This just in, college basketball in 2015 is unwatchable

[dasher]

here ya by and large but that UConn cincy game was pretty good to watch. Either of those teams takes us to the wood shed I'd have to think.

UConn lost to yale

 

[skurey]

People don't shoot midrange jumpers because they are an inefficient shot.

All they do is dunk and shoot 3s? Sounds like good offensive strategy to me.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Golden state/cleveland was fun last night

Even without the best player in the game

LOL at people who still say there's no defense in the NBA. Go watch the shots Thompson, curry, Irving, love, even jr smith, make and explain how you can guard them better.

 

[OrangeDW]

People don't shoot midrange jumpers because they are an inefficient shot.

All they do is dunk and shoot 3s? Sounds like good offensive strategy to me.

These people want games to resemble NBA Jam, apparently. I'm not buying in at this point. Get good shots for YOUR team. There's no universal rule on what that is, depends on your players' abilities.

 

[OrangeDW]

Golden state/cleveland was fun last night

Even without the best player in the game

LOL at people who still say there's no defense in the NBA. Go watch the shots Thompson, curry, Irving, love, even jr smith, make and explain how you can guard them better.

Those who say there is no defense in the NBA have no idea what they are watching. The rotations and strategies in the NBA are light years better than at any other level. People see a 50-48 college score and think it's "good defense" when in reality it's bad offense and worse officiating, where a bunch of stiffs who would get lit up for 40 at the NBA level get away with awful defensive habits due to the way the game is called.

 

[Lawrinson14]

These people want games to resemble NBA Jam, apparently. I'm not buying in at this point. Get good shots for YOUR team. There's no universal rule on what that is, depends on your players' abilities.

Unfortunately, it's not going to get any better until the shotclock is reduced and the three point line is moved back to the nba line

 

[OrangeDW]

Unfortunately, it's not going to get any better until the shotclock is reduced and the three point line is moved back to the nba line

Carmelo, Pace, Edelin, and Warrick made an awful lot of "inefficient" mid range shots. We won the championship. Good enough for me.

I definitely agree on the shotclock. 30 seconds is plenty. 24 would be better.

 

[NineOneSeven]

People don't shoot midrange jumpers because they are an inefficient shot.

All they do is dunk and shoot 3s? Sounds like good offensive strategy to me.

Eh. Long 2's are inefficient. Midrange shots are a critical part of the game.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Captain obvious?

well, the other guy didn't get that ...

 

[44cuse]

I'm with you too. Give me college football over college b-ball, outside of SU, any day of the week.

Or the NBA. College hoops is just bad right now.

44cuse

 

[cuseattle]

Or the NBA. College hoops is just bad right now.

44cuse

At least college ball doesn't have one fourth of it's teams trying to lose.

 

[cuseattle]

Let's beat FSU!!!

 

[Quazzum69]

The refs are just the worst. There is no flow to the game. There is a foul like every third possession which is insane and not enjoyable.

And then there's the commercialization of the sport. The game is not even the main attraction anymore - it's now part of the larger commercial package to sell crappy beer, cell phones and cars. Mandated commercial breaks every 4 minutes in a college game? What?

For example: by my estimation, only about 10-15% (about 20-30 minutes) of the 3.5 hours of an NFL broadcast is essential viewing. The rest is just brain-dead meatheads saying obvious things or commercials for crappy beer, cell phones and cars. Lately it is even hard to distinguish between the main attraction of the Super Bowl: is it the football game or the elaborate commercials and half-time show (presented by Pepsi)?

Once the older generation dies off, ESPN and other broadcasters will have to change. Young people have grown up with commercial-free media and recorded TV. They will lose interest watching sports with a commercial or some sort of stop every minute.

It's not the college kids that are ruining the game, it's the old people looking to make as much money off of them (and us) as possible. And what are the coaches doing? They are supposed to be in charge of the team and implementing an offense. They are also supposed to be teaching basketball skills, right? They're the ones getting paid millions of dollars.

 

[jncuse]

Eh. Long 2's are inefficient. Midrange shots are a critical part of the game.

Long Range 2's are the most inefficient shot. But many times they are the best shot you are able to take on a possession so you have to be able to hit them. So they still need to be a significant part of the offence, even when you want to reduce them.

 

[jncuse]

The problem with the one and dones... is the trickle-down effect. If five kids didn't leave UK early every year, that means five incoming kids would have to have gone elsewhere. Over the course of 4 years.. that is 20 kids. Similarly, if Flynn, Dion, MCW, Ennis, Grant, etc., hadn't left early, some kids who came here would have to have gone elsewhere.

