If you played men’s college basketball for one, two or three years, left for the NBA or a professional career and SIGNED a contract and PLAYED in games as a paid contractual player — whether you were drafted or not — then you should not be allowed to return.
Full stop. Period.
Don’t care about lawyers or friendly, donor judges.
This should be the rule. In fact, it is the rule. NCAA president Charlie Baker made it perfectly clear that if you sign a contract, you are ineligible to play college basketball.
That’s THE difference between the players who appeared in the G League, European leagues or even NBA Summer League and were allowed to play this season. They didn’t play college basketball, none of them, and they didn’t sign official NBA/two-way/10-day contracts.
What don’t these judges or players who are trying to rewrite their own history get? You had your chance, you opted to leave the sport and be a pro, and now, only now after NIL and revenue share, you decide you want to come back.
Please. Just say that you aren’t making the type of money you thought you would as a pro. Just say that you failed to make the NBA and the only way you can continue to play basketball is if you come crawling back to college basketball.
What will your course of study be during your one semester or two semesters on campus? Please enlighten me.
Also, I fully agree with Illinois coach Brad Underwood when he told me that the roster you have at the beginning of the season should be the roster you have at the end.
This isn’t the NBA. You don’t get to trade players or pick up free agents. The midseason addition loophole should be closed.
The NCAA increased the roster size for men’s basketball to 15 spots to match what it had been for the women. Coaches have all spring and summer to retain, work the portal and gather their players for the season. Holding open a roster spot in case you have an injury just contributes to this discourse we’re having now.
The game has never been healthier on the court. The players are older, more experienced and probably happier now that they are compensated. Paying the athletes was the right decision. The games have been thrilling, offenses are clipping at an efficient level and there’s a good chance we get another must-see March Madness event.
Dealing with local judges to get random players eligible shouldn’t be a topic of discussion.
The games, the players’ stories, the excitement of Selection Sunday — those should be the dominant narratives.
And school presidents are too silent right now. They need to speak up and not leave it to coaches to voice their opinions on both sides of the issue. Presidents should have some pride in their institutions. This is on them to get control of the situation.
Now onto what should matter — the games.
- Michigan and Arizona versus the field? Sure feels like that after this week. The Wolverines beat back Nebraska at home and took care of rival Michigan State in East Lansing. The Wildcats took care of BYU in Provo and then beat rival Arizona State on the road. Duke, UConn and a few others in the Big 12 and maybe the Big Ten may have a say in this, but there seems to be two clear favorites heading into February.
- Time to amend a comment I made earlier in the season when Darryn Peterson was injured. I’m not drafting, but it’s hard to debate that Peterson should be No. 1 over AJ Dybantsa. Peterson continues to maximize every minute he’s on the floor and his only flaws right now seem to be his own body, with cramps being the latest issue.
- Cameron Boozer is starting to pull away from the field for National Player of the Year. Boozer is the reason Duke is the top team in the ACC and a likely No. 1 seed. He has answered every call for the Blue Devils, delivering points, rebounds and overall attention that make defending Duke extremely difficult.
- Here’s hoping Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley stay as long as possible at St. John’s and UConn. The two teams play Friday in the first of two games. This has become the Big East’s best rivalry. Villanova’s Kevin Willard may have a say in the top spot in the Big East in the coming years, but the intensity of St. John’s and UConn is difficult to match by any other Big East team.
- We will find out this week if Texas A&M is a contender or pretender for the SEC title. Bucky McMillan has done an outstanding job in year one with the Aggies. They start the week at 17-4 (7-1 SEC) with no bad losses and a 3-3 record in Quad 1games. The Aggies scored 92 points in successive SEC wins, including at Georgia. The Aggies play at Alabama Wednesday and then against Florida Saturday.
- Gonzaga beat Saint Mary’s Saturday night in the first of two final meetings in the WCC. Here’s hoping that at some point the two teams can continue the rivalry. This will likely be up to the Zags with their move to the new Pac-12.
- Johnny Dawkins will be overshadowed by Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd for Big 12 coach of the year but Dawkins should get some recognition if this current trend continues. UCF beat the SEC’s top team in Texas A&M on the road and in the Big 12 has wins over Kansas and Texas Tech.
- Don’t care who the coaches are, but you can count on these programs being contenders in whatever leagues they are/have been in: Belmont, Stephen F. Austin, East Tennessee State, Utah State, Utah Valley and Winthrop.
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