why would you want to do that ? the Olympic tournament is the most important international basketball competition. and its great to watch. soccer probably shouldn't even be there.
Exactly, Kobe is a tool, but a talented one and he bailed out team USA in the fourth quarter. A great quarter by Kobe. The four point play was the turning point in the game.
17 is not an adult by legal standards in the USA and by how I would judge the maturity level of today's teens. They are ill equipped and more likely to fail at the NBA than succeed.
This might be true, but the same applies for most 19-year olds. The average 19-year old isn't that much more mature than the average 17-year old.
At least the jump to the pros from a year or two of college compared to high school is signifcantly smaller and two years is two years more of experience.
I like most people was 18 when entering college, legal adult. You shouldnt force people to go to college, when obviously they do not want to be there.
Well, they could play abroad for a year instead, couldn't they? Might make 'em grow up a lot more than they would whilst attending a year of college.
Belgium Guy is right they could go to Europe. Forcing to play in college, you make it sound like it's purgutory.
Brandon Jennings will be doing that this coming year. He's the first to play in Europe bypassing college and I expect there will be more, although I don't think it will be an epidemic. I don't know what team he is playing for but the team is in Rome.
Soccer's there because if it went away, the local organizing committee would lose money. I think soccer is the largest cash cow for most Olympics.
The problem with the one-year concept though is that not many teenagers will be able to contribute immediately in Euroleague play. Sure, the very best teenager might, but those aren't likely to make the jump to Europe.
No Im all for them playing somewhere, and it is not to make college ball sound bad for them, to me, they are bad for college ball. Even though they can come in and be elite players, more and more coaches are refusing to recruit one and dones for good reasons.
since the beginning of sports? for the same reason USA can't do anything in football (soccer). And the Netherlands in Rugby, and the Nigerians in Ice Hockey.
You guys didnt know, tournaments are easily predictable just take the team with the largest nation population, they win every time!
If you can tell me some of the history of how Asians have been treated in the United States in the 1900s I might let you off the hook. You must have missed my trolling earlier, but I don't think it's that fun to watch. And one of the star players of my club team is injured again. Conversely I actually enjoy the soccer because watching the kids play seems a little like watching college basketball - a little less bloated with millionnaires and a little less cynical. Which as Alberto pointed out is why I won't get my wish to do away with the over 23 exceptions. Yikes - I didn't see a population debate coming - can we please just ignore that comment?
I just want to say that I didn't get a chance to watch the gold medal game until tonight, and that was maybe the best basketball game I've seen in a decade. (of course, I'm a Knicks fan, but still). Just effing great. Refs were crap, but both teams BRUNG IT for 40 minutes. Kudos to that noise.
FIBA has the U.S. men's basketball team ranked #2 in the world behind Argentina http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/even/rank/p/openNodeIDs/943/selNodeID/943/rankMen.html The first time the U.S. has ever fallen to #2 comes AFTER they win the Olympics (the most prestigious international basketball tournament in the world) in dominating fashion. What's even worse is that the U.S. will be #2 in the world until at least the 2010 World Championships. There should be a rule that the U.S. is always ranked #1 regardless of what the 'calculations' say.
It's not racist. Just like wearing a chinese dress isn't racist or a white guy with 16lbs of gold chains around his neck isn't racist. People need to chill with this whole thing.
Agree. How is it easier for a 14 year old to become a tennis professional then a basketball player to go pro at 18? It's stupid. It doesn't make sense.
How are either of those comparable to what the Spanish players did: Mocking the Chinese by making slanty eyed gestures
This really isn't the forum for trying to get you to appreciate how something like that can be harmful. Maybe seek out some of your Asian friends and ask them what they think about it. Your analogies are terrible.