The transition has always been somewhat difficult, for some more than others, but the players handle it better now than they ever have. Players today are more mature in the game, and have traveled more extensively and played more games than Jalen and I ever did in our eras. On the clock issue, I agree with Jalen. I think the game should be standardized on every level, with the only difference being the length of games. In pee-wee basketball, the goal should be lowered so that the players can learn to shoot without having to heave the ball.
The transition to college can be and often is difficult for every student, including athletes. There is an adjustment period, but these players figure it out. Allowing players to attend summer school before their freshman seasons is a great thing, and a tremendous help.
2.) When I was growing up, I had the pleasure of seeing most basketball players mature and develop at the collegiate level before moving on to the pros. As a fan, it’s hard for me to see that development happening in the pros, but is there any way for us to get back to student athletes staying through their junior or senior year?
The only way is for the NBA to change its eligibility rule for the NBA Draft, and that won’t happen anytime soon. There is just too much money in today’s game to expect players to stay longer than they have to. When I was in school, players stayed longer largely because there wasn’t the money available that there is now. But, it will never be the same unless the NBA institutes a rule like the NFL has, where players essentially have to stay in school for three years.
I have always found it funny that some find it “un-American” for the NBA to keep a basketball player out of the league for a whole year, when the NFL does not allow any players into its league for three full years, with no exceptions. I happen to believe that college is a good thing for every person that has the chance to go. Of course, some may not want to go for four years, but my advice to any young person would be to go to college.
3.) How can college players become better prepared for the NBA?
Any player is better prepared when he is older and more physically and emotionally mature. There are exceptions to that general rule, but I believe the NBA would be better off with a more finished product coming out of college, and that would take development costs out of the equation and strengthen college basketball.
It is not the NBA’s job to strengthen college basketball, but it would help the NBA product, in my judgment. The best preparation for the NBA is to be a complete player, and a mature and educated person. One can develop in those areas once in the NBA, but for long term success, it is better to be fully prepared upon arrival into the league.
4.) In a recent USA Today article by Eric Prisbell, he explains that college coaches feel that third-party individuals and agents are the biggest threat to college basketball and football. Would you agree and how can it be fixed?
Calling anyone outside the players and NCAA “third parties” shows a degree of arrogance on the part of the NCAA. It presumes that the only two legitimate parties to a relationship are the NCAA and the player. To me, this is very simple: all the NCAA should be concerned with is that every player is a full-time student and athlete, and the NCAA should administer championships. Most everything else can be left to the schools themselves. We are just talking about sports here. These schools do not need a governing body with such intense regulation in their conduct of other business, it certainly doesn’t need it with regard to sports. It is a colossal waste of time and money, and has resulted in a gigantic athletic complex that is impossible to justify.
Agents are not a threat, except within the context of the current rule structure. Coaches have agents, broadcasters have agents, and some university administrators have agents. The problem is that the NCAA rules of amateurism and “third party” relationships eliminate all ethical agents from the equation and give open field running to all unethical agents. Legitimate agency relationships are governed by binding contracts. If players were allowed to have agents, they would be bound by contracts. That would provide the agent and the player legal remedies if others were to intrude upon that contractual relationship.
The NCAA has created an underground economy with its rules, which seems to necessitate more and more rules. If players were allowed to enter into legitimate business contracts with agents, sponsors, advertisers and the like, the system would work very cleanly. It amazes me how these colleges and universities, not to mention the NCAA itself, can enter into complex global business transactions every single day, yet when anything involving player rights or compensation is brought up, everyone just throws up their hands and says, “It’s just too complicated! There is no way to figure it all out!” Of course, that’s silly. This can be figured out. The NCAA simply doesn’t want to, and wants to keep all of the money for itself.
5.) Help our readers understand what is flawed in your opinion about the AAU system/basketball development and recruiting and how it can be improved, and what are the positive aspects of the AAU system?
The summer basketball culture has many positive aspects, but the negatives are the exploitation of the players. Because the players are subject to NCAA rules even when in high school, especially rules that restrict contact with college coaches and the acceptance of “extra benefits,” players are subject to people taking advantage of them. The truth is, these players have tremendous monetary value when they are in high school, and NCAA rules have always restricted college coaches from having contact with them. I have always thought that was crazy. Our college coaches are terrific. Why would we limit their contact with young athletes? When contact is restricted, it allows others to gain even greater influence over the players and puts college coaches at a disadvantage. I have never understood that.
Instead of having a college coach able to call a player, he has to deal with people around that player, which empowers those “third parties” even more. That makes no sense, especially when the rest of the free world has unfettered access to the player. There is no reason why I should be able to call a player anytime I want when a college coach is restricted to only one phone call per week, and a certain amount of in-person contact. That simply allows others to gain influence at the expense of college coaches. If we really believe that college is the right place for a player, we shouldn’t restrict the coaches from talking to, getting to know, and being a positive influence on younger players. Those rules are changing now, but should be opened up even more.
6.) It would seem that quite a few high-profile basketball players transfer between high schools and that trend seems to be growing in college. Is this an issue that needs to be addressed and how so?
The “problem” is the ridiculous philosophy of the NCAA on “student-athletes” and the absurd regulatory structure on transfers. First, the NCAA says, ad nauseum, that an athlete is to be treated just like any other student, and that an athlete is a student that just happens to be an athlete. Of course, that is ridiculous. But, if the NCAA insists on such nonsense, no student other than an athlete is restricted in any way from leaving one school and attending another and accepting financial aid or any other benefit. There is no “year in residence” or year off of a chosen activity for any other student. There is also no such thing as “tampering.” How can you tamper with an unpaid, amateur student? Restricting transfers does not wash given the NCAA’s state philosophy on athletes, and every argument falls apart. If an athlete is really just an amateur student, he or she should be allowed to come and go as they please.
