NCAA Basketball Corruption - Lots of Money and Unpaid Players

[DonRocks]

1 hour ago, DaveO said:

Duke just added another super star

As someone who was a fan of college basketball I truly hate this.  There is zero continuity, zero growth, zero development from year to year.  

I think it's time to accept the fact that these kids are looking for the shortest and most efficient path to the NBA, and I don't blame them - the halcyon days of Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, etc. etc. etc. are over, I'm afraid - it's only fair (who are we to deny these kids their wealth and fame before they get injured?), but a part of my youth has gone away.

That said, there's LeBron James.

[DaveO]

19 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

I think it's time to accept the fact that these kids are looking for the shortest and most efficient path to the NBA, and I don't blame them - the halcyon days of Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, etc. etc. etc. are over, I'm afraid - it's only fair (who are we to deny these kids their wealth and fame before they get injured?), but a part of my youth has gone away.

That said, there's LeBron James.

All of the above is accurate and true.  I simply don’t like it nor am I tasked with coming up with an appropriate solution.

[silentbob]

All the corporate money that's gone into major college sports (i.e., football and basketball) without the players seeing a dime has turned me off almost completely as a fan.  Too much shady recruiting, warped incentives, and a governing body that's arguably as corrupt as FIFA or the IOC.  No thanks.

P.S.  I am a Duke basketball hater.  Not afraid to admit my biases.

[DonRocks]

45 minutes ago, silentbob said:

and a governing body that's arguably as corrupt as FIFA or the IOC.

Are you sure of this? I assume you are - would you cite some references for my reading enjoyment?

(If you're ever in Indianapolis, the NCAA Hall of Champions is right in the thick of things, just to the northwest of Lucas Oil Stadium, and by the Indianapolis Zoo - it's a beautiful area.)

[DaveO]

28 minutes ago, silentbob said:

All the corporate money that's gone into major college sports (i.e., football and basketball) without the players seeing a dime has turned me off almost completely as a fan.  Too much shady recruiting, warped incentives, and a governing body that's arguably as corrupt as FIFA or the IOC.  No thanks.

P.S.  I am a Duke basketball hater.  Not afraid to admit my biases.

The system is very dirty.  Are the heads of the NCAA taking payoffs?  I don’t know.  They do get paid enormous sums to keep a status quo that feeds money to the schools but not the players.  

I was curious what Billy Packer had to say.  He was a terrific college basketball announcer and before finding an article on his thoughts I did realize my opinion mirrored his similarly curmudgeonly view.  

It seems the last time he spoke to the press on this issue was 3 years ago 

[silentbob]

23 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

would you cite some references for my reading enjoyment?

https://www.vox.com/2018/3/13/17109874/ncaa-scandal-fbi-basketball-march-madness

https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/9/5/16180862/college-football-ncaa-student-athlete-mike-mcintire

https://theintercept.com/2018/02/22/ncaa-student-athletes-unpaid-prison/

[DonRocks]

On 5/2/2018 at 10:22 PM, DonRocks said:

I think it's time to accept the fact that these kids are looking for the shortest and most efficient path to the NBA, and I don't blame them - the halcyon days of Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, etc. etc. etc. are over, I'm afraid - it's only fair (who are we to deny these kids their wealth and fame before they get injured?), but a part of my youth has gone away.

That said, there's LeBron James.

On 5/2/2018 at 10:36 PM, DaveO said:

All of the above is accurate and true.  I simply don’t like it nor am I tasked with coming up with an appropriate solution.

Initial impression: Makes sense to me - I don't see how this is any different than offering a baseball star a minor-league contract coming out of high school. I'm curious, though, if there will be a G-League draft, or if scouts will approach players directly, and let them choose. Then, what about after that first year in the G League? Will the draft consist of a melange of NCAA players and G-League players? Or will owners of the G-League player have priority?

I think it would be a great idea to require these players to take a financial management class during that year in the G League. $125,000 isn't NBA money, but for some of these kids, it's going to seem like the moon, and they're going to need to learn to budget.

This can only hurt the quality of NCAA freshman, and it can only help the interest in the G League - it sure seems like a smart move by the NBA, at least in theory.

"NBA To Offer $125,000 Contracts to 'Elite Prospects' out of High School" by Michael Shapiro on si.com

[zgast]

8 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Initial impression: Makes sense to me - I don't see how this is any different than offering a baseball star a minor-league contract coming out of high school. I'm curious, though, if there will be a G-League draft, or if scouts will approach players directly, and let them choose. Then, what about after that first year in the G League? Will the draft consist of a melange of NCAA players and G-League players? Or will owners of the G-League player have priority?

I think it would be a great idea to require these players to take a financial management class during that year in the G League. $125,000 isn't NBA money, but for some of these kids, it's going to seem like the moon, and they're going to need to learn to budget.

