**NCAA Basketball Thread**

[Rodey]

Originally Posted by BruceW

Looks Like Roy Williams said basically the same thing haha.

"I had somebody criticize me and say 'you shouldn't be dumbfounded.' Well, excuse me, I have my right to have my own feelings. That world that they're explaining out there I'm not familiar with. Period."

Any coach who claims they're "not familiar with it" is blowing smoke. Sure, maybe/maybe not to the extent some of these schools are going to, but it's a foolish thing push back against.

K looked really dumb when he said college basketball isn't dirty.

[thebridge15]

krzyzewski knows people will believe him though

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by Rodey

Except there's virtually no difference in Zion going to Kansas or Duke...

I never mentioned Zion specifically and wasn't trying to compare Duke and KU. I was just playing devil's advocate.

But besides Duke basketball being the most recognized/popular/viewed brand in college sports by a long shot, you're right. I wasn't comparing the two specifically, but I can.

Duke bball Twitter: 2.23 million followers
Kansas bball Twitter: 943k followers

Duke bball instagram: 750k followers
KU bball instagram: 127k followers

Duke bball YouTube: 90k subscribers
KU all sports YouTube (no sport specific channel): 11k subscribers

Plus the amount of eyes that see each program's games are never even close either. They are the most exposed by a wide margin at this point. These days, that stuff matters to kids, a lot actually.

That's all I was getting at when saying there are exposure benefits.

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by thebridge15

krzyzewski knows people will believe him though

Idk about that. It really seems like he was just trying to get them to shut up or something. I mean I believe that he mostly only pays attention to his program etc, but yea those guys know what's out there whether they dabble in it or not. Idk it's bizarre that he'd say that. I haven't spoken to one Duke fan/follower who believes him haha.

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by Rodey

Any coach who claims they're "not familiar with it" is blowing smoke. Sure, maybe/maybe not to the extent some of these schools are going to, but it's a foolish thing push back against.

K looked really dumb when he said college basketball isn't dirty.

Agreed. Quite odd.

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by thebridge15

the brotherhood

The Brotherhood vs The Carolina Family

Duke's seems more sexist actually...surprised that's allowed in 2018

[UNC41]

Originally Posted by BruceW

Looks Like Roy Williams said basically the same thing haha.

"I had somebody criticize me and say 'you shouldn't be dumbfounded.' Well, excuse me, I have my right to have my own feelings. That world that they're explaining out there I'm not familiar with. Period."

Ol' Roy, like K, was definitely aware. Based on how far UNC recruiting fell off prior to last year, the two most likely outcomes seem to be that he's clean or has the worst dadgum bag man of all time.

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by UNC41

Ol' Roy, like K, was definitely aware. Based on how far UNC recruiting fell off prior to last year, the two most likely outcomes seem to be that he's clean or has the worst dadgum bag man of all time.

Or they were in the midst of one of, if not the largest academic scandals in NCAA history. I could see why recruits would shy away for a few years. No worries though, they still made two title games, won a title, and got off squeaky clean!

[seekupig]

Originally Posted by BruceW

I never mentioned Zion specifically and wasn't trying to compare Duke and KU. I was just playing devil's advocate.

But besides Duke basketball being the most recognized/popular/viewed brand in college sports by a long shot, you're right. I wasn't comparing the two specifically, but I can.

Duke bball Twitter: 2.23 million followers
Kansas bball Twitter: 943k followers

Duke bball instagram: 750k followers
KU bball instagram: 127k followers

Duke bball YouTube: 90k subscribers
KU all sports YouTube (no sport specific channel): 11k subscribers

Plus the amount of eyes that see each program's games are never even close either. They are the most exposed by a wide margin at this point. These days, that stuff matters to kids, a lot actually.

That's all I was getting at when saying there are exposure benefits.

Every Kansas game is on TV.
They have NBA scouts at their games.
They are a nationally recognized brand.

I doubt kids are looking at IG & Twitter followers when deciding between the two. When it comes to basketball exposure, there is virtually no difference between Duke, Kansas, UNC & Kentucky.

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by seekupig

Every Kansas game is on TV.

They have NBA scouts at their games.

They are a nationally recognized brand.



I doubt kids are looking at IG & Twitter followers when deciding between the two. When it comes to basketball exposure, there is virtually no difference between Duke, Kansas, UNC & Kentucky.

Never said they aren’t.
Never said they don’t.
Never said they aren’t.

I also never said it was THE deciding factor. I said it matters. I said exposure numbers matter. Social media presence and representation matters. Playing in 3-4 of the top 5 TV ratings games each year matters. I gave examples of more eyeballs being drawn to one over the other. More eyeballs = more exposure. At least according to logic. That’s all.

I know KU is a blue blood program that is in that pantheon of 4 or so programs. I’m not naive...

[UNC41]

Originally Posted by BruceW

Or they were in the midst of one of, if not the largest academic scandals in NCAA history. I could see why recruits would shy away for a few years. No worries though, they still made two title games, won a title, and got off squeaky clean!

Possibly, but it doesn't seem too likely. Arizona and USC each have two 5-star recruits committed in this year's class despite being in the thick of the current scandal. Also, we're not going to pretend that academics mean anything to the vast majority of kids who plan to be at a school for 9-10 months are we? It's not why Little is at UNC and Barrett is at Duke.

[SmoothG]

What a fuckin shitshow this all is. I say, make the g league a more attractive option, up the minimum pay, let anyone out of high school join if they want to get paid or go to college. I don’t know, but these kids and families at least on the top end should have the option of being compensated in a legitimate way to cut out these shady shoe company bag men. I don’t know. I don’t care if Kansas and duke are just as dirty as Arizona. Something big needs to change. Fuck the NCAA.

