Not a good product

[superjohn]

We've all heard it for a while and I've never really bought into it too much that the college basketball product is watered down and nothing like what it used to be. Obviously in it's current construct with the best players leaving after a year for the NBA it can never be as good as it was in it's heydey but this year was the first year I really noticed what a bad product it is. From the teams down to the referees this is not good basketball. I watched much of the tournament and don't ever remember it being this bad across the board. The one and done isn't a new thing and we used to have the best players skipping college altogether so I'm not really sure what it is but it's noticeable how bad it's gotten.

 

[EBonz30]

This year was the worst NCAA tournament ever since I've been watching (1995) for so many reasons.

Neither Gonzaga or UNC is any good.

It is a shame Oregon lost Boucher, they were by far the best team in the nation.

Hopefully next year there is better product all around and the tournament is better.

 

[JSM1970]

College sports in general are turrible. Football is much worse than hoops. Other sports like soccer, baseball and hockey are brutally bad.

Watching that last night the only decent Zag player was Collins and he was taken out of the game by the refs. That big Euro kid was awful.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

This year was the worst NCAA tournament ever since I've been watching (1995) for so many reasons.

Neither Gonzaga or UNC is any good.

It is a shame Oregon lost Boucher, they were by far the best team in the nation.

Hopefully next year there is better product all around and the tournament is better.

Disagree on this.

There were at least 6 big men in last nights game who are all better than any single big we've had in the last 5 years. (Daniels isn't a big). Not that our recent big men are a very good measuring stick. But to say they aren't any good is a bit harsh.

Neither team showed it last night, but both of those teams were pretty darn good and have everything: size, speed, shooting, depth, senior leadership etc.

Both of those teams could play with the majority of the last 15 or so national champs.

I still think Gonzaga is the better team.

Agree with the OP though that the product is down. Other than these two teams, and a healthy Oregon (agree with you on that EB), and maybe Kansas, there weren't very many good teams this year.

Duke was way overrated all year. Never thought Zona was anything special. L'Ville as a 2 seed is a joke. This was a pretty weak KY team by their standards.

 

[nomar]

College sports in general are turrible. Football is much worse than hoops. Other sports like soccer, baseball and hockey are brutally bad.

Watching that last night the only decent Zag player was Collins and he was taken out of the game by the refs. That big Euro kid was awful.

Did Mommy not show you enough love as a child?

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

2 changes need to be made for next season-

1. Please address the goshdarn refereeing of fouls. It's hard to enjoy the national championship when a whistle is blown every minute and everyone is looking around for 30 seconds while the refs huddle up and go to the monitor to figure out what they even just called.

2. Four 10-minute quarters please.

The women's game on Friday night vs. Mississippi St. was a much better product than the men's national championship last night. Never thought I'd say that.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

2 changes need to be made for next season-

1. Please address the goshdarn refereeing of fouls. It's hard to enjoy the national championship when a whistle is blown every minute and everyone is looking around for 30 seconds while the refs huddle up and go to the monitor to figure out what they even just called.

2. Four 10-minute quarters please.

The women's game on Friday night vs. Mississippi St. was a much better product than the men's national championship last night. Never thought I'd say that.

Agreed. It's a joke that they haven't gone to quarters yet.

 

[HuskyFich]

I mean Karnewski going 1/9 from the floor was despicable. I swear to god brimah would have done better.

The most glaring difference was the amount of foul calls and the abomination of these "fouls" being called by the zebras. The new freedom of movement rule does allow for more scoring but who wants that when all of the extra scoring come from the free throw line!?

On top of that, the fact that CBB doesn't have a continuation rule on these fouls is absurd. I'd rather see these guys bruising down low and getting bloody lips and whatnot versus these ticky tack BS calls on post ups and screens that only kills momentum and takes the best players off the floor.

These kids aren't in the NBA, the game should be made a little easier for them... not like you're watching 7th grade Rec league refs control the flow.

