Does Basketball Need A Strong G League

[Sawnee Cat]

A future trend may lead to more and more high school players skipping college and going straight to the G League. An elite player is doing it this year. If this happens one could see the G League becoming strong enough to have a television contract and once this happens, salaries will increase making it more attractive. It would become a true minor league system for the NBA with TV funding much of the expense.

Is this good for basketball? There may be pros and cons. Since the best of the best could skip college, the colleges would take a temporary hit but would adjust in time. The fans who care about individual players more than a college team would be able to follow them on TV. The answers to a lot of problems college basketball is facing may be solved with a strong G League Currently the G League sounds like a crappy place to play basketball but that could change over night with TV money and the best young players with NBA potential playing there instead of college.

 

[CATSrock]

We have SO many sports that we follow here in the US from kids leagues, high school, college and pro. It is already watered down and I simply see virtually zero opening for the G league to become much more than it already is. One of the big draws to college sports is the loyalty people have for the local/state school whether they are alums or simply residents of the city/state, this is huge and a big part of our culture. Can you imagine the BBN not following our Cats? Bama fans not following the Tide?

So, in my opinion, the G league is a direct assault on top level college basketball. Baseball and football are sports that typically take more time for the players to mature/develop into professional players. They hone their skills in baseball and develop/mature in football. Basketball is different...

The NCAA needs to put a group of coaches/administrators together and propose a plan to the NBA that makes sense to them and to the student/athletes. However, I'm afraid that ship may have already sailed with the salary increases at the G league...

A few ideas:
Allow athletes to earn money from camps, jersey sales, etc...
Pay ALL student athletes a stipend funded by revenue sports
Consider profit sharing across the NCAA to pay stipend
Allow families to take loans based upon potential future earnings.
Allow undrafted players to return to school
The above benefits require a 2-3 year commitment from the student athlete

 

[CB3UK]

Good. No one cares that it works that way in baseball and hockey. Let em go so we can get back to the business of fixing college basketball.

 

[docholiday51]

A future trend may lead to more and more high school players skipping college and going straight to the G League. An elite player is doing it this year. If this happens one could see the G League becoming strong enough to have a television contract and once this happens, salaries will increase making it more attractive. It would become a true minor league system for the NBA with TV funding much of the expense.

Is this good for basketball? There may be pros and cons. Since the best of the best could skip college, the colleges would take a temporary hit but would adjust in time. The fans who care about individual players more than a college team would be able to follow them on TV. The answers to a lot of problems college basketball is facing may be solved with a strong G League Currently the G League sounds like a crappy place to play basketball but that could change over night with TV money and the best young players with NBA potential playing there instead of college.

I don't think the G league can be made to matter,if kids don't go to college 95%(or more) of the fans won't give two hoots about them if they aren't in the NBA.Lets say that Marvin Bagley or Ayton hadn't gone to college but had spent this year in the G league,would we even know who they were? The same would go for Knox or SGA would we care about them.

If they aren't in the NBA or on a college team no one will care,if the rule changes and 12 to 15 make the jump from high school to the pros they will find out quickly that the world doesn't care who they are or what they are doing.Being on a top college team or a NCAAT championship contender has more value that these kids think it does.They will find out soon enough.

The same would happen to these high school all-star games,if the players weren't going to a college that fans follow who would watch them? the McDonalds game or the Hoop Summit who would care enough to find out when they were.Before they go messing with what is they better consider what might be.

 

[Smashcat]

If this happens one could see the G League becoming strong enough to have a television contract and once this happens, salaries will increase making it more attractive. It would become a true minor league system for the NBA with TV funding much of the expense.

The NBA is so watered down it's hard for me to imagine anybody wanting to watch even more watered down G league action.

 

[mebeblue2]

The NBA is so watered down it's hard for me to imagine anybody wanting to watch even more watered down G league action.

you took the words out of my mouth

 

[Sawnee Cat]

Good comments.

The only draw I can see for watching would be for those who enjoy mix tape videos because the best out of high school would go straight to the G League and show case their athletic ability. If TV money pours in and shoe companies jump on board the salaries may be attractive.

Plus it may clean up college basketball and cut down on the cheating. That is a BIG maybe of course.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

The NBA is so watered down it's hard for me to imagine anybody wanting to watch even more watered down G league action.

It's not really watered down at all. It's the same as always. You have 2-3 really dominant teams, a few good ones, and a bunch of mediocre to below average ones for the most part. The NBA has always been a bit of a joke in terms of parity. You see the same 8-10 teams win it all for like the past 40 years since 1980. (almost 40 years). Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Spurs, Heat, Warriors, Rockets, Pistons, etc. You have the Cavs miracle win a couple of years ago, Mavs semi-miracle win in 2011, but otherwise, same teams over and over.

