When Duke and Arizona staged the championship game of the 2001 NCAA Tournament at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, only two seniors – one for each side – took the court to start the game: Shane Battier for the Blue Devils, Loren Woods for the Wildcats.
This was years before the NBA would institute its age limit rule, the so-called “one-and-done” rule, and yet senior players contributed only 29.8 percent of the points in that game and consumed 26.8 percent of the minutes.
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Regardless, there were no complaints that college basketball fans hadn’t time to “get to know the players.”
That is one of the chief criticisms leveled against the college game in 2018, even as the sport is producing one of its most vibrant, dynamic and competitive seasons. Teams are scoring an average of 74 points per game, up from 67.50 five seasons ago, before the “freedom of movement” movement began. They are shooting higher percentages from the field and the 3-point line. The brand of basketball is the most entertaining it has been since the early 1990s.
So why aren’t there more college players celebrated as stars? It is mostly blamed on the one-and-done concept, which leads to several players leaving for the NBA Draft following a single season. In fact, there are other reasons. Some are innocuous and inevitable. At least one distorts the perception of the game.
1. More games on television
Not until October 1993 did ESPN launch a second network. Now it has ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, the Longhorn Network, the SEC Network. CSTV began in 2002, later rebranded as CBS College Sports and now the CBS Sports Network. The Big Ten Network launched in 2007, and Fox later introduced FS1. NBCSN came along in 2012. Huh, almost forgot about the Pac-12 Network! Every one of these national networks has considerable inventory of Division I college basketball games.
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Showing more games on national television does mean more opportunities to see college hoops on TV, and presumably more opportunities for you to “get to know” the players involved.
It doesn’t really work that way, though, because viewers are spread among a wider variety of games.
2. Hyperlocality
More games on TV means you can watch more of the teams that concern you most.
The people in Memphis for decades have been able to watch nearly every Tigers game on television. That part’s not new. If you are a Michigan State fan, you likely will watch the Spartans whenever they play. But you also might keep track of Purdue and Ohio State in the race for the Big Ten title by watching the Boilers on BTN, or ESPN, or FS1 more eagerly than you’ll tune in to, say, North Carolina vs. Florida State.
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So you might remember Luke Maye’s big weekend and big shot for North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament South Regional last March, but you might not be paying attention to the fact he’s averaging 18.2 points and 10.8 rebounds and leading the defending NCAA champs in both categories. One reason: he’s not a coveted draft prospect.
3. Mock draft culture
There’s nothing wrong with college basketball serving as a “minor league” for the NBA. College is a minor league for American business, media, education and the entertainment industry. This should not be all that college basketball is, though.
Over the past decade, the increase in the profile of NBA mock drafts has altered the view of college basketball players among the general public. The notion that players are on some sort of sliding scale of value to professional teams based on how they perform during their seasons is overstated; it’s rarely as simple as “his stock is up” or “his stock is sliding.”
More to the point, though, is how elite college players are undervalued by basketball fans if they are not presumed to be elite NBA draft prospects. Villanova’s Jalen Brunson is averaging 19.3 points and 5.2 assists for a team that lost just once in its first 16 games. He is among the best college point guards of the past two decades, and he already owns an NCAA Championship ring. At least one major site’s mock draft doesn’t even include him among 60 players. That’s bizarre, and it’s equally bizarre that anyone following college basketball would care. But it does suppress the appreciation of Brunson as a player.
The mock draft obsession also is odd in this sense: It’s really more a parlor game than it is a focus on how these prospects will impact the NBA. Quick: name the last drafted player who quickly and dramatically transformed his pro team. Nah, that one’s too tough. How about the last who at least gradually made a team-changing impact? Derrick Rose? There’ve been excellent players chosen since, guys like Anthony Davis, Kristaps Porzingis and Karl Towns, but they’re still seeking their first playoff series wins.
Players who perform at a high level for an extended period are frequently mocked or dismissed as, in so many words, “not good enough.” When Doug McDermott was approaching the 3,000-point mark at Creighton in 2014 – eventually becoming the No. 5 scorer in NCAA Division I basketball history – that achievement was barely mentioned while his fitness as an NBA prospect was debated frequently.
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The oldest joke in the book is the one about a particular senior who has been on campus since the 50s. It hasn’t been funny since the 50s, but it still is retold dozens of times per season.
There are freshman players who are wonderful to watch and deserve the attention they receive: Trae Young at Oklahoma, Marvin Bagley at Duke, Deandre Ayton at Arizona. But one-and-dones are not the only players worth noticing. They’re not even the majority. Look at what Tra Holder has done at Arizona State, or Jevon Carter at West Virginia. People are wondering if Devonte’ Graham is having a down senior year at Kansas while he’s averaging 18.1 points and 7.5 assists.
There are veteran-laden teams such as Villanova, Purdue, Cincinnati, Wichita State, Xavier, Seton Hall and Gonzaga throughout the top 15. We’ve all had lots of time to view their players and to appreciate what they bring to the game.
College basketball offers a broader landscape than a couple decades back. And sports in general do, too. We all can know as much as we want about any team or player. If not enough people know who Trevon Bluiett is, it’s not a rule that’s to blame.