Competitive balance may require some reasonable restrictions, but the NCAA would have to acknowledge that these players are assets of the university, have significant monetary value, and are allowed to realize that value in order to restrict them. Right now, transfers in certain sports sit out a year, and other sports can be eligible right away. That shows how ridiculous the current transfer policies are. Plus, having NCAA restrictions and conference restrictions has provided a complicated structure that is just silly. Truthfully, there are far too many silly rules. The transfer rules are just a few of them.
7.) What are your predictions for the future of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament? For example, do you think the format will change, the number of eligible teams will differ, venues will change, or the entity that controls/manages it will change, etc.?
It will continue to get bigger, but not for a while. Television wanted more programming and will continue to get it. The NCAA can’t help it. The great thing is the NCAA Tournament is idiot proof, and has proven itself to be so. It is still one of the best sporting events in the world. Its tremendous success and appeal have, however, had a negative effect on the regular season and have devalued it.
8.) Why not rebrand conference basketball tournaments as the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament so that everyone really does get in?
Why would we have to do that? In my judgment, that is just another way to say ‘everybody gets a trophy.” Division I is simply too big. There should not be 350 teams, and the NCAA Tournament should not have so many average to middling teams in it. Instead of having all of these automatic qualifiers that cannot compete or win, it would be better to simply take the 64 best teams. That would allow in more quality mid-major teams that have a legitimate chance to win, but are left out because spots are now taken up by non-competitive automatic qualifiers.
The NCAA Tournament should be about competition and merit among the very best teams, not a Little League mentality of everybody gets three innings. This is, after all, the National Championship. I’m not crazy about the automatic bid. I would prefer taking the best 64 teams. That would provide us with the best majors, and the best mid-majors. Now, we don’t have that.
9.) It’s my perception that coaches like John Calipari receive more public scrutiny than others, and that scrutiny in part seems to be associated with the use of “one-and-done” players. Is the scrutiny fair?
I like and respect John Calipari very much. He is a great coach that has done a remarkable job, and has done something I thought was impossible. I didn’t think that anyone could take so many freshmen and mold them into such hardworking, unselfish teams, and to win at that rate. It has been one of the greatest achievements in college basketball history.
John has worked within the rules and has effectively dealt with the current landscape in a creative way. He does not moralize or hide the fact that his players have great value and are future pros. He has recruited some outstanding players and terrific young men. And, he has done a remarkable job coaching them to play together. Amazing. I believe the NCAA rule structure actually leads to a lot of this silly questioning of character and ethics. I promise you, John was not the only coach recruiting the players he ultimately got at Kentucky. There was a long line. He just won.
10.) Who is the greatest college basketball coach of all time, Pat Summit or John Wooden? If not one of those two who would you pick?
I don’t believe you can pick just one person as the greatest of all-time. While it is difficult to imagine anyone being better than Wooden or Summit, I think you can make a credible case for Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith, and Bob Knight. I think those are the Mount Rushmore of the college game.
11.) We can agree that Ron Burt is the most underrated Duke Blue Devil of all time, right?
I am a bit partial to Vince Crump and Richard Ford, but Ron is a good call. He was a great teammate on the title team in 1992. His mustache in 1992 was the envy of Billy Dee Williams.
12.) Who would you say had a better performance in the 1989 Columbia Pictures movie, ‘I Come In Peace’, you or Dolph Lundgren? In all seriousness, it would appear you may have initially set out to be an actor after basketball. Is that accurate and is the dream gone?
As talented an actor as Dolph is, it really isn’t close. My performance as the Good Alien in that film was worthy of an Oscar, and the Academy Award snub was politically motivated and a real low point for the Academy. I know that my death scene in the back of the car brought each of Brando, Olivier and Uta Hagen to tears.
I did some acting, mostly in commercials, and got into the Screen Actors Guild in 1989. My agent at the time sent me on an audition to see if I would like the process and I got the part as the Alien Cop. I thought about staying in the business, but I was accepted into law school and Coach K offered me a position on his coaching staff. I thought that was too good to turn down. What a lucky break that decision was for Tom Hanks.
13) For our readers that don’t follow you on Twitter, give us your favorite Bill Raftery (one of my all-time favorite commentators) story?
Bill Raftery is simply the best. I am so lucky to work with him and count him as such a close friend. Here’s one: When we were doing a game in South Bend, we stayed at the Marriott. Bill, Sean McDonough and I had a game two days after the Notre Dame game in Miwaukee, and we decided to drive to that game from South Bend. The trouble was, we had three rental cars. So, we decided to take two of them back to the airport and all pile into my car. When we were leaving to take the cars to the airport, Bill couldn’t find his car. He walked every aisle of the parking deck, up and down, pressing the button on his key fob trying to find his car. Then, McDonough asked him where he had dinner on Saturday night. Raftery put both hands to his head and shouted “Oh no, I left it at Parisi’s!” We went and got the car, returned it to the airport, and made our way to Milwaukee. The next night when we came on the air, McDonough said, “Good evening and welcome to the Bradley Center, I’m Sean McDonough along with Jay Bilas and the star of ‘Dude, Where’s My Car?’ – Bill Raftery.” We still laugh at that every time we are in South Bend together.
14.) Some of our readers may not be aware that you have a law degree. Are you currently a practicing attorney and what is/was your area of expertise?
I am Of Counsel with the firm of Moore and Van Allen in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was a commercial litigator for many years before devoting all of my time to basketball.
