The 'Bradley Collegiate Rule'

If you ask a basketball fan whether they prefer college basketball or the NBA you'll probably get a very vocal response. Those who love college ball will enjoy the passion, the atmosphere, the rivalries, their school of choice and of course March Madness. Fans of the NBA will boast about the skill level, the athleticism, the pace of play and the superstars. I for one enjoy the college game mainly because my favorite school, North Carolina has sustained success while my local team, the Washington Wizards have struggled my entire life and my adopted favorite team from decades ago, the Detroit Pistons have had an uneven 25 years since the original Bad Boys era.

NCAA basketball hasn't changed much since I really started watching it in the early to mid 1990's. Sure there are more players who can shoot from further away, but the style of play is pretty much the same. What has changed is how long the student athletes are staying at their school. I'm speaking of the top talent. The NBA and the NCAA cannot figure out what is best for the best athletes and for both the schools and their future NBA teams. In the 90's you had the option to skip the NCAA all together and go straight to the NBA from high school and it had mixed results. For every Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James and Dwight Howard you had a Korleone Young, Leon Smith, Kwame Brown and James Lang. Seventeen year old kids had to forego up to 4 years of NCAA eligibility and roll the dice that they were one of the best 400 or so basketball players on the planet. That's a huge gamble. NBA teams, who will forever by mystified by 'potential' had to use one of their precious two draft picks on a completely unknown kid. All they had was game film against other players who would never see the NBA and very rarely even play D-I college ball and hype. When you missed (like the Wizards did with Kwame Brown) you missed big. Not only were fans robbed of seeing these players play on the college level and get better over time, but the players careers were over because you get one shot to succeed in the NBA. By the age of 20 these kids were done playing pro ball in the United States. Other kids their age were just finishing their Junior year of college potentially.

Starting in 2006 the NBA enacted the rule that to be eligible for the draft you had to be a full year removed from your High School class or 19 years of age. Initially this sounded okay. Fans would get to see the most hyped high school players play at least 25 college games to see if they were really good (i.e.Kevin Durant at the University of Texas). Then the issues arose. Would high school kids go to Europe for a year like Brandon Jennings did? That would still keep the NCAA locked out of top talent. No good for fans. What about the one and done's (as they would be come to known) and their education? All you had to do was be eligible for a semester and then knowing you weren't coming back could just relax in the spring (see Ben Simmons at LSU). Not good for the NCAA again. Recruiting would become horrible as you wouldn't know how long your players would stick around for. Then schools like the University of Kentucky and Duke realized they could just gather 3-5 of the best high school players every year and play a single season together. With everyone on the roster knowing they had one goal of playing in the NBA the next year they could showcase their talent on what is basically a six-month super senior high school All-Star team.

I despise this.

I am so glad North Carolina hasn't fallen prey to this cycle. I like to watch players get better over a 3-4 year period. See your defending champions with Seniors Isaiah Hicks, Kennedy Meeks and Juniors Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II. Both UK and Duke have won a National Championship since adopting their one and done rosters while UNC has been to 3 championship games, winning twice since 2006, with their style of recruiting. For fans like me I would hate to see a player for one season just to watch him leave for the NBA whether he was ready or not. No consistency, no flow and in five years the players are mostly forgotten. I'm looking at you Brandan Wright.

As for NBA teams they now get 25 more games of film to watch for the player but drafting college freshmen is still basically a crap shoot. Current mock drafts have 20+ freshman/international players being selected in just the first round of the NBA draft. Again that is a huge gamble on such a small sample size. How can a NBA team rationalize drafting oft-injured Duke freshman Harry Giles who averaged just 3.9 points and missed his senior year in High School due to a torn ACL? Compare that to how it used to be where it was rare for for college players to leave even after playing three years. Shaq played three years at LSU, Michael Jordan played three years at UNC, Tim Duncan played four years at Wake Forest and Steph Curry played three years at Davidson. Of course I have cherry picked names. There are plenty of juniors and seniors who have flopped in the NBA just as there have been plenty of freshman and sophomores to have great success at the next level.

Still I want to make it better for everyone. I want the NBA to receive players ready to play against the best talent in the world. This will allow coaches and GMs to have better success and teams to be able to build through the draft the way it was supposed to be. For the NCAA I want players to stay in school as long as possible. It will make the game better, help strengthen rivalries and force the kids to at least attend classes at a higher rate to stay eligible. Remember when Patrick Ewing went to three national championship games? Or when Christian Laettner went to four Final Fours or when Final Four MOP, Joel Berry came back for his senior season?

Here is my plan and how I came about it.

I was looking over drafts of years past and I noticed that Larry Bird was drafted sixth overall in 1978 by the Boston Celtics. Then it struck me...how was that possible?? Larry Bird played in the most famous college basketball game of all time in 1979 against Magic Johnson who was drafted first overall a few months later. Turns out Larry Bird was able to return to school and Boston had until draft night in 1979 to sign him or else he would go back into the draft. Apparently Bird had wanted to be the highest paid player on the Celtics or else he was going to go back into the draft where either the Lakers or Bulls would have been able to get Magic and Bird. Imagine that for a minute with Bird in LA and Magic in Chicago! The Celtics wound up making Bird the highest paid player in the NBA and I'd say that worked out for everyone including Chicago who continued to struggle until they backed into Michael Jordan five years later.