The trickle down effect from the one and dones (and the other early departures) are a major reason for the decline in quality of play in CBB. It is not just the one and dones themslves

This factor however cannot really explain the decline in basketball from about 2005 to now. Early entries are not some new phenomenon. They exploded around 2000, and have not dramatically increased since the 2001 draft.


http://www.nba.com/news/lottery02_earlyentry_history.html

2001 NBA DRAFT EARLY ENTRY CANDIDATES
Player School/Country Year/DOB Drafted By (Round/#)
Gilbert Arenas Arizona Sophomore Golden State (2nd/31)
Brandon Armstrong Pepperdine Junior Houston (1st/23)
Malcolm Battles New Mexico Junior Not drafted
Tavorris Bell Rhode Island Junior Not drafted
Preston Bennett Grayson C.C. (Texas) Freshman Not drafted
Keith Bogans Kentucky Sophomore WITHDREW
Michael Bradley Villanova Junior Toronto (1st/17)
Jamison Brewer Auburn Sophomore Indiana (2nd/41)
Kedrick Brown Okaloosa-Walton C.C. (Florida) Sophomore Boston (1st/11)
Kwame Brown Glynn Academy H.S. (Ga.) H.S. senior Washington (1st/1)
SirValiant Brown George Washington Sophomore Not drafted
Nick Burwell Orange Coast College (Calif.) Sophomore Not drafted
Goran Cakic Radnicki (Yugoslavia) 1980 WITHDREW
Tyson Chandler Dominguez H.S. (Calif.) H.S. senior LA Clippers (1st/2)
Ousmane Cisse St. Jude Catholic H.S. (Ala.) H.S. senior Denver (2nd/47)
Sam Clancy Southern California Junior WITHDREW
Jason Collins Stanford R.S. Sophomore Houston (1st/18)
Omar Cook St. John's Freshman Orlando (2nd/32)
Eddy Curry Thornwood H.S. (Ill.) H.S. Senior Chicago (1st/4)
Samuel Dalembert Seton Hall Sophomore Philadelphia (1st/26)
Edwin "Greedy" Daniels Texas Christian Junior Not drafted
Carlos Delfino Reggio Calabria (Italy) 1982 WITHDREW
Jefferson de Souza Sobral Vasco da Gama (Brazil) 1980 WITHDREW
Boris Diaw Pau Orthez (France) 1982 WITHDREW
DeSagana Diop Oak Hill Academy (H.S.) (Va.) H.S. Senior Cleveland (1st/8)
Patrick Doctor American Junior WITHDREW
Corsley Edwards Central Connecticut Junior WITHDREW
Denis Ershov Spartak (Russia) 1981 Not drafted
Maurice Evans Texas Junior Not drafted
Benjamin Eze Southern Idaho Freshman Not drafted
Alton Ford Houston Freshman Phoenix (2nd/51)
Antonis Fotsis Panathinaikos (Greece) 1981 Memphis (2nd/48)
Joseph Forte North Carolina Sophomore Boston (1st/21)
Jason Gardner Arizona Sophomore WITHDREW
Pau Gasol .C. Barcelona (Spain) 1980 Atlanta (1st/3)
Jerry Green Cal-Irvine Junior Not drafted
Eddie Griffin Seton Hall Freshman New Jersey (1st/7)
Rob Griffin Iowa Junior Not drafted
Rashid Hardwick Eastern Oklahoma State Freshman Not drafted
Trenton Hassell Austin Peay Junior Chicago (2nd/30)
Kirk Haston Indiana Junior Charlotte (1st/16)
Draper Housley Lee College (Texas) Sophomore Not drafted
Steven Hunter DePaul Sophomore Orlando (1st/15)
Vlado Ilievski Antalya (Turkey) 1980 WITHDREW
Robertas Javtokas Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) 1980 San Antonio (2nd/56)
Richard Jefferson Arizona Junior Houston (1st/13)
Joe Johnson Arkansas Sophomore Boston (1st/10)
Tony Key Centennial H.S. (Calif.) H.S. Senior Not drafted
D.A. Layne Georgia Junior Not drafted
Reo Logan Miami (Fla.) Freshman WITHDREW
Raul Lopez Real Madrid (Spain) 1980 Utah (1st/24)
Arvydas Macijauskas Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) 1980 WITHDREW
Tito Maddox Fresno State Freshman WITHDREW
Zach Marbury Rhode Island Junior Not drafted
Jamario Moon Meridian C.C. (Miss.) Sophomore Not drafted
Troy Murphy Notre Dame Junior Golden State (1st/14)
Bostjan Nachbar Pivovarna Lasko (Slovenia) 1980 WITHDREW
Lazaros Papadopoulos Iraklis (Greece) 1980 WITHDREW
Tony Parker Paris Basket Racing (France) 1982 San Antonio (1st/28)
Tayshaun Prince Kentucky Junior WITHDREW
Vladimir Radmanovic FMP Zeleznik (Yugoslavia) 1980 Seattle (1st/12)
Zach Randolph Michigan State Freshman Portland (1st/19th)
Jason Richardson Michigan State Sophomore Golden State (1st/5)
Kenny Satterfield Cincinnati Sophomore Dallas (2nd/54)
Luis Scola Tau Ceramica (Spain) 1980 WITHDREW
Mladen Sekularac FMP Zeleznik (Yugoslavia) 1981 WITHDREW
Bobby Simmons DePaul Junior Seattle (2nd/42)
Jawan Simpson Puget Sound Christian College Freshman WITHDREW
Derick Singleton St. Paul's College (Va.) Junior WITHDREW
Will Solomon Clemson Junior Memphis (2nd/33)
Clifton Terry Kennedy-King College (Ill.) Sophomore Not drafted
Gerald Wallace Alabama Freshman Sacramento (1st/25)
Rodney White Charlotte Freshman Detroit (1st/9)
Damien Wilkins North Carolina State Sophomore Not drafted
Michael Wright Arizona Junior New York (2nd/39)

