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Full Version: College Basketball Sucks!!!
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Let me explain.  No, it's not because KY sucks this year(which they do).  What I mean is the product that we see across the country on the basketball court this year is just a terrible product.  I will let you guys opine on the reasons why the play is just not good, but it clearly is just a lot of really bad basketball.  Guys can't shoot,  guys don't value the basketball, atrocious fundamentals, questionable coaching, very few really good teams... just really bad. John Wooden must be rolling over in his grave.   Has the "one and done" or "two and done " mentality finally taken its toll on the quality of the product we are seeing?  What's the deal?  

Do you agree with me that college basketball is a pretty subpar product right now?  What needs to happen to improve the quality of the basketball we are seeing at the college level?
Basketball has been really bad for several years on all levels. Each year I watch less basketball because it so bad. IMO, a big reason is the decline of fundamentals in the game. Sportscenter Top 10 is a big reason why. The players now focus on trying to make the best dunk instead practicing that mid range jumper because they think they will make it on Sportscenter.
Also, the players appear focused on their individual numbers Instead of making the team better. I have noticed if the player does not have the ball, he is just standing and watching instead of moving trying to get open or get in position for the rebound.
I see a couple of glaring reasons. The biggest to me is the three point shot.  Move the line back!  It’s close enough for guys playing now that it’s just too easy to take that shot. And the metrics say if you are making like 33% from there, then a two-point shot is a bad shot. That’s why Oats at Alabama preaches nothing but threes and layups. As a result, the midrange game has all but disappeared. There would be no place for a guy like Goose Givens, a king of midrange basketball, in today’s game.  And there is no place for a back to the basket big guy under these conditions either.

  The other thing I see is the rise of AAU basketball. Kids play on teams all summer now where all they care about is how impressive they are, not who wins a game. It filters over to the high school game, and from there on to the college level where you get guys (are you listening Cal?) who only care about how high they will go in the draft, not how can we win a game as a team. I’m afraid it may be tilted too far now though to ever come back.
Excellent , excellent points, Jarons and VH. I agree with all of those. I'm really worried that we will never again see the kind of fundamental basketball we used to see played. Expecting a return to the Wooden brand of basketball again is probably about as far-fetched as expecting music to return to the quality we saw in the sixties and seventies. Too much has changed in the culture.

I'm sorry, you probably just think I'm an old fart being sentimental about the times in which I grew up(and maybe I am). But I just love to watch the game when its played the right way. Basketball is such a beautiful game to watch when its played the way Mr. Naismith intended.
As a little evidence to my theory that the three-point shot has killed basketball, did anyone see the highlights of the end of the Nuggets game in the NBA a few nights ago? They were down two, just a few seconds to go, got a steal, had a 4-on-1 fast break——and every player spotted up at the three point line. I mean, it would have been an uncontested dunk for anyone who went to the goal and would have sent the game into overtime. But instead they took a three that missed and lost the game. That’s the players mentality now, three’s over everything else.
(02-28-2021, 10:26 AM)Van Hagar Wrote: [ -> ]As a little evidence to my theory that the three-point shot has killed basketball, did anyone see the highlights of the end of the Nuggets game in the NBA a few nights ago? They were down two, just a few seconds to go, got a steal, had a 4-on-1 fast break——and every player spotted up at the three point line. I mean, it would have been an uncontested dunk for anyone who went to the goal and would have sent the game into overtime. But instead they took a three that missed and lost the game. That’s the players mentality now, three’s over everything else.


I agree with you about the three-pointer.  I love teams that share the basketball and work to get that high percentage shot on each possession by making the extra pass. The Illinois-Chicago Final Four team from a few years back played the game beautifully.  Fundamentals are severely lacking in today's game. The product we are seeing right now in college basketball is just not very good.
I'll always follow college basketball and love this time of year. Having said that, I follow the mid/low majors. My favorite D-1 team is Winthrop. I love seeing those unheralded teams beat those highly ranked teams/programs. Championship Week is a favorite of mine seeing those schools celebrate winning that automatic bid and just making the NCAA Tournament, they could lose by 40 in the first round but years later they'll still remember the excitement of just having an opportunity to compete at that level.

I graduated from Alice Lloyd, which is NAIA and while I didnt really appreciate that level of play as a student, I've came to love watching them play a few years after I graduated and now I never miss a game unless I absolutely have to. While its not glamorous, it is much pure because at that level you see more players there using the ball instead of the ball using them, if you will.

I cant help but laugh a little when I see people in the mountain regions complain about UK not "having any Kentucky boys" on the roster when Alice Lloyd's roster is a majority of Kentucky players, with a few from surrounding states on the roster. The NAIA isnt big time enough for most fans, but I think they are missing out on some good basketball.
Love the NAIA...., I have been to Georgetown games...really fun to watch.... a few years ago Pikeville and Georgetown played there and it was an all out WAR..... I mean these were two great team!!!!!! And they could do it all... both rated top 5 of NAIA...?⛹️‍♂️
(03-02-2021, 04:40 PM)BlueSky Wrote: [ -> ]Love the NAIA...., I have been to Georgetown games...really fun to watch.... a few years ago Pikeville and Georgetown played there and it was an all out WAR..... I mean these were two great team!!!!!! And they could do it all... both rated top 5 of NAIA...?⛹️‍♂️

A few years ago that conference they were in, The Mid South had their tournament in Pikeville and I went to all of the men's games and also the women's finals. Loved watching all those teams play. I was saddened when they moved the tournament to Bowling Green. Georgetown has done really well over the years, reigning NAIA champion if I'm not mistaken and I know Pikeville won it 10 years ago this month. 

I totally get the whole UK fandom/lore but if you are just a fan of the sport, you can watch some high quality NAIA games at a low cost, especially if you live close to one of those schools.
(03-02-2021, 04:40 PM)BlueSky Wrote: [ -> ]Love the NAIA...., I have been to Georgetown games...really fun to watch.... a few years ago Pikeville and Georgetown played there and it was an all out WAR..... I mean these were two great team!!!!!! And they could do it all... both rated top 5 of NAIA...?⛹️‍♂️


Anyone who has never seen a Georgetown-Pikeville , Georgetown-Cumberlands, Cumberlands-Pikeville , etc...   when those teams have been highly ranked have really missed out.  Some really good and exciting basketball!!!
One of my favorite things growing up was going to Union College games with my dad. The KIAC was so much fun back then, all the Kentucky schools were in there, Cumberland, Georgetown, Pikeville, Berea. Saw some great players like Travis ‘Machine Gun’ Grant and Elmore Smith of Kentucky State, who played in the NBA.