I imagine that there will be a lot of discussion over the next couple of years regarding the accusations facing many of today's top basketball programs and possible changes that need to be made, so I figured I would start a thread for it. I am sure many of you have ideas on how to "fix" these issues, here are mine:

1. Eliminate the 1 and done rule. Allow kids to go straight from high school to the NBA if they want. Another option would be for them to be paid directly by the shoe companies out of high school to supplement their income in the G league if they can't make a NBA roster immediately out of high school.

2. If a kid decides to enroll in college, they have to stay for at least 3 years.

3. Reorganize the current basketball landscape. The ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big East, Big 10, and Pac 12 should be at 1 level, and they should be allowed to pay their players. They should then play in a 24 team tournament to determine the national champion. Call this the NCAA Tournament. Anyone who doesn't make the NCAA Tournament, their season is over.

4. All other conferences, from the American and WCC to the SoCon all the way down to the ASUN should be in another division. No paying of players, just true amateur basketball. We should have our own tournament with all conference champions and a certain number of at-large teams. Call this the NIT. Any team not making the NIT, their season is over.

This would reduce the need for shoe companies to worry about paying college basketball players, would allow ETSU et al. to compete for a national championship instead of pretending that we can compete for championships as is, and would make things more fair for the players. On the other hand, it would water down college basketball. But to me, it is worth it and might even improve the game in the long run.

(02-25-2018 08:01 AM)etsubuc Wrote:  I imagine that there will be a lot of discussion over the next couple of years regarding the accusations facing many of today's top basketball programs and possible changes that need to be made, so I figured I would start a thread for it. I am sure many of you have ideas on how to "fix" these issues, here are mine:

1. Eliminate the 1 and done rule. Allow kids to go straight from high school to the NBA if they want. Another option would be for them to be paid directly by the shoe companies out of high school to supplement their income in the G league if they can't make a NBA roster immediately out of high school.

2. If a kid decides to enroll in college, they have to stay for at least 3 years.

3. Reorganize the current basketball landscape. The ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big East, Big 10, and Pac 12 should be at 1 level, and they should be allowed to pay their players. They should then play in a 24 team tournament to determine the national champion. Call this the NCAA Tournament. Anyone who doesn't make the NCAA Tournament, their season is over.

4. All other conferences, from the American and WCC to the SoCon all the way down to the ASUN should be in another division. No paying of players, just true amateur basketball. We should have our own tournament with all conference champions and a certain number of at-large teams. Call this the NIT. Any team not making the NIT, their season is over.

This would reduce the need for shoe companies to worry about paying college basketball players, would allow ETSU et al. to compete for a national championship instead of pretending that we can compete for championships as is, and would make things more fair for the players. On the other hand, it would water down college basketball. But to me, it is worth it and might even improve the game in the long run.

I agree with the one and done being extended to 3 years as it is in football, while also allowing the option for a kid right out of high school to have either the option to go directly to the NBA if they're just that good and/or lucky, or having the option of maybe the European Leagues or something if they want to make a professional career out of basketball but for one reason or another do not want to go to college.

While I've heard the idea if the so called Power 5 going it alone, which I could see a case for especially in football, it's a lot less clear in basketball. While Power 5 schools like Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina are in the drivers seat, you do have several teams that aren't Power 5 level that have achieved significant success. Louisville, who despite being an ACC member now, achieved some of it's biggest successes while being a member of various smaller conferences. Connecticut from the American Athletic Conference has 4 national championships, 3 of which they've collected within the last 20 years. Villanova of course from the Big East, and if you look at 1990 when the current setup for the tournament was largely set in stone, you have the UNLV Runnin Rebels as one hit wonders.

You also have numerous teams outside of the big seven conferences that haven't won it all, but that have made one or more trips to the Final Four or the championship game. Some such has Butler have moved up after their successes, but you have others such as Gonzaga that are currently content where they are, or for whatever reason simply aren't able to get the attention or support to move to a larger conference right now.

(02-25-2018 08:01 AM)etsubuc Wrote:  1. Eliminate the 1 and done rule. Allow kids to go straight from high school to the NBA if they want. Another option would be for them to be paid directly by the shoe companies out of high school to supplement their income in the G league if they can't make a NBA roster immediately out of high school.

By 2019 every NBA team will have their own G League team and no sharing of teams. The 1 and done needs to go and if the NBA doesn't want a kid straight from HS then let the team draft the player and send them to their G League team for a year or 2 with a guarantee call up in the future. It could eventually be a true minor league system where you could send players to rehab, learn a system or just have a few players stashed incase of injury.

(02-26-2018 02:01 AM)HerdZoned Wrote:  

(02-25-2018 08:01 AM)etsubuc Wrote:  1. Eliminate the 1 and done rule. Allow kids to go straight from high school to the NBA if they want. Another option would be for them to be paid directly by the shoe companies out of high school to supplement their income in the G league if they can't make a NBA roster immediately out of high school.

By 2019 every NBA team will have their own G League team and no sharing of teams. The 1 and done needs to go and if the NBA doesn't want a kid straight from HS then let the team draft the player and send them to their G League team for a year or 2 with a guarantee call up in the future. It could eventually be a true minor league system where you could send players to rehab, learn a system or just have a few players stashed incase of injury.

This is what everyone wants except the blow hards on TV and in the media who want to whine about OMG college kids are poor and being exploited. Doing this is all that is needed and everything can be left alone.