BGleas

Isn't the entire point trying to get rid of the one and done rule so that players that have no desire or business being in college bypass it? Maybe the college game suffers, maybe it doesn't. I think seeing players like Oden, Durant, and so forth has definitely helped college basketball in terms of exposure and excitement, but are we trying to clean college basketball up, or not? You're proving my point on the agent thing. How is the NCAA supposed to police their players and coaches taking money and the process of essentially selling players to colleges when the NBA/NBAPA are so extremely lax on how they approve, vet and monitor THEIR agents? The NBA/NBAPA is getting away clean in all of this, when they're a huge, huge part of the problem.

I wasn't trying to change that fact, just stating that players have always been able to go right to the G/D-League after high school which most people aren't aware of. Not sure if it was this board or not, but I was one touting once the Gatorade deal was made that it was good to see the NBA finally start to try to turn the league into an actual viable option, and that real sponsorships and TV deal would could be what propels the league.

This is directly from the G-League website, and has always been the case... "Players must be 18 years old to be eligible for the NBA G League Draft, as opposed to the NBA’s age minimum of 19." http://gleague.nba.com/faq/

Who said that wouldn't be part of the solution? Players should be able to go right to the NBA. And, players currently can go straight to the G-League, problem is the money and exposure isn't there so nobody wants to. Why is the NCAA so corrupt (and it is, not saying it isn't), but the NBA isn't? Again, these are NBA sanctioned agents that are selling high school players to college coaches. NBA sanctioned agents! The one and done is an NBA rule, not an NCAA rule. Maybe the NBA should have a problem with their sanctioned agents brokering high school kids to the highest bidder? Yes, the NCAA is corrupt, but it's quite hypocritical for anyone in the NBA to be acting all high and mighty on the problems with AAU, high school and college basketball.

I’m not sure there are many coaches much worse. Since 2011, outside of K and Cal, nobody has recruited better than Arizona, and that includes Self at KU. So we either assume this was an isolated incident or he’s been doing this most of the time.

This goes way deeper than just the one and done rule. Everything we’re hearing about agents essentially selling players, those are NBA sanctioned agents. I also think Adam Silver is a very forward-thinking commissioner that while responsible for just the NBA, he actually cares about the overall health of the game. Also the louder blowhards like Van Grundy get and some the NBA players, the press will begin putting some focus on them. Basically, I think the NBA will come to the table at some point. The NBA needs to partner with the NCAA on regulation and putting policies in place to harshly punish agents found to break the rules.

Right, but the one and done rule is an NBA rule and the agents you speak of are sanctioned by the NBA. The NBA isn’t in danger from the FBI, but they are a huge cause of much of these problems.

Could be, but it would have to be a pretty weak “like” if he’s willing to push back the McDonald’s Game announcement. I’ve always maintained that the McDonalds Game announcement doesn’t mean it’s Vandy or KU, but if it is Vandy or KU the McDonalds Game is the only place that makes sense. So that he’s willing to potentially push that date is a big sign IMO.

Really good idea. If I was facing IU, I’d live with McRoberts beating me.

Especially with how Smith has been playing the last several games. You put Smith and Morgan together, and while we'll certainly struggle to guard Haas, who the heck is Haas going to guard? There's a good chance those two could get him in foul trouble.

This isn't directed at anyone on this board, just a general comment from years of discussing this topic on message boards, with friends, reading comment section on articles, etc., etc., but I'm continually stunned at the number of people that don't understand that the one and done rule is an NBA rule, not an NCAA rules. And, while the NCAA certainly is a joke and a cesspool, it's crazy how they take all the blame for these issues and the NBA always comes away unscathed. Those of you that know me from all the previous boards know I'm a huge NBA fan and used to work in the league, but so many of these issues could be fixed by the NBA as well. Obviously the one and done rule, but also these are NBA sanctioned agents that we're finding are paying college and high school players, funneling/selling players to certain schools, etc., etc. The NBA is very culpable in these problems, yet everyone lays these things at the feel of the NCAA. What if the NBA removed the one and done and then also put harsh, strict penalties in place for any agents that are contacting high school players in any way and interfering with/breaking NCAA rules regarding player contact. That doesn't fix everything, but it certainly helps a lot. The NBA needs to take ownership and be a part of these conversations/solutions.