 

[1war]

The NBA is so watered down it's hard for me to imagine anybody wanting to watch even more watered down G league action.

NBA ratings are soaring , college basketball ratings are sliding.
https://www.thewrap.com/nba-ratings-5-year-high-all-star-weekend/amp/

 

[docholiday51]

Good comments.

The only draw I can see for watching would be for those who enjoy mix tape videos because the best out of high school would go straight to the G League and show case their athletic ability. If TV money pours in and shoe companies jump on board the salaries may be attractive.

Plus it may clean up college basketball and cut down on the cheating. That is a BIG maybe of course.

I can see that happening,college coaching salaries might come down.I think it waters down basketball at all three levels (College,G league and NBA) adding another layer does nothing for the fans of the two current layers

 

[mebeblue2]

Good comments.

The only draw I can see for watching would be for those who enjoy mix tape videos because the best out of high school would go straight to the G League and show case their athletic ability. If TV money pours in and shoe companies jump on board the salaries may be attractive.

Plus it may clean up college basketball and cut down on the cheating. That is a BIG maybe of course.

the only reason most CBB fans watch mix tapes is because their school is recruiting that player
very very very few fans will ever care about the G-league so there will be no TV money, the shoe companies will pay the players they want their hooks in just like they do now with the G-league players

with billions of dollars at stake, there will always be cheating in college athletics
it is a fantasy pipe dream to think otherwise

the only thing the G-league will do is take away the best talent and CBB will be a worse product
if they really want to fix CBB then start with better officials
let's be honest, anytime you have 50+ fouls called in a game it makes the game almost unwatchable
the sad part is it happens all the time

 

[docholiday51]

When these kids don't have a mike stuck under their nose after a game or fans wanting autographs basketball won't be all that much fun all of a sudden

 

[BigBlueFanGA]

We have SO many sports that we follow here in the US from kids leagues, high school, college and pro. It is already watered down and I simply see virtually zero opening for the G league to become much more than it already is. One of the big draws to college sports is the loyalty people have for the local/state school whether they are alums or simply residents of the city/state, this is huge and a big part of our culture. Can you imagine the BBN not following our Cats? Bama fans not following the Tide?

So, in my opinion, the G league is a direct assault on top level college basketball. Baseball and football are sports that typically take more time for the players to mature/develop into professional players. They hone their skills in baseball and develop/mature in football. Basketball is different...

The NCAA needs to put a group of coaches/administrators together and propose a plan to the NBA that makes sense to them and to the student/athletes. However, I'm afraid that ship may have already sailed with the salary increases at the G league...

A few ideas:
Allow athletes to earn money from camps, jersey sales, etc...
Pay ALL student athletes a stipend funded by revenue sports
Consider profit sharing across the NCAA to pay stipend
Allow families to take loans based upon potential future earnings.
Allow undrafted players to return to school
The above benefits require a 2-3 year commitment from the student athlete

Earning a limited amount wouldn't bother me, but not large numbers. It would just create new reasons to cheat.
Unafforable - most schools operate in the red already.
You think the few profitable schools, like UK who uses those profits to fund projects at UK, should share that money? I don't.
That would just enable cheaters again.
Yes

 

[~Keyser Soze~]

We have SO many sports that we follow here in the US from kids leagues, high school, college and pro. It is already watered down and I simply see virtually zero opening for the G league to become much more than it already is. One of the big draws to college sports is the loyalty people have for the local/state school whether they are alums or simply residents of the city/state, this is huge and a big part of our culture. Can you imagine the BBN not following our Cats? Bama fans not following the Tide?

So, in my opinion, the G league is a direct assault on top level college basketball. Baseball and football are sports that typically take more time for the players to mature/develop into professional players. They hone their skills in baseball and develop/mature in football. Basketball is different...

The NCAA needs to put a group of coaches/administrators together and propose a plan to the NBA that makes sense to them and to the student/athletes. However, I'm afraid that ship may have already sailed with the salary increases at the G league...

A few ideas:
Allow athletes to earn money from camps, jersey sales, etc...
Pay ALL student athletes a stipend funded by revenue sports
Consider profit sharing across the NCAA to pay stipend
Allow families to take loans based upon potential future earnings.
Allow undrafted players to return to school
The above benefits require a 2-3 year commitment from the student athlete

They do get paid for working camps and they also get stipends.

 

[ukalum]

It's not really watered down at all. It's the same as always. You have 2-3 really dominant teams, a few good ones, and a bunch of mediocre to below average ones for the most part. The NBA has always been a bit of a joke in terms of parity. You see the same 8-10 teams win it all for like the past 40 years since 1980. (almost 40 years). Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Spurs, Heat, Warriors, Rockets, Pistons, etc. You have the Cavs miracle win a couple of years ago, Mavs semi-miracle win in 2011, but otherwise, same teams over and over.

