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.

Sports Bucket List

Now that I'm inching towards the halfway point of the average life expectancy (77.4 years as of 2008 per Wikipedia) for men I figured I'd better start piecing together my Sports Bucket List. Everyone will probably create some type of bucket list during their lifetime and I'm sure I'll do one as well that is not centered around sports, but for now this is what I want to do/see/visit/enjoy before I'm laid to rest. 

What a morbid topic Jason...let me tell you what got me thinking about this. I was watching the first UNC v Duke men's basketball game this year and tweeted to @midatlanticbias (another Jason) who happens to be a Duke fan that we should watch a season series of UNC/Duke with each other. Him walking into the palace that is the Dean Dome and me slithering into the cramped, overheated high school gym that is Cameron Indoor Stadium. Now I have already watched a game in each of the two locations. About a decade ago I went with a high school friend to watch a U. of Maryland vs Duke game near the height of their rivalry. I wore a red t-shirt with the words 'Kick Their Ass' written on it in the heart of the 'Cameron Crazies.' Outside of the ticket taker, not one student said a mean word to me. I didn't even get that many dirty looks. Duke won which probably kept me from getting into a shoving match post game, but the experience was fun. Just last month I finally got to see UNC play at home when they defeated Pitt. The place was loud and it was nice to be surrounded by a bunch of fans rooting for the same team unlike my previous three UNC games that I had seen in person: 1) at Princeton 2) in DC during the ACC tournament with a mixed bag of fans 3) at the ACC Championship game last season with a bunch of Miami fans in my section as the Hurricanes won the title.

Okay I'm getting off track...back to the bucket list.

The easiest way for me will be going from sport to sport (whether you like it or not, I will be including poker as a sport).

Baseball

1) Attend a Game 7 - any Game 7 (bonus points to it including the Oakland Athletics or Washington Nationals). I was fortunate enough to see a playoff game finally two seasons ago when Jayson Werth hit a walk-off HR in Game 4 against St. Louis for the Nationals. I don't remember what ever came of that Game 5 though.

2) See the All-Star festivities - Mainly I want to watch a HR derby. Yes I'm an old soul when it comes to baseball and I thoroughly enjoy a good old fashioned HR derby. I'd go to the All Star game too, but the derby does it for me more so.

3) 30 games in 30 (or 31) days - Maybe not like this one, but something similar without the plane flights. Me and three other people in a camper going coast to coast. It can be done with the right scheduling by MLB as long as the teams who share cities play on the same day and night so you can hit both in one day. I'll blog it if somebody's wants to pay for it :)

4) Throw live to a major league hitter - This one is about 4 years expired as my shoulder has gone to hell, but what I wouldn't have given to throw live to any MLBer during my prime. Sure they would've crushed me, but what fun I would've had.

5) Spend a week with my High School pals in Arizona for Spring Training - My core high school group of friends included two A's fans, a Cubs fan, a Brewers fan, a Yankees fan and a Tigers fan. 4-2 Arizona to Florida (plus I've been to spring training in Florida). 

6) Go to Opening Day - This seems like an easy one to accomplish, but I have never gotten around to doing it. Shame on me.

Football

1) Watch the Redskins play (and win) an NFC Championship Game at home - This has many factors that 20 years ago looked to be a distinct possibility, but now looks near impossible. The Redskins have hosted just two playoff games since moving out of DC. I could be sitting on this one for a while.

2) Go to a Super Bowl when the Redskins aren't playing - Jokes aside about how easy this one could be, I don't think I'd like to be in house while the Redskins are playing in a Super Bowl. I'd much rather be around my friends and family. Football is the one sport that I like watching in a social atmosphere. I cuss far too much when watching baseball, hockey and college basketball to be around people I care about.

