re: How badly does College Basketball need a change?

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And I have no idea what the solution is

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- I think first and foremost everyone needs to look at officiating. Whether it's cutting back on stretching certain crews thin with shitty scheduling/travel arrangements or trying to promote some fresh blood into the program something's gotta give at this point.

- Evaluating the issues of consistency between a foul on the perimeter and a foul in the post.

- A 30 second shot clock (if it can work for the women it can certainly work for the men).

- Defensive 3 seconds.

- Widen the lane.

People can bitch about the one and done, but the reality is that effects a small fraction of teams in the NCAA. It doesn't excuse some of the shite we've been seeing across the board and while it's the sexy thing to go after right now, people are going to be rather unhappy when it doesn't solve anything except bringing less talent to the college court.

I agree. Next year could lead to big things or another 10 years of mediocrity.

Wisky is always like that. That's why I hate watching then play

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o your basis is that Kentucky, Duke, and other blue bloods are getting too much talent right now?

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No, my argument is more subtle than that. Of course blue blood programs get the most talent, and will ocntinue to do so. the difference is that there used to be some filter down to midlevel Power 5 teams. Now, there barely is. That is the sea change, not Kentucky being more talented.

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Brad Stevens is a hell of a basketball coach. He is getting more out of less talent than most NBA coaches I can ever recall.

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He coaches at VCU? George Mason? Wichita St? Pretty amazing job.

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Plus a midmajor sneaking in to the Final Four isn't some new thing. It is single elimination tournament. Teams get hot. Just go through a list of final four teams, more often then not you will see one or two teams that make you go "wut."

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It's five mid majors in the past eight years. And that's not even counting C-USA teams, which are borderline majors. Prior to 2006 and George Mason's run, a midmajor team seeded lower than 4th in their bracket (showing a genuine upset run and not Memphis or Utah) made it to the Final Four previously in 1979 (Princeton... Indiana St was a #1 seed, more akin to a UNLV)

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None of them have won it either.

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Well, because of a missed buzzer beater, but that's not really the point. The blue bloods are still the blue bloods.

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The one and done rule effect so few number of schools the idea that it has any sort of dramatic effect is ludicrous. There are what maybe 10 one and done guys a year? There are 300+ D1 teams with 13 scholarship players. The NBA takes 60 players in the draft and about 20 of those guys are from overseas. To act like the NBA is having any sort of negative effect is just disingenuous.

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Alex Lin was a terrible player for Maryland, but he still left after one year because, well, he is 7 feet tall and the NBA still values big guys. To act like only Kentucky is affected by one and dones is just as disengious. And honestly, the entity hurt by that scenario was not really Maryland, but Lin. He had no business leaving that early.

Outside of LeBron and Kobe, most players will benefit from more developmental time in college. They go into the NBA as a better player, which helps them and the league. Leaving so early is just stunting so many players' development. And not just stars, but guys who never learn how to be a role player.

but if you think only true blue bloods got top tier blue chip prospects prior to the one and done rule, you obviously didn't watch basketball in the 80s. And since I know you did, I don't understand your argument there. There was more depth of talent, and blue chip talent did filter down more often. And now it doesn't because of the simple math: Kentucky now has slots to fill every year, and playing time to offer they previously didn't have.

Of course the one and done rule has an effect on college basketball. Arguing otherwise is to ignore the last decade.

I am gonna be picky on a few things you said.

Brad Stevens is obviously relevant. He coached butler to 2 of the 5 final fours you acknowledge in your next sentence. Not sure if you were playing dumb or what, but dismissing that was weird as you didn't make a counterpoint either, which you previously pointed out someone else doing.

No mid major lost because of a missed buzzer beater. That's disingenuous. It was a half court heave. Additionally, that team had 2 NBA contributors (one of them is a borderline all star) on it and was more of an exception than the rule. VCU and George mason obviously fit the mold you are describing, but a couple fluke runs is not that crazy in the grand scheme of things.

Lastly, Alex Len was not a one and done player and the guy you responded to definitely didn't watch college basketball in the 80s

I don't really disagree with too much you said. There is certainly a trickle down effect with the one and done rule that ends up affecting more than the 5 schools who get the players. I just wanted to point out those things because I often feel like people see your username and just think everything is right.

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the difference is that there used to be some filter down to midlevel Power 5 teams. Now, there barely is

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Yeah I'm not seeing a difference.