Yup, relationships haven’t stopped Will Wade from signing a bunch of 5*’s at LSU. He was hired about the same time as Archie. This isn’t meant as a criticism of Archie, just a general statement on your point about relationships.

Hilarious that Sean Miller’s lead recruiter who is coach tonight is Lorenzo Romar. Romar who landed numerous 5*’s at Washington, got Markelle Fultz from DC to Washington, and hired Michael Porter’s dad to get Micheal Porter, Jr. I’m sure he’s never been involved in any dirty recruiting.

In the intro he said he’d rather be riding his bike up a mountain than “here, watching this”.

Anyone still want to argue that Bryce Drew, potentially landing 3 top 10-12 guys at Vanderbilt isn’t dirty?

Dick Vitale, while does a ton for charity/Jimmy V, is one of the biggest frauds in college basketball. He’s awful for the game. He’ll do his best to isolate this to Sean Miller tonight and act like this was a rogue incident, and he will go into how hard a job coaching is and how much guys like K, Cal, Roy and Boeheim love the kids. The guys knows all of this is going on, he’s a complete fraud.

Yes and no. Aspects of it are a sham, and I want those aspects cleaned up. But, this could also get to a point where we don’t even recongnize the sport. The Power 5’s could leave the NCAA entirely. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending the NCAA, but where this could lead to changes that are widespread and drastic. Some change is absolutely necessary, but just not sure how far it will go.

Agree. I want to see Cal, UNC, Kansas, Duke, Syracuse, etc. go down, and I want things cleaned up, but I also don’t won’t college basketball turned into something I don’t recognize anymore.

Its crazy to me that Duke expects us to believe Ayton and Bowen both got 100K from schools, but Coach K is clean because they did an internal sweep on Wendell Carter. So Marvin Bagley didn’t get paid to be last enrollee because he switched classes last minute? Jahlil Okafor didn’t get paid? Jabari Parker, Zion Williamson, Tyus Jones, Jayson Tatum, should I go on?

Not sure on the rules, are coaches not allowed to speak with agents to gauge NBA potential/standings of their players? But yes, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real meat in all of this will be what comes from the shoe companies.

Yeah, the real info will be with whatever comes from the shoe company investigation. Those are the guys really corrupting recruiting. Agents are more just worried about which players they can sign.

To be honest it was a little underwhelming, except the things with Smith, Stone and a couple others. While still against the rules for the players, it seemed more about the agency’s trying to bribe college players to sign with them, as opposed to real recruiting violations by schools and coaches, or players being swayed to certain schools.

The point about being late to the game is that he hadn't had a chance to see Archie coach up close. I doubt he was following Dayton too closely the last few years. So it wouldn't be out of the realm, especially in a recruitment that has been very measured and precise, that he wanted to follow Indiana and the staff closely this season. At least for me, that's what I mean by late to the game.

Agree. I wasn't trying to say otherwise. I also don't believe that every team has been completely equal since October and he's still in a full fact-finding/info gathering phase either. He has to know where he's leaning or have a good idea by this point. Doesn't mean it's done.

I'm not sure who you're lumping me in with? I've consistently been more on your side of the thought process in terms of this recruitment. But with that said, he's gathered almost all of the information. This isn't a Spring announcement like where Bryant was still taking his officials during the season. Langford had completed all of his officials to his three schools, he's also gone on unofficials to IU and Vandy, he's had Kansas and Vandy for in-homes and at games. I may have worded my post poorly. My point wasn't that he made the decision in October and has just been sitting on it. I've consistently said that the idea that he's known but held off because of backlash is ridiculous. My point was that I can't imagine why it would take this long with all the info/visits he has and has taken. He must be leaning to a certain school. What else is there to gather? My point was that the waiting is good for IU because Archie was late to the game, so I'm guessing he held off to give Archie/IU a real shot.