[SmoothG]

All of this shadiness affected Arizona for one year, this years recruiting sucked, but next year is back to where they were.

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by UNC41

Possibly, but it doesn't seem too likely. Arizona and USC each have two 5-star recruits committed in this year's class despite being in the thick of the current scandal. Also, we're not going to pretend that academics mean anything to the vast majority of kids who plan to be at a school for 9-10 months are we? It's not why Little is at UNC and Barrett is at Duke.

UNC was under scrutiny for 7 years or so. There was a chance of sanctions for 5 or so of those if not more. That absolutely mattered to recruits. It also allowed other schools to use that as a tactic against UNC in recruiting. It’s not about the academic side, it’s about that team being eligible to participate in the postseason etc. You understand that right?

You think it’s a coincidence that the year after they’re cleared they land Little? I believe only the second 5 star in 5 years.

[UNC41]

Just let players profit off their own likeness. If someone wants to pay Zion $100k to post about something to his 1.7 million Instagram followers, let that cheddar roll in.

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by SmoothG

What a fuckin shitshow this all is. I say, make the g league a more attractive option, up the minimum pay, let anyone out of high school join if they want to get paid or go to college. I don’t know, but these kids and families at least on the top end should have the option of being compensated in a legitimate way to cut out these shady shoe company bag men. I don’t know. I don’t care if Kansas and duke are just as dirty as Arizona. Something big needs to change. Fuck the NCAA.

Absolutely. Something needs to happen. It’s awful

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by UNC41

Just let players profit off their own likeness. If someone wants to pay Zion $100k to post about something to his 1.7 million Instagram followers, let that cheddar roll in.

Absolutely agree. Other teenagers do it all the time. Should be no different here.

[UNC41]

Originally Posted by BruceW

UNC was under scrutiny for 7 years or so. There was a chance of sanctions for 5 or so of those if not more. That absolutely mattered to recruits. It also allowed other schools to use that as a tactic against UNC in recruiting. It’s not about the academic side, it’s about that team being eligible to participate in the postseason etc. You understand that right?

You think it’s a coincidence that the year after they’re cleared they land Little? I believe only the second 5 star in 5 years.

I think your first paragraph would be a lot more likely to be true if Arizona, USC and Kansas were seeing similar recruiting dips while they're in the middle of something that could potentially lead to sanctions.

I don't think it's a coincidence that UNC recruiting picked up immediately following the FBI indictments.

[BruceW]

In today's news about College Hoops: Self knew about payments, Nike and UA schools do the same thing, and college basketball should either be completely destroyed and cancelled or just make it a free-for-all and not punish anyone.

[kydmb99]

I feel like more problems would be solves than created if the NCAA would just allow players to make $ off their likeness but maybe I’m wrong

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by kydmb99

I feel like more problems would be solves than created if the NCAA would just allow players to make $ off their likeness but maybe I’m wrong

Agreed. Either that or just say that the guys in the trial are all shady kooks who are making it up, then cover all of this back up and let us have our precious squeaky clean sport back!

[SmoothG]

G-League to offer $125k contracts. Not sure how many top athletes are gonna be jumping at the chance for long, early morning bus rides to Sioux City for untelevised games. But I guess it's something.

[kydmb99]

I know everyone here but me hates Cal but he always has interesting ideas and insights about these things...

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-bas...aa-eligibility

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by SmoothG

G-League to offer $125k contracts. Not sure how many top athletes are gonna be jumping at the chance for long, early morning bus rides to Sioux City for untelevised games. But I guess it's something.

Interesting number. I wonder if that's on purpose after seeing some of the $100k offers shown in the trial?

[kydmb99]

Originally Posted by SmoothG

G-League to offer $125k contracts. Not sure how many top athletes are gonna be jumping at the chance for long, early morning bus rides to Sioux City for untelevised games. But I guess it's something.

The biggest problem the G-League has is that literally noone gives a shit about it. Maybe they will of they can get some high school stars but I’m skeptical.

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by kydmb99

I know everyone here but me hates Cal but he always has interesting ideas and insights about these things...

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-bas...aa-eligibility

I don't hate Cal. Interesting ideas though. It's something. Idk if I agree about letting a guy play for 2 years in the G League, come back to college, sit out a year, then play in college again. Maybe it's not as bad as I think, but that one was a little off to me. I agree they should be able to get that education paid for though. I like that part.

[BruceW]

Originally Posted by kydmb99

The biggest problem the G-League has is that literally noone gives a shit about it. Maybe they will of they can get some high school stars but I’m skeptical.

people would care if guys like Zion, Ben Simmons, Anthony Davis etc etc played. I mean people watched them play against awful high school teams on ESPN. We would watch some semi-pro games too

[UNC41]

I like Cal's idea on second round picks being able to return to college. I'm not a fan of kids who skip school and head to the G-League being able to go back and play for college programs.

[kydmb99]

The only people who watch those HS games are the fans of the colleges where the kid is committed. I actually think you’d have less people watching the G-League than those HS games.

Either way, the NBA is making it apparent they want to use the G-League to replace the NCAA as it’s feeder system. If the NCAA doesn’t change (it won’t) college basketball is going to become significantly less valuable.

[UNC41]

Originally Posted by kydmb99

The biggest problem the G-League has is that literally noone gives a shit about it. Maybe they will of they can get some high school stars but I’m skeptical.

NBA front offices care about the G-League, which ultimately would matter a heck of a lot more than what you or I think about it. The unknown, however, is how kids straight of high school would fare in the G-League and how it would impact their draft stock. I suspect you'd have elite recruits who do just fine, but plenty who struggle significantly more than they did in college and potentially cost themselves more than $125k. For example, Brandon Jennings was the top recruit in the country in 2008 and ended up going 10th in the 2009 NBA Draft after spending a year in Italy rather than college.