How can one sport differ so much from the collegiate to the professional ranks?I have no issue with basketball itself. I used to play regularly before I found out I lack some of the key abilities to be even a satisfactory player.
But I do know a lot about the game—and this is why it pains me so much to see a league that used to be running neck and neck with the NFL produce such a shoddy product.
The sport itself is not flawed. There is nearly nothing to complain about at the college level. The kids give everything they have for their schools whenever they step on the floor—and that, and I suppose gambling, makes March Madness the second-most watched playoffs in America.
In college basketball, the arts of team defense, moving without the ball, playing hard for 40 minutes, and intense fan support are not lost at all. But in the pros, these things died long ago.
I simply don’t get it. No sport that I can think of changes so much from the amateur to the professional ranks.
If you were to switch from an NCAA game to an NBA contest, the separation would astound you. I’m sure some of you have experienced this—it's truly disappointing to see.
For starters, you can hear all the high-top squeaks in the pros, because a) there are fewer fans at most games; and b) they don't care about the game for at least 36 minutes.
Say you’re watching a Duke-Wake Forest game on ESPN and you switch over to a Cavs-Heat game on TNT. Everything calms down.
On ESPN, you’ve got Dickie V revving up the Cameron Crazies, who are standing and roaring for an entire game, even through TV timeouts.
In Cleveland, meanwhile, Marv Albert announces a LeBron James three-pointer for which fans remain seated and clap politely—opera-style.
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And then there's the energy on the court. Some NBA players, like Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum, are younger than a lot of NCAA upperclassmen. But as the NBA apparently banned enthusiasm from its contests, those players must wait until they get home and turn on the Xbox to truly exude passion for the game.
Don't get me wrong—I'm not saying every player in the league has had the passion for the game sucked out of him. But upon observation, most players don't appear to have their hearts and souls invested in their jobs.
The Tim Duncan's of the world are not the norm. The Stephon Marbury's are. It must be a surreal scene when a rookie celebrates like a kid when he makes a crunch-time play. I wonder if his teammates mock him for acting immature and haze him in practice.
Man, I didn't even think about practices—I'm sure those are filled with energy.
Worst of all is the defense at the pro level. In the NBA, I’m convinced having more than two men play defense per possession is outlawed. When there are eight to 10 men rotating into games, how can quality defense be so taboo? How could they be so tired from standing around and jumping occasionally?
There are some great players in the NBA, but the reason so many guys can put up 40 and 50 points a night is that they're allowed to take jumpers with no one within five feet or them, or are sometimes permitted to drive to the basket with no defender attempting to intervene.
There's no chance in hell Kobe Bryant could’ve dropped 81 on anyone who played competent defense.
To NBA fans: Say you want, but how can you defend a sport where hustle and defense are the exception, not the rule?
It’s not five-on-five in the NBA. Instead, five one-on-one games take place, with the onlookers disinterested and scattered around the perimeter. I feel bad for players who are actually defensive specialists, like Ben Wallace or Bruce Bowen. Of course they could’ve earned the title “specialist” for simply choosing to play defense.
In other sports, failure to man up and do all aspects of your job will get you ridiculed. Anytime Randy Moss fails to block on a sweep to the other side of the field, an announcer lambastes him for not giving his all for the team.
So why don’t NBA announcers go off when Ray Allen plays eight feet off the ball and lets his man fire a trey whenever he likes?
Because that's the new norm in the NBA: an entire league of prima donna wide receivers who won’t block.
The immortal Skip Bayless said recently that if given a choice, he would rather watch a regular-season NBA game than a March Madness clash.
If that doesn't say how sorry this league is, I don't know what does. Skip has said some ridiculous things over the years, but this was by far the worst.
I, and any other sports fan who enjoys action and energy, would rather watch a December college basketball game than a first-round NBA playoff game.
And I'd probably rather watch She's All That in its entirety than sit through an entire meaningless January pro game.