 

[polycom]

2 changes need to be made for next season-

1. Please address the goshdarn refereeing of fouls. It's hard to enjoy the national championship when a whistle is blown every minute and everyone is looking around for 30 seconds while the refs huddle up and go to the monitor to figure out what they even just called.

2. Four 10-minute quarters please.

The women's game on Friday night vs. Mississippi St. was a much better product than the men's national championship last night. Never thought I'd say that.

It isn't the ref's fault as it is the players are not good enough for the rules they are trying to use. Freedom of movement is only a good rule if everyone is a good basketball player and understand how to play defense. College players are horrible defenders.

Imagine having a 25 second shot clock at the local YMCA...it would be horrible.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

It isn't the ref's fault as it is the players are not good enough for the rules they are trying to use. Freedom of movement is only a good rule if everyone is a good basketball player and understand how to play defense. College players are horrible defenders.

Imagine having a 25 second shot clock at the local YMCA...it would be horrible.

I can concede that it's on the players as much as anyone else.
But can we tone back the number of ticky tack touch fouls? The college game didn't use to be this bad. Surely the NCAA can adjust the rules somehow.

 

[polycom]

I can concede that it's on the players as much as anyone else.
But can we tone back the number of ticky tack touch fouls? The college game didn't use to be this bad. Surely the NCAA can adjust the rules somehow.

What do the changes to rules, officiating mean in basketball?

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

What do the changes to rules, officiating mean in basketball?

I'm aware of the changes that were implemented a couple years back.
A lot of the fouls were justified last night, but there were still plenty that we could do without.
Perhaps I prefer a more physical game with less interruptions. But I guess that's unrealistic now.

 

[Danzz]

Did Mommy not show you enough love as a child?

Can you blame her?

 

[Lefty2one]

It's been this way for a while IMO though it's gradually getting worse and I have no idea why. The talent level at the top is poor compared to the nostalgic glory days dancing around in my head. The 2010 Duke team was the first champion where I sat back and said to myself, "Really? That team just won a title?" I felt the same about 2013 Louisville and even our 2014 team. I feel the same about this UNC team. You aren't impressed by the quality of basketball or the individual talent.

There just aren't that many future NBA guys playing in the Final Four these days unless you get UK in there but even at that point they're all freshman, their team chemistry isn't great and it isn't the best basketball to watch. Richard Jefferson was on during the McD AA game talking about the 2001 FF where there were 12 future NBA players, many of them All-Stars or close to it. It was only a decade ago that a UCLA team featuring Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Darren Collison and Luc Richard Mbah A Moute wasn't good enough to win it all. Our 2004 team had six future first rounders. Florida's powerhouse team had Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Mo Speights.

We won in 2014 with one future pro in Bazz who's currently averaging nine minutes per game. 2010 Duke won it with Kyle Singler, who by some advanced statistics was the worst player in the NBA for a few seasons. 2013 Louisville had Gorgui Deng for future NBA guys, that's it. UNC will have Jackson, who should be a nice role player, but no other pros.

And that's just getting into the talent issues. You still have to deal with continuity problems, too many marginal players leaving early, officiating, transfers, conference realignment killing the best league in the country and a ton of good rivalries across the nation. I used to be a die hard college fan, I'd watch several non-UConn games every week. I'd watch all the big games in the Big East, ACC and Big Ten. The last 2-3 years I watch hardly any non-UConn games. I'll watch a few UK or Duke games to get a look at future pros but that's about it. The product has lost it's luster. It's fixable, but the NCAA needs some help from the NBA in addition to getting their own issues sorted out.

 

[uconnphil2016]

2 changes need to be made for next season-

1. Please address the goshdarn refereeing of fouls. It's hard to enjoy the national championship when a whistle is blown every minute and everyone is looking around for 30 seconds while the refs huddle up and go to the monitor to figure out what they even just called.

2. Four 10-minute quarters please.

The women's game on Friday night vs. Mississippi St. was a much better product than the men's national championship last night. Never thought I'd say that.