3) See JMU make the jump to Division 1 and watch UNC play for a National Championship - JMU seems on the cusp of making the leap away from 1-AA (I'm not using the proper terminology for a reason). Then when they beat Virginia Tech it won't be as much as a shock. UNC had a great season in 1997 and have been up and down since (with some help from some boosters and tutors). My hope is they at least play in a BCS level game in the next few years and possibly have that one magical season within the next 10-15 years.

Basketball

1) Go to a Final Four - I possibly could stomach watching UNC live there, but I'd probably be escorted out of the building before the first television timeout. There was a distinct possibility that I was going to get to go to the Final Four in New Orleans in 2012 through a work connection via my sister if UNC had gone, but stupid ass Creighton had to go and injure Kendall Marshall and derail a probable UNC/UK rematch. Still, and forever, bitter.

2) Watch UNC/Duke in both arenas - Already discussed above.

3) Be on UNC's campus during a Final Four/Championship victory - I have been on campus for four UNC games in my life. I was there when UNC lost to Duke, I was there when UNC lost the 1998 Final Four to Utah and I was there when UNC lost to Florida in the 2000 Final Four. Thankfully UNC beat Pitt last month or I may have never gone back.

4) Watch JMU become the next GMU/VCU/Wichita St. - I went to James Madison University (shocking as that is with my affinity to UNC throughout this blog) from 1996-2000. After making the NCAA Tournament in 1994 which was the culmination of 5 straight CAA regular season titles, I had hopes that JMU might be really good while I was there. After all they had legendary head coach Lefty Driesell at the helm. He had spoken to the freshman during orientation in 1996 and then promptly stepped down after our freshman year to go to Georgia St.. JMU won 16 games my freshman year, 11 my sophomore year, 16 my junior year and then had a great senior year with 20 wins. They didn't make the NCAA throughout until breaking a lengthy drought with an appearance last season where they picked up a play-in (1st round) win before losing to Indiana. What I want to see is JMU become the darling of the nation for three weekends in March/April. They don't have to win it all, but to emulate what fellow CAA members GMU and VCU have done would be nice (as long as they don't step on UNC like GMU did).

5) Witness the Washington Bullets Wizards return to glory - The reason I'm a Detroit Pistons fan is because the Washington franchise was just too embarrassing when I was a youth. I like the direction they are finally heading in with youthful talent and hopefully they're getting good enough to woo a veteran superstar to get them over the hump. No I don't think LeBron is headed to D.C., but I just can't understand why people won't consider playing here now that Washington has a couple of pieces in place to win.

Hockey

1) Go to the Winter Classic in 2015 - There is only one item on my Christmas list this year and it's to go to the spectacle that is the Winter Classic. With the Washington Capitals trending downward, next year could be a major crossroads for the franchise. Which leads me into the only bucket list item that matters for this category...

2) Witness a Stanley Cup for the Capitals franchise - I've been to regular season games, 1st round playoff games, 2nd round playoff games and even an Eastern Conference Final game back in 1998. I've sat through four overtime horror shows and screamed in excitement after a Game 7 OT game winner (thank you Joel Ward). The highs have been high and the lows have been soul crushing. I know I will literally weep like a baby if the Capitals ever hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. 

3) Watch a Game 7 playoff game live when the Capitals win - I've never been to Game 7 in the playoffs and for good reason as a Capitals fan. It hasn't been pretty. One year I'll suck it up and go to try and break the trend, but the fan in me knows what will happen.

Poker

1) Play in the WSOP Main Event - $10,000 buy in with the longest odds of winning millions of dollars. I just want the chance.

2) Play in a $5,000 WPT Event - 1/2 the cost, much better odds of winning. 

Obviously I better start making some more $$ if I want either of those to come true.

Golf

1) Hit a hole-in-one - It's every golfers dream and I got within 10 feet once when I used to play a bit more. Simple dream, difficult to achieve.

2) Watch the Masters in person - It's not spring until I start seeing commercials for the Masters on CBS. The best looking course in the world with the best players competing, what more could one ask for?