I don't like the fact that NBA teams could just draft a player whether they declared or not like how the Celtics did for Bird. What a huge risk for the NBA as the player has all the power once selected.

What I want to see is a hybrid of what Larry Bird got to do.

As the college basketball season ends, players can declare for the NBA up until mid-April. At the time they can not hire an agent, attend a NBA camp and then make a decision to stay in the draft or return to school. This decision needs to be made by the end of May so that the draft field is set for late June when the NBA draft is held.

Now for the twist.

Let the draft happen as normal, but as soon as it ends teams and players have 30 days to decide whether that player will stay in the NBA or go back to school for a final season. Either way the player signs their rookie contract with the same guaranteed money as it is now. This money would be held in a trust until the day that player finished in school to avoid any NCAA issues. If they returned to school as stated they can only play one season and will still be under contract to join their NBA team immediately following the conclusion of their college season. Imagine an NBA team getting a 'call-up' down the stretch in late March?

Not every player who gets drafted will be on team with an immediate need. Send them back to school. Maybe they are a long term project. Send them back to school. Maybe they are just full of  'potential' and could use another year of seasoning (or needed that money for the family). Send them back to school.

My case in point this year could be somebody like freshman center Tony Bradley from UNC. He has potential but he came off the bench for the Tar Heels. Let him get drafted but it would be wise of that team to send him back to school where he will be a focal point of the offense. Let him get stronger and develop a better offensive post game playing 30 minutes a game rather than coming off the bench for 4-6 minutes a game. This will also allow fans of that NBA team to track their future player the way MLB fans do with the minor leagues. Bridging the gap between those who watch the NBA and those who watch NCAA. The advantage to UNC would be getting back a pro-caliber player for another year. Roy Williams would now know exactly when Bradley was going to leave and would be able to recruit with that in mind. Tony Bradley would have a guaranteed payday and the ability to improve himself while missing most of his rookie year while playing far more than he would have anyways.

For the NCAA this would hopefully be the end to the 'one and done' super teams. With more players coming back for a sophomore season the talent pool would get spread around to smaller schools. In recent years the 'mid-major' schools have disappeared from the rankings and NCAA Tournament. It will be a trickle down effect. Top stars won't recycle annually forcing second tier players to get their playing time elsewhere in the hopes of catching the eye of pro scouts. More schools playing better basketball and better basketball players playing longer for their schools. Name recognition increases as do story lines, rivalries and quality of play.

Win-win-win. The NBA mitigates its risk of forcing players into their lineup before they're ready. NCAA schools get a better, more consistent product and elite athletes get that guaranteed money for when they leave school.

In 1979 it was known as the 'Bird Collegiate Rule' that ended the option of going back to school after being drafted. Now I will be more than happy to start the push for the 'Bradley Collegiate Rule' to try something new.

Redemption

'Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!' - Godfather III


I have not sat down and written a blog post in well over a year. It's been a combination of lack of ideas, time and mostly motivation. Now I sit here just over 24 hours away from another Final Four for my beloved North Carolina Tar Heel basketball team and after reading personal entries by Marcus Paige and Kennedy Meeks, I am now inspired.


I have poured my heart out onto paper about the best and worst times of being a Tar Heel fan. This was back in 2013 where I described the 10 best moments I personally have had and the 10 worst moments I have suffered through. Obviously the last shot of the 2016 season would now make the list and the last shot of the game on Sunday versus Kentucky would make that list.


I am now approaching 40 years of age, have a wife and a four year old son. I always assumed my passion for the men's basketball team in Chapel Hill would dwindle as I got older. After all, I didn't attend UNC and I have only seen a handful of games live in my lifetime.


It has not.


Every year I fall head over (pun intended) heels for the new team of 18-22 year kids who adorn those classic baby blue and white Nike jerseys. It is a slow build as I don't allow myself to live and die with every regular season game like in years past. When I was in high school I knew I had to face the mockery of my fellow students AND teachers after a Carolina loss. My sister had to field phone calls all night long on our house phone after a loss. A regular season loss! A loss to supposedly lowly Georgia Tech would have had me faking a cough and cold to get out of school. I had put way too much pressure on something I couldn't control.


This all changes when the calendar turns to March. The beast in me comes out. I resort back to my old ways of locking myself away from the public, turning the lights off and watching the tournament all alone. It is for the safety of everyone else. I'm just not safe to be around during those two hours. I'm an emotional wreck. During the second half of the Kentucky game I went through the seven stages of grief on multiple occasions. Picture below courtesy of Pinterest.

When Roy called timeout I was flying right through Depression and had hit Acceptance by the time the commercial break was over. After Kennedy Meeks failed to inbound the ball I landed on denial and then the corresponding three pointer sent me to Anger, Bargaining and Depression all at once. The last 14 seconds had me see all seven stages up until Luuuuuuuuuke saved their bacon.


