portland and Golden State series?

Miami is very very good when healthy, they absolutely have a chance.

Still think Miami is a title contender? Man they took a beating today.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Tell that tot the NBAPA and the owners. It's the Collective Bargaining Agreement that created the one-and-done, not anything the NCAA did. It would be great if they adopted the MLB system, both in draft rules and viable minor leagues, but I'm not holding my breath. I'd also love if football had a viable minor league.

We are the minor league. Why not sell college teams and collect rent on the arenas? Most players are poor and they want money more than they want a degree. According to Forbes our team is worth $18 million. Invest the money from the sale and safely earn 4% or about $750,000/year. Use the money to pay for scholarships, 80% minority to reflect the makeup of our basketball team. Why should only black athletes get a free ride? Why discriminate against short klutzes? In other words, proceeds from sale of the team would perpetually finance at least as many scholarships as we normally give to basketball players and Syracuse would still have a local basketball team and the players would get paid. My mind is wandering due to our once in a year heat wave. In reality, I'd hate to see an end to March Madness.

 

[cuseattle]

Lakers, Celtics, Sixers, Pistons, Bulls, Rockets, Spurs, Heat, Mavs, Warriors

If GS wins this year, it leaves Dallas as the only one championship team in that time.

 

[Knicks411]

Let the kids who want to go right to the pros do so and let the pros take care of them. Let the colleges build teams with players who want to be in college and a re more likely to stay for four years. UCONN and Villanova won with teams like that. The quality of their play wasn't poor.

I don't know; the title game this year was great (and the rule changes helped with that) but the title game in 2011 that UConn won was an abomination.

 

[SWC75]

I don't know; the title game this year was great (and the rule changes helped with that) but the title game in 2011 that UConn won was an abomination.

I was thinking more of 2014.

 

[Knicks411]

I was thinking more of 2014.

It's pretty annoying that there are multiple UConn titles in the last few years to think about. I certainly don't remember 2014 b eing anywhere near as bad as 2011. I think the rule changes have been very positive