Soccer

1) Watch the USA win the World Cup - I was fortunate to go to a World Cup match back in 1994 when Mexico and Norway played at RFK in D.C.. I love international soccer (really any international competition when the best are playing the best in any event) and just once the USA will make that magical run to shock the world.

Olypmics

1) Go to an Olympics: Summer or Winter or both - I love the Olympics for the same reason I love the World Cup. I'm a competition junkie. I took off of work during the 2nd week of the Winter Olympics once again to watch the Men's Hockey tournament in peace and quiet. It's what I do. The USA is due to host the Summer Olympics within the next 20 years and I'm in wherever they may be. Same goes for the Winter Olympics and especially the Men's Hockey....

2) Watch the USA men win Gold Medal in the Olympics - The one sporting event I wish I had been at live would easily have been the 'Miracle on Ice' in 1980. While the USA winning a gold medal won't reach the fervor that occurred in 1980, it'll still be fantastic.

Horse Racing

1) Go to the Kentucky Derby - I have already asked my wife to book a trip to Kentucky for my 40th birthday which just happens to be the next time that the Derby falls on my birthday. Perfect. I'll see you there in 2018. I'll be betting on the 5 horse and the 10 horse.

I'm sure I'm missing stuff like going to the Big House to watch a Michigan game or tailgating before an Auburn v Alabama game in college football. I want to go to Dodger Stadium and sit in the 5th upper level or just sit with Vin Scully for nine innings. I'd love to meet a ton of people including Dean Smith even with his heartbreaking mental state right now. I'm sure my list could go on and on because outside of my personal favorite teams, I just love sports.

I know I'd love to sit in with Bill Belichick or any other NFL head coach for a week and see what exactly goes into game planning for a week. Obviously coaching a single MLB game would be ridiculous.

So many things to do so little time and money to do them.

I have knocked some items off the list:

1) Visit Fenway/Wrigley Field

2) Go to the College World Series (although going and seeing UNC win would be perfection)

3) Play basketball on a NBA court (sure I was 12, but I got to shake Charles Barkley's hand)

4) Visit Notre Dame

5) See the Oakland A's play in Oakland (I've also seen them play at Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago (both White Sox and Cubs) and Pittsburgh).

I would enjoy any feedback and any of my reader's bucket list items. Maybe it'll jog my ever crumbling mind on things I have forgotten. 

 

Pocket Pair 6/29/12

With temperatures in the low 100's this week in the D.C. area, it looks like the perfect weekend to stay home and watch sports.  Unfortunately it is a slow weekend in sports, but fear not, sports fans, use my guide and you'll find enough to avoid outdoor chores.

10: NHL Free Agency Begins


This counts as sports right?  Sure it does.  By all accounts it is a shallow pool for free agents this season, but that makes the intrigue all the more.  Who will overpay for the likes of Zach Parise and Justin Schultz?  I understand this isn't sexy, but teams have holes to fill including my Washington Capitals.  Per my insiders (Japers Rink @japersrink and Neil Greenberg @ngreenberg) the two players to hope for in Washington are Shane Doan and Mikael Samuelsson who are both right wingers which is the biggest deficiency of talent on the roster.  For more visit Japers Rink and their thoughts on what the Capitals should do here.

9: NBA Free Agency Begins


For fans of a more popular sport, (unfortunate as that is to say) the NBA follows up its draft with Free Agency.  Deron Williams is the prized jewel of the free agent class along with aging superstars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The New Orleans Hornets revamped their roster through the draft last night, but the key to improving next season is hanging on to their lone star Eric Gordon.

8. New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers


This ship is sinking fast for the Dodgers.  Injuries have taken their toll as now Andre Either has been added to the list of casualties.  The Mets are trending upwards and even though R.A. Dickey has seen his streak of scoreless pitching come to an end, they are playing really well of late.  They also get the nod for the Sunday night national televised game and Dillon Gee will be matched up with Clayton Kershaw.  If I were Kershaw I'd be worried about pulling a muscle or straining a hamstring.