So if one were to argue that college basketball has become markedly worse the last 10 years one would have to find another factor. That was my point -- people are putting the one and done as way too big a factor for the recent decline.

There have to be other larger factors for the recent decline since 2005.

 

[jncuse]

well, the other guy didn't get that ...

That "other guy" was not totally wrong either.

CTO did correctly point out the trickle down effect... which is true, but it was basically just as true in 2005. Early entries can't be a major factor for the decline between 2005 and now. There needs to be other more significant factors.

 

[44cuse]

At least college ball doesn't have one fourth of it's teams trying to lose.

At least teams in the NBA can shoot. And play defense. And move the ball. And run a functional offense. And perform a rotation on defense.

I assume you were being somewhat hyperbolic by saying 25%, but that is really not the case. Take a look at the worst teams in the NBA:

Knicks: 0-10 in their last 10; likely tanking but they were terrible to begin with.
Timberwolves: 0-10 in their last 10; likely tanking but they were certainly not tanking prior to Ricky Rubio getting hurt.
Philly: 4-6 in their last 10; completely decimated by the Andrew Bynum trade (he was 24 or 25 at the time and the 2nd best C in the league when healthy) and they gave up 2 1st rd picks (Moe Harkness and someone else) plus a future 1st Round pick to the Magic I think. Then they went out and drafted and young (Nerlens, MCW, Jeol Embid, etc) players. They are the youngest team in the league. Watch them play...though that will be painful...are they tanking? Maybe. Or maybe they just suck at rebuilding.
Lakers: 4-6 in their last 10; they lose their 1st round pick if they drop out of the top 6; they aren't tanking.
Orlando: 3-7 in their last 10; Rob Hennigan signed a bunch of solid NBA vets (kept Jameer Nelson, signed Aflallo) to go alongside good young talent in Oladipo, Tobias Harris, etc. Not tanking.
Utah: 5-5 in their last 10; you don't play .500 ball in JAN if you are tanking
Boston: 2-8 in their last 10; probably tanking.
Detroit is 8-2 in their last 10.

So at the end of the day, 25% of the teams in the NBA are not tanking. Just because teams suck does not mean they are tanking. Some teams just suck. Shutting down Carmelo...that's tanking IMO though none of us know how hurt he really is. And even if teams are tanking, the games amongst the other 25 teams are great. If you want to argue that the college atmosphere is better and the arenas are better...no doubt. College all day long. And if you want to complain about the "noise" and crap production at the NBA games...I wold agree with that as well. But as far as basketball goes, the NBA is WAY better right now and that's in part because the NBA is really, really good right now and college is truly awful.

44cuse

 

[syr14]

I am thoroughly enjoying NC St. - Duke right now. Great game.