Bye-bye College Basketball. NBA puts nail in NCAA one and done with 125K

Thank god! It is about time. Most college basketball players are simply taking up space in classrooms. They arent there for an education, they are there to play basketball. Hopefully, this charade will come to a quick end. College basketball has always been the baseball equivalent of the minor leagues.

CallMeDoctor wrote:

ljlkk wrote:

Are you kidding me? Every 18 year old needs a six figure bank account. Good on the NBA.

After paying their agent his percentage, supporting a group of hang arounds from the hood, buying a. Lambo, paying alimony and child support, then paying taxes, he'll still be better off than a college freshman.

You made a ton of ridiculous assumptions.

What 18yr old is divorced and pays alimony and buys a Lamborghini on a 125K salary?

If the NBA does it right college basketball will be like D2.

I think this is a sound move. The kids that don't desire to go to college and play, and hopefully develop against a level of competition that suits them.

I am a Duke grad. This only help Duke. They will still get the high talent players that want to be associated with the social entitlements which come from attending Duke (and in many cases getting a degree).

I also don't think this hurts the college game. What makes the game great is the urgency the college kids bring to the table, since playing professionally is not an option for most of them.

This won't hurt college ball much. There's plenty of top level college players that enter the draft early and are either lottery pick busts, go late 1st/early 2nd round and end up in the G-League or don't get drafted at all and end up overseas. I don't think young players realize how hard it is to not only make a NBA roster (even G-League), but stay on it and continue earning PT.

We've seen the going rate for upper prospects, though not the very best, in the current federal investigation, so 125k does top that amount by a considerable value. However, does 125k top the going rate + the value of a college education, camaraderie, top coaches, a lifelong fan base, an experience they dreamed about, and great exposure for the draft? For some, not for many, I am sure.

Honestly, anything will benefit Duke because they have and will continue to get away with anything. They are the NCAA's Golden Child. It's pathetic and makes a mockery of the NCAA. I am still scratching my head at how their 1998-1999 season is not vacated when Corey Maggette ADMITTED to receiving money from an agent. All the coaching staff at Duke had to say is "Oh, we had no idea" and the infractions committee unzips the Dukie pants and gives them a nice favor. Any other school and they get the hammer.

NBA should have a minor league that takes in high school graduates just as baseball does.

Angry Willy wrote:

Thank god! It is about time. Most college basketball players are simply taking up space in classrooms. They arent there for an education, they are there to play basketball. Hopefully, this charade will come to a quick end. College basketball has always been the baseball equivalent of the minor leagues.

Truer words have never been spoken. The average basketball / football player at a D1 school has an SAT 200 points lower than the average student. Not to say there are not exceptions, but the stereotype of the dumb jock is pretty accurate. I am a firm believer that cross country and track exist so that administrators can claim that student athletes have higher GPAs than the rest of the student population.

The return of ball movement and team defense to top programs! Also means more players like Grayson Allen on the Duke roster.

I think this is great. More choices for kids is better. I think we can all agree that the NCAA is not an outstanding organization with student athletes' interests always at the forefront. It might not be enough to sway everyone but it will get some traction plus they can probably make more by going overseas for a year. I think the draft stock argument is garbage. Everyone will play each other at the combine and teams will know who the top players are.

Universities sell tickets and merch off of the top basketball prospects and they get coaching + facilities. Why not get that in the G League and make $125k? I'm not saying it's perfect or there are not some good reasons to still play college ball but right now Universities make a ton off of the top prospects that they see none of.

Hah! Pick on Duke! I don't really disagree with what you say about Duke. But Duke is no different than many other elite schools (e.g., those in the top 15), run by elitists with their own set of rules (Duke just happens to be the elite school which plays basketball well). I was a poor kid who went to Duke and succeeded academically despite their being huge social impediments to doing so, and then went on to a so-called prestige grad school with even more elitists, doing even better academically than ever. The elitists write and play by their own rules, and they certainly resent seeing poor kids like me succeed, especially since I didn't belong to a group that could be condescended to for purposes of identity politics. And you profess being surprised that Duke is untouchable? Really? Knock me over with a feather. The part I couldn't get was the politics of most of the elitists. They professed to care for the average guy, but consistently adopted political views which didn't help the average guy. It was all about them and playing by the rules to obtain power and to be in the cultural "in" crowd. I have succeeded by not trusting any of them for a minute.

One and Done's we're bad for the NCAA wrote:

This will help college basketball. Most fans hated the one and done's.

I don't know what the NBA is thinking, the last thing an 18 year old needs is a six figure bank account.

I think it's great for college ball.

Those who want to go straight to the NBA will do so. Think of people like Centrowitz.

Those who actually want to complete a college education (wow!) while developing as athletes will actually play 4 seasons, instead of the current "one and done." Think of people like Rupp.

We will get back to having actual teams and franchise players over the course of college careers, not just a fleeting moment before they move on.

Z williamson wrote:

Eh. 125k that they have to pay taxes on is about the same as the top 10 guys get paid under the table to play a year in college. Plus they are surrounded by prime 18-21 year old trim begging to give it up in college. I don’t see this moving the needle much.

Yep and now under the table payments may become even larger. Star Player says he wants to go to G league for the money? Well UK will offer him more than that

$125k is nothing to someone that is legitimately going to get a multi-million contract the next year. For the more marginal guys, maybe it's a deal maker. For the rest, they are still going to go with the format that they think best prepares them for the NBA and enhances their future earning potential. For now, I still think that is the NCAA. Sure, these guys can get endorsements now, but for many their endorsement potential is enhanced by a successful season of college basketball. At least in the short term, I can't see a lot of the top one and one guys skipping the NCAA to make $125k in a minor league that absolutely no one cares about.

CallMeDoctor wrote:

ljlkk wrote:

Are you kidding me? Every 18 year old needs a six figure bank account. Good on the NBA.

After paying their agent his percentage, supporting a group of hang arounds from the hood, buying a. Lambo, paying alimony and child support, then paying taxes, he'll still be better off than a college freshman.

Just want to let you know the cheapest Lamborghini is still a good bit over $200k.

the end wrote:

The NBA G League will start offering $125K to top high school graduates as an alternative to college.

That's what the NCAA gets for not paying players.

I do not follow basketball much and this was helpful.

Having academic institutions serve as the defacto talent developers for the NBA is crazy. Seems like the club system is Euro is vastly superior (for the teams). I think this new G League option is a tiny step towards that model. For the athletes, this new policy is a good thing. It gives them one more choice. I agree with those above who see little if any impact on the NCAA in the short run. This will impact a tiny number of players.

But eventually, I gotta think teams, or the NBA as a whole, will have control over their own talent development. I can see this G League contract idea growing into a system where the NBA signs 20-30 HS kids each year to play in an in-house league until ready for the draft (or whatever other mechanism they'll use for player disbursement).