7. AT&T National 

If you are brave enough to sit through the scorching weather here in the area, head on over to Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD this weekend.  Tiger Woods and a slew of relative unknowns are playing on a course that was recently seen hosting last years U.S. Open.  According to the people at Congressional, the course will play much harder during this tournament than when Rory McIlroy carved it up last year.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals


Don't look now, but both of these teams are inching towards the Cincinnati Reds for 1st place in the N.L. Central.  The defending champion Cardinals are still hitting minus the services of Albert Pujols who left them for Anaheim and Lance Berkman who is injured.   The Pirates are being buoyed by A.J. Burnett who has won 8 consecutive starts for the first time in franchise history since Dock Ellis in 1974.  It looks as though the move from New York was indeed the perfect thing to reinvigorate his fledgling career.

5. Wimbledon

Usually the first week of a Grand Slam Tournament is rather mundane with the top seeds rolling through qualifiers and youngsters, but this year has already been a shocker.  Yesterday 5 time Wimbledon finalist Rafael Nadal was ousted in jaw dropping, dramatic fashion by 100th ranked unknown Lukas Rosol.  Less stunning, but still surprising was on the Ladies side of the draw where former #1 and current 7th ranked Caroline Wozniaki was dropped in the first round.  Add to the fact that Venus Williams again disappointed losing in the first round and you've got yourself an intriguing tournament for a change during week one.

4. Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees


Two first place teams that I equally don't like, but who are both playing really good baseball right now.  The Yankees have lost 2/5 of its starting rotation this week, but they are the Yankees and we all know they will find a way to survive.  More than likely they will just hit more home runs to make up for the lack of quality outings by their staff.  The White Sox also made noise by acquiring Kevin Youkilis from the Boston Red Sox.  Game one of this 4 game set went to the White Sox on a 9th inning 3 run blast by Dayan Viciedo.

3. Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves


The first place Nationals look to stay that way as the All-Star Break approaches.  They will throw out both of their aces (Strasburg and Gonzalez) this series in hopes to add a cushion to their 3.5 game lead in the division.  The Braves who have lost Brandon Beachy and his 2.00 ERA for this season and probably next year as well with the dreaded, yet all too common Tommy John surgery.  The Braves are good, but I have a feeling this could be a possible last stand of sort if they are to contend this season.

2. Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants


Guess which pitching staff is the hottest in the Majors right now?  They are located in the Bay area and their colors are green and gold...yes the Oakland Athletics.  Over their last 14 game the A's have given up more than 3 runs only three times.  That's nice and all, but its their cross bay rivals the Giants that have thrown 4 consecutive shutouts and vaulted the injured Dodgers into 1st place in the N.L. West.  The Reds are scuffling as of late, but still hold a slim lead in the N.L. Central.  Matt Cain looks to extend the scoreless streak for the Giants tonight.

1. Euro Cup 2012 Final


Spain vs. Italy.  Hopefully we get a game like yesterday when Italy scored early at shook Germany to the core.  All it takes is an early goal to have the coaches throw out the game plan and get their team scrambling.  Mario Balotelli showed all the good that he can bring to a team while leaving all the bad out  Spain hasn't given up a goal in a knockout game since 2006 so we know they will have a great defensive structure and it will be interesting to see how the Italians try and break through.  If Spain falls behind it should be fun, if they score first it could be a mind numbing 1-0 final score.

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I am headed to Texas to get away from the D.C. heat this upcoming week.  The wife and I are headed to visit her sister, but I am looking forward to eating some Texas brisket, some local Mexican food, eating some burgers and gaining 15 pounds.  I better walk around and see the sights or else I may not make it back in one piece.

I will probably not be updating the page too much unless I need a reason to stay out of the heat.  I will be posting pictures of my gluttonous conquests on my Twitter page so enjoy those.

Enjoy the week ahead including the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on the 4th of July.  I do love me some food.