Mark Cuban: 'Horrible' state of college basketball hurting NBA

[Eleazar]

Mark Cuban says 'horrible' state of college basketball hurting NBA

DALLAS -- The "horrible" state of college basketball is hurting the NBA, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said.

Cuban said he doesn't enjoy watching the college game, but his bigger concern is that the physical, slow-down style that has become common in the NCAA results in prospects who are poorly prepared to jump to the NBA.

"If they want to keep kids in school and keep them from being pro players, they're doing it the exact right way by having the 35-second shot clock and having the game look and officiated the way it is," Cuban said Wednesday night. "Just because kids don't know how to play a full game of basketball.

"You've got three kids passing on the perimeter. With 10 seconds on the shot clock, they try to make something happen and two other kids stand around. They don't look for anything and then run back on defense, so there's no transition game because two out of five or three out of five or in some cases four out of five kids aren't involved in the play.

"It's uglier than ugly, and it's evidenced by the scoring going down. When the NBA went through that, we changed things."

Cuban, an Indiana alumnus often asked by disgruntled Hoosiers to buy out coach Tom Crean's contract, said he is actually a fan of Crean because he coaches a faster-paced, freer-flowing offense than the vast majority of his NCAA counterparts.

Cuban hopes that the NCAA's rules and officiating style change to allow faster offenses to succeed instead of rewarding teams that milk the clock and play boring basketball.

"It's horrible. It's ridiculous," Cuban said. "It's worse than high school. You've got 20 to 25 seconds of passing on the perimeter and then somebody goes and tries to make a play and do something stupid, and scoring's gone down.

"The referees couldn't manage a White Castle. Seriously, the college game is more physical than the NBA game, and the variation in how it's called from game to game [is a problem]. Hell, they don't even have standards on balls. They use different balls. One team's got one ball, the other team's got another ball. There are so many things that are ridiculous."


http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/...ll-hurting-nba

[007]

I'm getting to where I can't stand watching the college game and its because of the NBA.

[Kidd Lex]

Originally Posted by blaise

Non NCAA tournament college basketball is almost unwatchable, in my opinion.

Agree, the nba has become a great product and better even to this die hard Kansas fan who doesn't have an nba team

[kcxiv]

im not a fan of college BB myself. Ill watch the tail end of the tournament though. I totally agree, the passing the ball to 2 guys behind the 3 point line until the clock winds down is ****ing boring.

[ChiliConCarnage]

Watching the Spurs pass the ball around in last years finals was beautiful

I think the 3pt line is an obvious one. It does so many beneficial things. Makes the 3 less efficient, the mid-range 2 less of a terrible shot, opens up the court a bit.

I'm not sure the shot clock is really a problem but more a victim of that fact teams can't find good looks to take on a lot of possessions.

I think they call the moving screen in a truly bizarre way. To me, it should be similar to charging. Were you holding your position or moving into the other players path? Yet a guy will set a legal screen, the defender will jump right side to take away the three, the defender will go to roll left (without obstructing the defensive player) towards the basket and they call it.

[chiefzilla1501]

Anyone who doesn't enjoy the modern NBA is stuck in the wrong decade. NBA has been excellent the past few years. Better defense, far more ball movement, big guys who space the floor vs. in the past where they soaked up the paint. And the last few playoffs have been outstanding.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

College basketball is an absolutely horrific product.

And while Cuban is a bloviating douche, but he's right about this one. The NBA is a tremendous product and has gotten far, far better over the last 20 years, while college basketball has progressively declined in quality.

The college shot clock should be 24, the timeline should be eight seconds without a reset on a timeout, and the three point line should be moved back to 22 feet in the corners and 23'9" at the top of the key, same as the NBA.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Right or wrong, I like this man's style.

[Psyko Tek]

Originally Posted by Why Not?

Much more skilled, better shooters, pace of play indefinitely better, defense still sucks

this is for all Professional sports, most people want the 5 head throwing for 6 touchdowns, me I want a defensive game without the arena league shit
HERM WAS RIGHT
jebus I am so flamed now

[Deberg_1990]

The NBA has a very entertaining product.

But over half the league has a losing record. They dont have enough talent to field 30 teams, and thats even with the game becoming more international now.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

The NBA has a very entertaining product.

But over half the league has a losing record. They dont have enough talent to field 30 teams, and thats even with the game becoming more international now.

There is more talent in the NBA now than there has ever been. The number of losing teams isn't really all that relevant to an absence of talent but the fact that some teams are just much, much better at constructing their rosters than others.

[notorious]

The NBA is loaded with talent.

[Prison Bitch]

As someone who watches a metric ton of college hoops, I think a lot of these suggestions are absolutely terrible. Reducing a shot clock to 30 is fine, but 24? You'll see bad possessions constantly. Putting the 3-point line out further is an even worse idea because 3pt % isn't that high right now (35% ish?) and if it's moved back NOBODY will go out to guard it. It'll be even more packed than it is today.


A couple simple fixes:

(1) reduce TO from 5 to 2 per half. These egomaniac coaches don't need any more micro-managing and idle hands are the devil's playthings. You get 5 breaks anyway, talk to them then.
(2) No TO when the ball is in play. Get trapped? Find a way out.
(3) 1 review per half, like the NFL coaches' challenge.
(4) Eliminate the ability to foul under 10 seconds up 3. It's the most exciting play in the game and douchebags always foul with 5 seconds to kill any thrill. Foul under 10 and it's 2-shots and the ball.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

As someone who watches a metric ton of college hoops, I think a lot of these suggestions are absolutely terrible. Reducing a shot clock to 30 is fine, but 24? You'll see bad possessions constantly. Putting the 3-point line out further is an even worse idea because 3pt % isn't that high right now (35% ish?) and if it's moved back NOBODY will go out to guard it. It'll be even more packed than it is today.


A couple simple fixes:

(1) reduce TO from 5 to 2 per half. These egomaniac coaches don't need any more micro-managing and idle hands are the devil's playthings. You get 5 breaks anyway, talk to them then.
(2) No TO when the ball is in play. Get trapped? Find a way out.
(3) 1 review per half, like the NFL coaches' challenge.
(4) Eliminate the ability to foul under 10 seconds up 3. It's the most exciting play in the game and douchebags always foul with 5 seconds to kill any thrill. Foul under 10 and it's 2-shots and the ball.

Agree with everything except 4. That's a terrible idea.

Replace that with: call intentional fouls when teams foul intentionally late in the game. There is nothing is sports worse than the foulfests at the end of games.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

College basketball is an absolutely horrific product.

And while Cuban is a bloviating douche, but he's right about this one. The NBA is a tremendous product and has gotten far, far better over the last 20 years, while college basketball has progressively declined in quality.

The college shot clock should be 24, the timeline should be eight seconds without a reset on a timeout, and the three point line should be moved back to 22 feet in the corners and 23'9" at the top of the key, same as the NBA.

:24 is too short. There isn't the skill to operate an offense in the NCAA, particularly if a full court press is applied. You'll see more junk shots than you do now.

:30, yes. I really wish teams would get back to running some motion.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

:24 is too short. There isn't the skill to operate an offense in the NCAA, particularly if a full court press is applied. You'll see more junk shots than you do now.

On the one hand, you're probably right. On the other hand, it will lead to more teams pressing, and I think that's great for the sport. Pressing is exciting, and it's uniquely college basketball...like the option used to be in football. I would like to see more teams press, but the current rules discourage it.