There is as much parity in the NBA as there is in college.

Boston has one title in the past 30 years, and that title was 10 years ago.

The Bulls never won anything prior to Jordan, and have won nothing in the 20 years since.

Detroit has only two titles in the history of the franchise and they occurred 28 and 29 years ago. I might be wrong on this, but if Detroit has any more titles, they had to have occurred before 1960.

Prior to 2015, the Warriors had never won anything going back at least 40+ years.

The Spurs came over from the old ABA in 1977. They won nothing prior to Duncan in the late 1990's.

The Heat's only titles are one with Shaq and two with LeBron. Nothing prior.

You appear to be looking at recent results and assuming it has always been like this.

I just remembered that Detroit won a title recently with Larry Brown and Tayshaun Prince.

 

[~Keyser Soze~]

Good comments.

The only draw I can see for watching would be for those who enjoy mix tape videos because the best out of high school would go straight to the G League and show case their athletic ability. If TV money pours in and shoe companies jump on board the salaries may be attractive.

Plus it may clean up college basketball and cut down on the cheating. That is a BIG maybe of course.

The elite players wont go to the G League. The NCAA is still head and shoulders above the G League as an option. Marketing wise, guys like Trae Young, Marvin Bagley, Mo Bamba, DeAndre Ayton and others who made a name for themselves with the exposure they got playing 1 year of NCAA ball are worth more than every G League player combined.

 

[jrpross]

The nba is not baseball. A huge minor league system is unnecessary. I think what they have now is fine. If a guy isn’t good enough for the g-league as it is, the only chance he has of playing professionally is for the 上海雷霆

 

[docholiday51]

The more ways you introduce money into the equation of college basketball the more you invite cheating.Some players,some coaches and all shoe companies will figure a way to rig any system in their favor.Then you introduce the NCAA and their un-level playing field into the mix(where Duke and UNC can do what they want while other schools have to play by the rules and still others are targets of selective enforcement)

Should players get some money,yes probably so,but the minute that happens problems are created that can't be regulated.

 

[~Keyser Soze~]

The number of people who dont realize the players get paid a stipend is mind boggling. Wasnt that a huge story when it happened?

 

[jace2012]

Like so many people followed the G league,there was a 10 year veteran that made his NBA debut just before the playoffs and no one knew who the he'll he was including the Rockets.
There isn't anything wrong with the way things are and just wait and see as soon as they have kids going straight to G league everyone will be bitching about that. I do not want to watch ball played like it was in the 40s, i can get that at my sons middle school games (below the rim).

 

[Orange Soda King]

NBA ratings are soaring , college basketball ratings are sliding.
https://www.thewrap.com/nba-ratings-5-year-high-all-star-weekend/amp/

Yup.

 

[WitnessGreatness]

The NBA is so watered down it's hard for me to imagine anybody wanting to watch even more watered down G league action.

The NBA is the best it's ever been though so..

 

[TBCat]

A future trend may lead to more and more high school players skipping college and going straight to the G League. An elite player is doing it this year. If this happens one could see the G League becoming strong enough to have a television contract and once this happens, salaries will increase making it more attractive. It would become a true minor league system for the NBA with TV funding much of the expense.

Is this good for basketball? There may be pros and cons. Since the best of the best could skip college, the colleges would take a temporary hit but would adjust in time. The fans who care about individual players more than a college team would be able to follow them on TV. The answers to a lot of problems college basketball is facing may be solved with a strong G League Currently the G League sounds like a crappy place to play basketball but that could change over night with TV money and the best young players with NBA potential playing there instead of college.

The G League is a long way from TV contracts. For starters who exactly is going to care? You first have to have fan interest and there is no indication that professional league fans have ever had an interest in minor league teams. You can't just put G league games on TV in hopes that a fan following will develop. The fan following has to come first. Right now there is less of a fan following of G League games than there is for high school games.

Second college ball has natural ties to fans that won't go away just because there is a strong G league. In fact it will almost certainly continue to out draw G league games by a lot.

The G league is a last chance league and there is no more indication that it will surplant college ball than there is an indication that vocational schools will out draw college education. There is a place for the G league but it isn't a replacement and doesn't show any signs that it's moving in that direction. In order for that to happen G league games would have to get broadcast audiences that surpass college basketball audiences. You can't make that happen by simply increasing salaries. Yes that talent level will be better than college but it's actually better right now and still nobody cares about the Toledo Mudhens G League team. You can't just force that interest to occur.