By Dr. Jeff A. Glenn / @jagadelic
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece in which I stated that college basketball is not nearly as exciting as it used to be due to the fact that the best players only stay for a cup of coffee and no real personalities are developed at this level anymore. I also lamented that nothing can be done about it since every able-bodied adult has a right to go out and make a living if he so chooses.
Well, since I’ve written this, I’ve received several suggestions on how to improve the state of affairs. I’ve also had a bout of insomnia lately and have been listening to more late-night sports talk radio than any human should put himself through. From this, I’ve cobbled together the best ideas for improving college basketball without taking away the rights of the players.
Allow NBA teams to draft players out of high school, only they have to be assigned to a D-League team for two years. The average D-League salary is $40,000, which is not very enticing. Create a $200,000 salary slot on each D-League team. The increase in attendance and ratings should help pay for this.
High school seniors must declare that they are going to college or the D-League. Those who go to college are ineligible to sign with an NBA team for two years. This gives the college game some much-needed stability. In order to play college ball, you will have to be an actual student. You can’t pretend to be a student for one semester and take off in March.
This helps everyone. Players who aren’t serious about college don’t have to participate in a ridiculous hypocrisy. They can earn some scratch and work full-time on becoming an NBA player. If they don’t make the NBA, the $400,000 they earned in the meantime gives them a nice head start into another career choice. He’s in much better shape than the kid who took basket-weaving for two years and got his scholarship pulled when his jump shot missed the mark.
Networks can once again create stars and generate name recognition at the college level. It’s that second year, after the fans have gotten a taste, when you can really put a player out there to be marketed properly.
There you have it. I’m sure that as Mr. Stern is making his exit and tossing the reins to the new commish, a plan to make the NCAA, the D-League and NBA all exist in a symbiotic relationship is being fleshed out. Don’t be surprised if something such as this is eventually adopted.