People can say that college basketball doesn't mean anything until March, but I'll take effort and determination over uninspiring arrogance any day of my life. It's no mystery why Team USA is no longer dominant. Other top teams around the world base their play on ball movement, precision, and defense. Now that they've caught up to America in terms of skill, sheer athleticism alone won't overcome lazy, selfish play .
Given the current state the American game, it would be very surprising to see a gold medal wrapped around any of our elite players' necks anytime soon.
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7 months ago
I agree with you that college basketball is more exciting, but there is nothing wrong with the pros. And yea I remember when Skip Bayless made that comment about watching an NBA game over a March Madness clash. But the NBA is not dying, there is just more fans of the college game for some reason.
7 months ago
Just tune into some Spurs games and you will see some good basketball. Other than that, your right, the league is moving to the Suns run-and-gun, no defense style of play.
7 months ago
The only NBA team that projects some entertainment into their game is the Warriors and they are playing a college type game! What does that say about the NBA?
7 months ago
Tune into any NBA game and you will see how much better the game is played at the pro level. The scoring is higher because of the 24 second shot clock, 12 minute quarters, and the fact the 3-point line is further back spreads the defense out more giving more opportunities for dribble penetration.
But in actuality, there is better defense in the pros.
The scoring is also higher cause the players are much more skilled and everyone has some offensive capabilities. I like college ball but I definitely prefer the pros.
7 months ago
All-in-all, nice write up. And I agree with your points undoubtedly. Looking at the two levels of sports from 30,000 feet, the difference in quite noticeable.
I can't speak to the second half of your article. However, I believe firmly I can explain the difference in excitement levels between College and Pro basketball attendees.
With one word none the less. Age.
And not only does the problem of aging show in the crowds of pro games, but also on the court. As the players mature and move along past the college years, so does their style of gameplay. As a recently graduated student, I can honestly say my energy levels haven't been "ramping upward" since the adoption of a 9-5 schedule.
Thanks for hearing me out.
Deve
7 months ago
As a fan of both, NBA and college BB, I realize and appreciate the differences of both games. (To each his own I guess)
Now Team USA, on that one, I disagree with you on. Watching all the games in Las Vegas this past summer, it was clear to me and others, Team USA will be the favorite in China.
Their Team D, lead by Kobe stifled all opponents. The offense lead by Kidd's passing was completely unstoppable. All players were unselfish, no one had to force shots. Coach K has the full confidence of the players.
Some of the competition in China will be better, but no one will beat Team USA, or as I affectionately call them Team America, F Yeah!
7 months ago
i think what you've said is absolutely right
that's why i enjoy watching the Warriors play
they play like college students
the crowd's absolutely crazy, and they have fun
they really put everything in
7 months ago
that is an insanely bad article. i do have some sympathy for those who prefer the helter-skelter style of college bball, and for those who prefer the drama involved in watching kids give their all. that is a fair dispute, a matter of taste. But your actual arguments here are just nuts.
First, look at how how much smaller the court looks in an NBA game. That is because the NBA has bigger and faster athletes, they take up a lot more space and cover space much faster. They defend a full 4 or 5 feet further out on the perimeter.
Second, and this is probably the biggest reason for the difference, the NBA court is full of shooters (shaq, ben wallace, and few others who can't hit free throws excepted). College often plays the zone and the zone gets beat when you can shoot over the top of it or penetrate to the middle of it. The NBA shooting range forces the zone to expand, the outside shots are sunk, and the middle opens up. It is very hard to play zone successfully in the NBA. Instead, the NBA is about pick and roll defence, the big showing on the gaurd to slow him down and cover for the picked off gaurd's defender, the other defenders sagging off the weak side and helping on the big's man while the big hauls butt to get back to him and the gaurd gets back on his man - and this is what the Celtics are great at, Ray Allen included.