1st round picks last year by school:
Kansas (2)
Duke (2)
Arizona (1)
Oklahoma State (1)
Kentucky (2)
Michigan (2)
Indiana (1)
Lousiana Lafayette (1)
Creighton (1)
UCLA (3)
NC State (1)
Michigan State (2)
Syracuse (1)
UCONN (1)
Washington (1)
Stanford (1)

*Bold to denote 1 and done players (Their were 9 in total)

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Alex Lin was a terrible player for Maryland, but he still left after one year because, well, he is 7 feet tall and the NBA still values big guys.

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This has been going on for years, even before the 1 and done rule. Trevor Ariza for example left after his freshman season (before the 1 and done rule) and fell to the 2nd round. Lin got drafted in the top 5. He's already starting to look like a very good pro in his second season.

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And honestly, the entity hurt by that scenario was not really Maryland, but Lin. He had no business leaving that early.

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He was projected top 5 pick. Every kid would have left for that.

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most players will benefit from more developmental time in college.

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Over 75% of these 1 and done guys really don't if you look at the actual guys that did leave.

The college game really doesn't do that great of a job at developing these players because they are so micromanaged by these college coaches.

Look at this:

LINK

The way you are looking at this is just completely wrong.

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you obviously didn't watch basketball in the 80s. And since I know you did, I don't understand your argument there. There was more depth of talent, and blue chip talent did filter down more often.

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The depth of talent is fine, what has changed is style of play. CBB is about to set a record for its slowest pace of play in the shot clock era.

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Of course the one and done rule has an effect on college basketball.

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I'm not saying it doesn't have an effect, but it is WAYYYYY down the list on issues CBB has right now. It truly only effects less than 2% of D1 schools.

Do away with tv timeouts every 4 minutes

Spot on.

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Probably because they saw that it didn't improve the product at all.

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Because there is an adjustment period. It takes time for teams to realize they have to start defending with their feet and not their hands.

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And it still doesn't change the fact that pro players STILL get in foul trouble with the rules,

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The players that have real foul issues are bigs. Guys that struggle to move their feet and have to defend the rim. Most guards don't get into real foul trouble that often.

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Why aren't we focusing on getting back to where players can actually shoot a basketball instead of babying them by creating rules that try to dismiss that fundamental problem?

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How is trying to make the game better babying them?

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most players don't even know to get the ball to a flasher at the free throw line and elbows and attack with higher percentage methods.

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This is the first thing most teams do.

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Cool stat, but it doesn't change the fact that the fouls called per possession this season is higher than that of 1998.

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Slower possessions lead to the higher probability of a foul being called during that possession.

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Again, the problem isn't the officials allowing too physical of play at all.

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Louisville made it to like 2 consecutive final fours hacking the hell out of people.

You'd have to be blind to not think the game has gotten too physical over the years.

eta: I'm just gonna steal with from Seth Davis' article from today:

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College basketball is slower, more grinding, more physical and more, well, offensive than it has been in a long, long time. The 2014-15 season is shaping up to be the worst offensive season in modern history. Through Feb. 22, teams were averaging 67.1 points per game. That is the lowest average since 1952. The previous low for that span was set just two years ago. This more than reverses the gains that were made last season, after the rules committee made adjustments to clamp down on physical defense and make it harder to draw a charge. Thanks to lax enforcement by officials and a foolish decision to reverse the block/charge modification, scoring declined by 3.79 points per game. That is the steepest single-season drop on record.

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Seth Davis: The history of College Basketball's Offensive Decline - and how to fix it

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The NBA offers the best blueprint. Before the start of the 2000-01 season, then-commissioner David Stern tapped Jerry Colangelo, the general manager of the Phoenix Suns, to chair a special committee that was assigned to eliminate “all the muggings,” as Colangelo puts it. They devised prohibitions against hand-checking and other tactics that had tipped the advantage too far to the defense. There were many games that got bogged down in fouls early on, but eventually the coaches and players adapted.

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Colangelo, who is now the chairman of USA Basketball’s board of directors, believes college basketball needs to go through the same transition. “Basketball ultimately is a game of fluidity,” he says. “It took about two years for everyone to adjust, but that dissipates over a period of time. You pay that price, but in the long-term that’s what was in the best interests of the game.”

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Those who have coached American college players for Team USA in recent years swear that when our kids play in FIBA tournaments, they score points. They make shots. They’re rewarded for beating their man off the dribble. Turns out all they need is a shorter clock, some more space, and a tighter whistle. “Anything you can do to increase freedom of movement is going to increase scoring,” says VCU coach Shaka Smart, who has served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball’s under-18 and under-19 teams the last three years. “The players just kind of figured out how to play with the 24-second shot clock. We as coaches did, too, because you can’t run too many multiple sets. If you really want to increase scoring, you have to make the rules more to the advantage of the offense as opposed to the unbelievable advantage the defense has right now.”

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