I thought the National Championship of 2005 would have cured me of this. As the time ticked off on the longest 12 year drought in my life I let out a primal scream that I thought I could never replicate. Wrong again.


2006 was a rebuilding year, no expectations. It was the most fun I have had during a regular season. Tyler Hansbrough and the freshman class that would eventually cut the nets down three years later could not disappoint. Until March. Just when I was happy enough for UNC not to be terrible, they got really, really good. They faced George Mason in the 2nd round of the tournament. My wife of 7 months went to George Mason. She couldn't care less about the game, but when the Patriots shocked the Heels, she knew to avoid me for a day or two.


The next year UNC blew a late lead in the Elite 8 to my favorite team of my early youth, Georgetown, with a trip to the Final Four on the line. It was personal now, but it would get worse before it got better.


The 2008 Final Four was awful, just bloody awful. It was over before it started, but of course UNC made a run just to give me a second of hope before it was dashed away. That was to be the year. Everyone was going to leave and UNC was going to have to start all over. A funny thing happened though as everyone came back.


2009 from beginning to end was a coronation. Never once did I feel that UNC wasn't going to win the title. They made it look so easy. I didn't scream like I did in 2005, hell I barely broke a sweat. Then again maybe it was me drifting away from being a fanatic?? Nope.


I was able to make it through 2010 because I knew it was going to be a rebuilding year. Duke winning it all didn't help though.


2011 looked to be another rebuilding year until Kendall Marshall emerged. Then I was hooked. He has been far and away my favorite Tar Heel since the 2009 season. He had the ball on a string and made difficult play look effortless. He was also the first athlete that I followed to ever show a personality on Twitter. I grew closer to the team through social media with @Kbutter5 leading the way. The late surge by the Heels had me dreaming of another title, but once again another blue blood got in the way. This time it was Kentucky. How I hate Kentucky. I thought the band was going to break up after that defeat, but when they all came back I knew 2012 was going to be the year.


This was my favorite team. Ever. I was glued to every moment of the 2012 team. The game versus Kentucky was a National Championship preview. They were the two best teams of year no questions asked. Then along came Creighton. {insert string of curse words and hand gestures}. I'm still angry. I feel like us fans were robbed of our chance. I know the players were. One dirty play and all that hard work those kids had worked for was gone. In an instant. I was depressed for a long time. UNC valiantly won a game without Kendall and almost stole one against Kansas. 'Wrist watch 2012' sucked.


2013-2015 were blurs. Maybe it was becoming a father. Maybe it was the hangover to the 2012 team. I thought my passion had run out. My son was my life now. Things had changed. Sure I was there watching UNC fall just short to Iowa State and Wisconsin in the tournament. I still watched all the games. Heck I even watched an ACC Tournament game in a public setting...voluntarily.


Then along came the 2016 team. Whether it was Marcus Paige being as good off the court as he was on the court or Brice Johnson finally developing into the player we had hoped for this team clicked with me. They loved each other and you could tell. The fun they had playing as a team family poured though my television on a nightly basis. I was in the Dean Dome for Paige's return to the lineup vs. Maryland. It was electric. I went to the quarterfinal and semifinal games of the ACC Tournament as it was played in D.C.. This was going to be the team to get another banner raised.


Through five games of the NCAA Tournament, UNC was hardly challenged. I was supremely confident that Carolina would defeat Villanova. I know the players felt this too. Read what Marcus Paige wrote, they loved to play with and for each other. Roy knew he had a special group of kids. Carolina didn't play great, but just when all hope was lost, they rallied. Of course they did. Marcus Paige hit the shot heard round Tobacco Road and at that moment everything was okay. UNC was going to win. They had escaped. 4.7 seconds later the season ended in the worst possible way. To be so close yet be so far away is maddening. I wasn't even 3 years old the last time UNC lost a championship game. This was new to me. I didn't know how to react. I'll never re-watch the game much less Paige's amazing shot. I know what happens next.


I knew the 2017 team was going to still be good. I didn't know how I'd feel as a fan. It is an odd feeling. I coasted through the regular season knowing that nothing meant anything to me save for six games in March and early April. Beating Duke, losing the Duke and Kentucky meant nothing. I was numb. Give me the tournament. Carolina breezed through their first game. Arkansas should have knocked them out, but this team wouldn't quit. It was that comeback that woke me up from my year long coma. I now knew they could do it. They spit in the face of adversity and proved they weren't caught up in memories of a year ago. They dismantled Butler. The brought up Kentucky. Again. That primal scream from 2005 returned for me. That shot was for Kendall Marshall, Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson. It was for everyone that didn't get to cut down a net and hoist a trophy that wore Carolina Blue or cheered for them like they were a part of the team.


If UNC happens to win their next two games I feel like Marcus and Brice should be there. I feel like this is still their team. The players are obviously playing for them and for themselves. The Redemption Season is how it is being dubbed and I'm okay with that. This is just an extension of what almost was last year. Whatever happens I know I am invested. Of course I am. Just when I thought I was out, they have brought me back.