College Basketball: A New Trend?
April 06, 2007
By
Alex Young
For the first time in a long time, college basketball has actually improved itself. Yes, it's certainly hard to believe from a sport that’s always commended for it's exciting and unpredictable nature. But believe it or not, it's true.
Then how did this happen you may ask? Well, two reasons come to mind. First, the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement of 2005 that established that players must be at least 19 by draft night and they must wait at least one year until after their high school class graduates before being eligible for the NBA Draft did quite some good.
The effects were immediate. We all know the players - Kevin Durant, Greg Oden, Michael Conley Jr. With the rule came an increased pool of talent in the NCAA. Even if these remarkable young players only stay one season, which will probably be the case for all the above players, their one season in the NCAA has done wonders for the game. Increased paradoy and more and more talented teams with increased depth are just a couple of these effects.
But why you may be asking me, is all this relevant to a fantasy sports website? Well, it's simple. There will be no more Kwame Brown, Darko Milicic in the world of NBA Basketball. No more fantasy questions of whether to risk a draft pick on these raw rookies who only have potential. With the age rule, the all-potential, undeveloped players can be weeded out and exposed in college.
We saw an example of this with Syracuse's small forward Paul Harris this season. Harris, who thought about testing NBA Draft waters, was forced to go to college because of the rule. In his freshman season, Harris was far from dominant, yet far from poor. Still, both he and NBA teams now realize that there is still a lot more work for the young 19 year-old to do before he's ready for the next level.
So next time you criticize the NBA, you might want to quickly remember that in the long run, the age limit will develop both more talented and "ready" NCAA and NBA leagues.
Well this is all great and good, you're now probably saying to yourself. So what is reason number two? Well, I'd just like you all to look at the city of Gainesville, Florida. It has nothing to do with fantasy sports or even the NBA of that matter. It's simply an example of a good guy, a man who keeps his word.
Billy Donovan, head coach of the Flordia Gators Men's Basketball team, announced yesterday that he would remain in Gainesville despite being offered the coaching position at the University of Kentucky. Donovan is nothing but a man of honor and class. After winning his first championship, Donovan refused to renegotiate his contract, citing that he did not want to reap luxury because of just one season. So what happens after the second championship? Donovan again kept his word. He did not leave for the more luxuriate job. Instead, he proclaimed he has a new goal - to put Florida basketball on the pedestal of Kentucky basketball.
Donovan is a rare example of a coach keeping his word in today's world of college basketball. Every year, we see coaches, who after being entrusted by a mid-level college to bring dominance to the program, leave after only two or three years to move on to bigger and better things. We saw it yesterday with Bob Huggins leaving Kansas St. after only one season. Today, wtih Billy Gillispie leaving Texas A&M after just three.
Is it just me or would you love to see these coaches stay and build their programs up to the stature to the school that they are leaving their current one for? Boeheim did at Syracuse, Krzyzewski at Duke. So a message to Huggins, Gillispie, and all those other coaches who leave: Look at Billy Donovan as an example. Any program can be built into a powerhouse. It just takes time and effort. Hopefully for the game of basketball, Donovan's example will remain the minds of coaches for years to come.
Feature Articles 
2 things, though.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, here, but I think European players can come over and enter the draft despite not playing in college for a year.
But a great article, and I hope you're right. Some prognosticators even think Oden might stay at OSU, and that would be fantastic. There was an article I read in SI many years back that was fantastic, talking about what NCAA could've been if everyone had gone/stayed for 4 years.