The 19 year old rule is universally hated at this point - not because of the thought behind it, but because of the execution. To start, it wasn't an NCAA problem, it was that too many HS kids were jumping into the NBA too early, based on bad advice from agents and stuff. We don't have academies in America. A lot of NCAA coaches want a 2 year rule, but would rather let these 1 and done kids jump the the NBA. Personally, I would rather have the NBA adopt an NFL policy - 2 years removed from HS.
I appreciate the complexities of the issue, but I can't imagine that the NCAA was happy after the LeBron/Carmelo draft. With the buzz that those two created as highschoolers, I can't imagine what the March Madness audiences would've been like the following year. Also, I have a bit of a problem with the "high school removed" idea. What do you expect them to do for those 1-2 years? They can go to university, which in a lot of cases (with a good number of exceptions, too) is a bit of a charade - they have no intention of getting the degree, they're uninterested in academics and their motivation to go there is to play basketball (which speaks even worse of the universities than it does of the players). Or they can go to Europe (which I think will be the route increasingly taken by some very good players, but is not for everyone). Or they can spend 1-2 years exercising their many other life options other than basketball. IMO the high school draftees panic was a bit of an artificial controversy. If they'd given it a few years and seen the likes of Kwame Brown sink like a lead fish, many good players would've thought about it twice, despite what their agents said, and, more importantly, NBA teams would've started to pass on high school draftees and it honestly would've gone away on its own.
Yeah Im not sure what is so hard to understand here. The USA for the most part played one big and 4 wing players. The Celtics wouldnt just have Garnett(who is clearly better than Howard or Bosh to start with) but also Perkins, and maybe someone should ask the Lakers what Perkins does to the paint. Perkins and Garnett would completely eliminate the Gasols. Another problem was the US point guards not being quick enough to keep the Spanish guards in front of them, cue Rondo. Quicker that there guards and a great defender. And Spain cant guard anyone to start with, I couldnt see them taking a series, not very close either. What Im wondering is why is Kobe on the ESPN.com front page? Wade and LeBron were the two best players for me. Some other gripes: Carmello, what does he offer? Decent rebounding and a lot of bad shots, doesnt fit this team. Bosh and Howard, ok they didnt have help, I get that, but wouldnt it be much to ask them to play a little defense? And Howards FT shooting was a liability, Im all for bringing some other bigs next time. Kidd starting ahead of Paul? No thanks. Kidd being on the team and forcing Deron Williams to play the 2, again no thanks. Would have been better off, Redd having Kidd's minutes. In the end, ecstatic they won gold, really happy to see Wade back, my favorite player not from the Cs in the entire league.
I actually like the idea (of requiring some college or 19 years old), and while I disagree with the universally hated part, I agree with apoo about maybe extending it to 2 years. In this case, I actually like the NBA model more than the European one. See Jurgen Klinnsmann who believes that working on players minds is as important as their technique/skill. Most NBA prospects are too immature and not good enough to really make a big difference - and the lifestyle of most NBA players probably isn't the best environment for 16 year olds. Kevin Durant said he loved college and glad he went, and Kobe Bryant seems a little shy of a happy meal in the maturity department (although Lebron at this point seems fairly mature so it's probably silly to make to wide a generalization). I would guess that lots of athletes make very little use of college and their education, but many of them do - and if they wash out of the NBA I would guess they are ahead of the kids who wash out of European soccer.
Yeah - I didn't get the point guard choices. Coach K credited Ason Kidd for the Argentina win, but without having seen that game, I don't really get bringing him and D Williams and not giving more time to Redd. I don't get Carmelo either - not much defense and chucks up some bad 3s - give Redd some shots to open things up underneath - or bring a perimeter defender. I'm glad to see Wade back too since some folks around here were saying he was barely an All Star. Although I'm not sure I envy him at Miami. As a club before country guy when it comes to basketball, I'd like to see basketball and soccer go to all Under 23 players.
Congratulation to the US team. Great final. I expected them to run away with it in the 2nd half. But Spain (mostly Navarro) made them work for it.
With respect to Basketball, that is never going to happen. Neither the NBA nor the IOC want that. It makes no sense in terms of the eventual development of an international NBA to have the Olympic showcase limited to U23's. Jacques Rogge was interviewed and spoke how Baseball would have had a chance to stay as an Olympic sport had MLB allowed release of it's stars for the Olympics. It's all about star power. The NBA stars were a huge hit in China. Bringing all U23's is counterproductive to the growth in basketball's interest. It was fantastic to see Kobe, Lebron, Wade and others playing. Had they not played we would have lost yet another international basketball tournament. These foreign players are fantastic. Spain plays beautifully on offense.