Lastly, we are talking about a diffence between men and boys. sometimes college hoops reminds me of the 5yr old's soccer league where all the kids surround the ball, as they get older they understand spacing. College ball is played at a hectic but immature level (the games are shorter too, allowing this) - they are kids, they haven't learned that bball is not heavy-metal, not constant noise, but jazz, demanding the patience for changes of pace, room for each player to be heard at the appropriate time.
Man, did your article irritate me, do you watch the NBA?
Chicagogreen
from 2 months ago
agree. the NBA differs from college for reasons unrecognizable by casual fans. They can understand the shallow concepts, the features easily grasped such as crowd noise and the squeak of shoes and Shaq's inability to shoot free throws. Those are easy things to point out and easy to understand, but to take the time to truly understand the professional game vs. college requires extensive knowledge of each game and how they operate, not just how they look on TV.
7 months ago
I agree with you....The NBA has some amazing talent, but unfortunately the effort levels and defense simply aren't there.....Maybe, to some degree, the coaches are to blame......If someone like Coach K. of Duke were to coach an NBA team, I would imagine that he would demand the same type of defense and off the ball movement that he demands from his current college team.
7 months ago
College basketball is boring compared to the pros actually. I used to love college basketball because of the sheer number of teams with completely different talent levels and expectations. Mid major conferences, out-of-conference schedules---all the stuff that has nothing to do with basketball itself is what makes college basketball interesting.
For gameplay itself, the college game is pretty boring. First of all, the short three point line means that post players are automatically doubled teamed on their moves and defenses don't have to travel far to rotate. As a result, the best teams are those that are simply more athletic than their opponents, or teams that get hot from outside.
Most offenses in the college game simply get a screen/roll and if nothing opens up they pass the ball along the perimeter until a defender gets out of position. Very little happens, but because the ball has to get harmlessly passed around to three different guys on the perimeter before a good look takes place, fans misconstrue it for "teamwork."
Contrast this in the NBA, where if you start your offense with 18 seconds on the shot clock, take 4 seconds to try and drive around a screen, take 4 seconds to dribble back to half court, pass the ball to the opposite wing, have another guard hold the ball for 4 seconds, have him drive and pass to the corner, have that guy pass the ball back to the first guy...the shot clock is already expired.
In college, the ball ends up back with the first guy with 15 seconds to make a few passes or cuts to open up a play. Of course defenses look better in college...college offenses are so simple that it will always be hard for them to create points unless they have a team of sharpshooters or superior athletes.
And does anybody actually try and watch if NBA players actually do play defense? Name me a rookie in the NBA right now that currently plays good defense? The last rookie I know who was an exceptional defensive rookie was Brandon Roy and Roy had the benefit of being coached for four years.
Every other point I could have made was already said by Chicagogreen. This article just seems like another way to hate on the NBA which is such a cliche.
7 months ago
the warriors play college ball? that's an oxymoron. there's nothing that typifies the NBA more than the suns and warriors. every college game is slow and boring because there are maybe 5 gifted offensive players. in the NBA, you have about 3 per team who can score at will which is why the defense looks so bad. college games look like they have better defense because the offenses are so dreadful and boring. teams just pass around the 3-point line and wait until someone shoots. no one takes the ball into the lane . its so formulaic it's disgusting. there isn't a single team in college like the warriors and that's why they're so exciting to watch. the pros is more run and gun with certain teams, but teams like boston, detroit, and san antonio choose to slow it down and play incredible defense. everyone is entitled to his opinion so i won't knock you personally....but this is just my view.
7 months ago
also, the fans are more intense in college because 1. they are students and have more energy, and 2. there may only be about 12 home games per year...you have to make it worth it. for the nba you have 41 home games so you can more or less pick and choose which games you go to, which is why fans will more likely fill an arena when the suns or spurs come into town as opposed to the knicks. nba fans are older and don't want to stand and cheer the whole game
7 months ago
Hey! thanks for the advice!
great article and i completely agree with it!
kudos.
6 months ago
Raise the basket to 12 feet
then everyone will have to learn the skills of the game
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