Totally agree with this.  $125k isn't chump change - and it's potentially life changing for some of these eighteen year olds.  Financial management classes would be huge - my understanding is that they're offered in the NBA today and many/most just ignore them.  Truly a shame.

And as an aside, I'm positive Jordan didn't finish college until well into his NBA days.

[Ericandblueboy]

This is pure NBA owners greed.  NBA doesn't want its teams to take a risk by drafting high school kids so it says you can't go directly from high school to the NBA.  Now NBA doesn't want the colleges to benefit from cheap labor (the schools give scholarships) so they hope to pay peanuts for the "elite" prospects.  While this may be a win for the NBA and the elite prospects, it will deprive Duke and Kentucky of top talent, making March Madness even more unpredictable.  WTF do I care, I don't watch basketball.

[zgast]

13 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

This is pure NBA owners greed.  NBA doesn't want its teams to take a risk by drafting high school kids so it says you can't go directly from high school to the NBA.  Now NBA doesn't want the colleges to benefit from cheap labor (the schools give scholarships) so they hope to pay peanuts for the "elite" prospects.  While this may be a win for the NBA and the elite prospects, it will deprive Duke and Kentucky of top talent, making March Madness even more unpredictable.  WTF do I care, I don't watch basketball.

What's the point of a scholarship to attend one year of college? Duke is a non-profit institution set up for the purpose of educating students.  Why should we care that it doesn't get a new crop of athletes who will pretend to be students for a year before they go off on their real career?

BTW - I'm not opposed to college sports. I'd be just as happy with a system that paid players while they attended college as long as they did both. 

[Ericandblueboy]

6 hours ago, zgast said:

What's the point of a scholarship to attend one year of college? Duke is a non-profit institution set up for the purpose of educating students.  Why should we care that it doesn't get a new crop of athletes who will pretend to be students for a year before they go off on their real career?

These athletes generate revenue for the schools.  So the schools will give out fewer scholarships.  Some kid who dreamed of going to college will now be deprived of that scholarship and be condemned to a life of menial labor.  [Exaggerated for effect and humor]

[DaveO]

16 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Initial impression: Makes sense to me - I don't see how this is any different than offering a baseball star a minor-league contract coming out of high school. I'm curious, though, if there will be a G-League draft, or if scouts will approach players directly, and let them choose. Then, what about after that first year in the G League? Will the draft consist of a melange of NCAA players and G-League players? Or will owners of the G-League player have priority?

I think it would be a great idea to require these players to take a financial management class during that year in the G League. $125,000 isn't NBA money, but for some of these kids, it's going to seem like the moon, and they're going to need to learn to budget.

This can only hurt the quality of NCAA freshman, and it can only help the interest in the G League - it sure seems like a smart move by the NBA, at least in theory.

"NBA To Offer $125,000 Contracts to 'Elite Prospects' out of High School" by Michael Shapiro on si.com

A different article references that the NCAA was fully aware of this new development. I'm sure the NCAA and the NBA worked together on this to come up with this plan (many of the details still to be worked out)

Some pertinent paragraphs relevant to the awareness and involvement  of the NCAA:

Quote

"We appreciate the NBA's decision to provide additional opportunities for those who would like to pursue their dream of playing professionally," NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement. "The NCAA recently implemented significant reforms to support student-athlete success, including more flexibility when deciding whether to play professionally.

"Obtaining a college education continues to provide unmatched preparation for success in life for the majority of student-athletes and remains an excellent path to professional sports for many. However, this change provides another option for those who would prefer not to attend college but want to directly pursue professional basketball."

In April, the Commission on College Basketball, formed by the NCAA after a federal investigation into fraud in the sport, recommended that the NCAA and NBA embrace alternative options for one-and-done-caliber prospects.

"Elite high school players with NBA prospects and no interest in a college degree should not be forced to attend college, often for less than a year," commission chair Condoleezza Rice told The Associated Press. "One-and-done has to go, one way or another."

Its a new development.  We'll see how it evolves.  The NBA/G League/NCAA will see how this evolves.  Which high school stars will opt for the G League and which will opt for college 1 and done or more years of college?

I was a big fan of college basketball, a big fan of traditional conferences, and a big fan of seeing teams evolve over time.  That has been weakened over time.  Meanwhile regardless of the 1 and done phenomena and the way that Kentucky and Duke have really dominated it...the majority of NCAA championships seem to be won by teams not dominated by all 1 and done players.

It does have lots of elements of minor league baseball in it.  It seems to make sense to me, but the implementation over time will tell us how it is working.    I think I'd add that a kid who opts for the G League but doesn't develop sufficiently for the NBA has the option to return to college, get a scholarship, and get to play on that college team.    That might give kids more overall options