Absolutely agree. Our AAC tourney game against Cincy was the worst basketball I've ever watched because of reffing. Championship game last night was basically unwatchable. I was watching old footage of early 90s big east and it just looks like an entirely different game--so physical, and the refs let it happen. it was like a brawl. Ticky tack fouls, no year to year cohesion on teams, and a reliance on isolation play have kind of messed up the game IMO

 

[MASSconn]

College sports in general are turrible. Football is much worse than hoops. Other sports like soccer, baseball and hockey are brutally bad.

Watching that last night the only decent Zag player was Collins and he was taken out of the game by the refs. That big Euro kid was awful.

You must not watch college football. This year was unbelievable...... makes no sense

 

[polycom]

College sports in general are turrible. Football is much worse than hoops. Other sports like soccer, baseball and hockey are brutally bad.

Watching that last night the only decent Zag player was Collins and he was taken out of the game by the refs. That big Euro kid was awful.

\

This is of course a #hottake. But, it goes back to my point. The NCAA does a good job with the CFB rules because they understand that their players are just not good enough....specifically defense pass interference.

The Differences between NCAA and NFL Rules | Gridiron West

 

[uconnphil2016]

\

This is of course a #hottake. But, it goes back to my point. The NCAA does a good job with the CFB rules because they understand that their players are just not good enough....specifically defense pass interference.

The Differences between NCAA and NFL Rules | Gridiron West

I mean, they also keep their players in college as a requirement. College basketball has to either require multiple years of enrollment or just let players bypass the college game altogether.

 

[Lefty2one]

I mean, they also keep their players in college as a requirement. College basketball has to either require multiple years of enrollment or just let players bypass the college game altogether.

The problem is that it's the NBA that controls the latter part of it, just like the NFL does. I'm sure the NCAA would do away with the one-and-done in a heartbeat if they had their way. I agree with you though, the NBA needs to make it so you can go to the NBA straight out of HS, if not then once you step foot on a college campus you are not eligible for the NBA draft until after your junior season.

 

[uconnphil2016]

The problem is that it's the NBA that controls the latter part of it, just like the NFL does. I'm sure the NCAA would do away with the one-and-done in a heartbeat if they had their way. I agree with you though, the NBA needs to make it so you can go to the NBA straight out of HS, if not then once you step foot on a college campus you are not eligible for the NBA draft until after your junior season.

Didn't know that--thanks. And exactly...you'd have a very limited number of NBA teams willing to waste a pick on a 17 or 18 year old kid, and thus very few players willing to take the risk of entering the draft. Then you'd end up with a good number of top tier NBA potential guys in college for three years, and the guys who really need and benefit from one-and-done type rules would still be able to head to the NBA and make good cash.

 

[freescooter]

The problem is that it's the NBA that controls the latter part of it, just like the NFL does. I'm sure the NCAA would do away with the one-and-done in a heartbeat if they had their way. I agree with you though, the NBA needs to make it so you can go to the NBA straight out of HS, if not then once you step foot on a college campus you are not eligible for the NBA draft until after your junior season.

The NCAA could end 1-done if they wanted to but they really don't. A rule that doesn't allow you to reuse a scholarship if a guy leaves would very quickly end Calipari's shenanigans for example. Don't sallow players who transfer to practice with the team during the sit out year or use team equipment and facilities and transfers will decline dramatically.

 

[ASweet3781]

Would we be complaining about the product if UConn was currently relevant in the landscape?

I agree that the product is bad right now, mostly due to conference realignment destroying regional rivalries, weakening my team, which in turn destroys my interest. Also with UConn weakened, who is gonna deny the blue bloods in the title game? We kept 2 titles each from going to Kentucky and Duke. Now you got teams like Gonzaga and Oregon left to choke on bone against a UNC team whose best player was limited with a bad ankle.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

the league has gone downhill ever since they broke up the old big east