Spain in this game made a lot of shots. They got tons of second chance points. Their reversal of the ball and interior passing was tremendous.
Yeah I really was impressed. With their style but also their fearlessness for lack of a better word. And they all are already complaining at an NBA level. Seriously though, does anyone not enjoy quick motion balanced offenses like that?
There's two things to bear in mind: one is that if you have no interest in school and you take hand-picked courses called "Theory of Basketball" taught by your coach's son, one or even two years in college does not put you ahead of any curve. The other is that in Europe university is very cheap, accessible and flexible. Players can afford to go if they wash out, they can go while they have playing careers, and they can go when they're done playing. Off the top of my head, Pirri partially completed med school while playing for Real Madrid (he became the team's doctor and chief of medical services after retiring), and Sanchis got his degree and IIRC most of his PhD in economics while still a player, and is now a lecturer. I realize these are exceptions, but IMO the NBA would be better served by having solid "real life management" programs for all players, big or small, than by effectively sending everyone to college to see if the spaghetti sticks to the wall.
the policy is really targeted at all the "advisors" and agents. They get to these kids in AAU when they are 14 and 15. If a kid knows he hast to wait at least two years to get to the NBA, then like a college football player he has no choice but to concentrate on schoolwork to stay eligible - and that affectively nullifies the advice of these crooks who tell kids that they don't have to care about it and all they have to care about is "jumping to the L". Much of the problem around the NBA is cultural.
Posted on ESPN.com by a user: (Slightly edited for grammar) I have to agree with most of this (especially in the second paragraph).
But seriously, I hate the new rule. Your right about culture, it has a big part to do with it. What high scholer wouldnt want to be a star,which comes with the money, cars, clothes, house, the night life, the women. And some players are ready for it, Lebron, Kobe, Garnett, Tmac etc. Take this year for example, Beasley and Rose both would of probably jumped if they had the chance, were they ready??? Yeah, would they succed, yeah? Basically, all they did was become the kings of their college, play ball, not go to class, and get treated like your god. And your objective is basically to win a title. If you do your a legend, if not dosent matter, either way your gonna be a top 3 pick in the NBA. I think if your ready, you should be allowed to go, not get stuck in college, which the classes you dont even attend.
Yeah I thought the behavior was atrocious. And them adding to their image of racial insensitivity is quite sad.
I think it needs to be like baseball, you go pro or you go to college and stay for a minimum of 3 years, I think that is the rule anyways, could be off though.
Damn. I did not know that. What a lack of class. Just like Arragones comment about Henry a few years back. And their racists chants in La Liga.
Bill Walton: "Spain could have easily won this game". If they could have won it easily, why didn't they? "The U.S. has a lot to be concerned about." I lost a little respect for this man.
Walton is aclown. So is his son. Anyways, they played great, kept it tight, and played beautiful basketball. But we were not gonna lose this tourney, no question in my mind.
Sure, the US has A LOT to be concerned about after going undefeated in the tournament, laying a blowout on every single team they face up to the final (which of course should be a bit harder to win). Walton always likes to dramatize everything, and try to sound all poetic and prophetic, what have you.
Probably right - but it's a shame. Guys like Messi can be as much a draw as Ronaldinho who was atrocious this tournament. Agreed on the first point but college isn't just about classes - it's about having a little more balance to your life and all the other fun stuff that goes on in college. As for Europe, I'm obviously just speculating - but using Americans as an example - guys like Karbassiyoon surely wouldn't trade his experiences for anything, but going back to college later is different than experiencing it with your peers. But all the English washouts come here and go to college on a scholarship and end up coaching our kids so they're probably fine. This is the first time you've heard him say something over the top? I'm an idiot too because I felt like our stars should have destroyed all comers so I was surprised it was as close as it was. The rest of the world has obviously gotten better, but where do you guys rate the Redeem team vs. the Dream team?
The Dream Team had better overall talent at every position (some of the greatest basketball players of all time) while the Redeem Team was tested against MUCH better opposition. I don't really care to compare the two to be honest...two totally different eras, both good in their own ways.
The U.S. clearly deserved to win this tournament, they had the best players and they approached it like a team. That said, someone needs to look at rule harmonization, because 75% of their fast break points (and there weren't that many yesterday) came after what FIBA rules say is traveling.
The best team doesn't always win or clearly doesn't always deserves to win. Nevertheless congratulations on USA for winning gold. I'm glad Bosh finally got the respect he deserves and I was happy to see Kobe win a gold; Shaq can suck on that.