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Now that NIL is in place and the top prospects can make more in college.

Maybe I'm naïve but I'd rather be the big man on campus, playing in a 10/10 atmosphere, etc. vs grinding in the semi-pro league.

What am I missing?

you don't have to deal with classes and you focus 100% of your time on bball getting coached and trained by NBA level coaches.

that said, the NIL made the decision more interesting, and I think that's what we all wanted...options for the players which I think they have plenty of now.

Ya I’d say the NIL really took the wind out of the sails for the G League option. That looked like it was going to be a massive game changer then the NCAA basically just undercut it.

From my point of view the college route is the obvious route to go at the moment. Money wise you probably can make more in college than the G League. Some of the connections these big time schools have with their boosters and stuff is pretty crazy. Also the amount of eye balls you get in college (talking big time school) is so much greater. You’ll get more people to watch you in one regular season game than all of the games in G League combined. The travel and training facilities are also better. Some of these schools training facilities are better than some pro teams now. Then if you’re lucky and go on a tournament run, you get crazy exposure. More people watch March Madness than the NBA Finals.

Honestly the biggest downfall is the “school” aspect of it all. But that part is such a sham. If you know you’re going to be OAD, you only have to go to school for half the season pretty much. They also front load your classes with the easiest ones and online classes.

With all that said I don’t blame the guys going to the G League. Nothing wrong with getting a start on the professional life part of it. And I’m all for as many domestic options as possible.

Much better situation than say just 5-6 years ago. But ya I think college at one of the power house schools seems like the best bet at the moment.

The question should be why even play at all. Just be like Shaeden Sharpe and sit out the entire year to still get drafted in the lotto.

Shock Defeat wrote:The question should be why even play at all. Just be like Shaeden Sharpe and sit out the entire year to still get drafted in the lotto.

Yeah, I think Sharpe being taken 30 spots above Jaden Hardy might play a factor in future decision making for top prospects

The more interesting thing will be seeing how Sharpe turns out. If he's a bust are teams going to keep reaching on guys who refuse to play?

The Moose wrote:

Shock Defeat wrote:The question should be why even play at all. Just be like Shaeden Sharpe and sit out the entire year to still get drafted in the lotto.

Yeah, I think Sharpe being taken 30 spots above Jaden Hardy might play a factor in future decision making for top prospects

There is another way to look at it. He was the #1 ranked recruit and went 7th overall. Paolo is going to make about 2x the amount of money Sharpe makes on their rookie contracts (50 mil vs 27 mil). Im sure the difference balloons even bigger once you factor in the endorsement deals as well. Paolo is a much bigger name at the moment because he played on a very popular team in college and has the #1 pick talking point behind him as well.

Ya you have the chance of being exposed, but lets be honest none of these guys think that is going to happen (can't be as good as they are and not have that kind of confidence at that age). But you are also taking yourself out of the running for the #1 pick and even the difference between the 1st pick and the 7th pick is almost twice the salary during the first 4 years.

Again I get the worst case scenario of playing and getting exposed, but I dont see too many guys who are viewed as top 5 guys in their recruiting classes choosing the sitting out route.

Big J wrote:The more interesting thing will be seeing how Sharpe turns out. If he's a bust are teams going to keep reaching on guys who refuse to play?

yes.

JJ Redick vs Lebron James. JJ Reddick was a huge college star, how did that turn out for him? Lebron had his high school games televised on ESPN while Redick was a freshman at Duke. College is dead for top pro prospects. College is for Redicks...

The NBA needs to get rid of declaring for the NBA. Make everyone over 18 able to be drafted, expand the draft to 3-4 rounds and give teams the rights for a set number of years.

SelfishPlayer wrote:JJ Redick vs Lebron James. JJ Reddick was a huge college star, how did that turn out for him? Lebron had his high school games televised on ESPN while Redick was a freshman at Duke. College is dead for top pro prospects. College is for Redicks...

What? I feel like it just made the case for college. If JJ went straight to the pros he would be viewed and forgotten like many guys who have a career 12ppg. The fact that JJ went to Duke and built up a huge name for himself is one of the reasons why his name is so recognizable and why he immediately had multiple jobs lined up for him after he retired.

Also using LeBron as the other comparison is dumb. We don’t see guys with LeBron hype come around often. Even Zion who was a YouTube sensation wasn’t getting his high school games on ESPN regularly.

Yes if you’re on the level of hype and prospect as LeBron, you can go any route you’d like and it won’t make a difference.

Duke4life831 wrote:

SelfishPlayer wrote:JJ Redick vs Lebron James. JJ Reddick was a huge college star, how did that turn out for him? Lebron had his high school games televised on ESPN while Redick was a freshman at Duke. College is dead for top pro prospects. College is for Redicks...

What? I feel like it just made the case for college. If JJ went straight to the pros he would be viewed and forgotten like many guys who have a career 12ppg. The fact that JJ went to Duke and built up a huge name for himself is one of the reasons why his name is so recognizable and why he immediately had multiple jobs lined up for him after he retired.

Also using LeBron as the other comparison is dumb. We don’t see guys with LeBron hype come around often. Even Zion who was a YouTube sensation wasn’t getting his high school games on ESPN regularly.

Yes if you’re on the level of hype and prospect as LeBron, you can go any route you’d like and it won’t make a difference.

Jimmer Fredette... College is finished.

SelfishPlayer wrote:

Duke4life831 wrote:

SelfishPlayer wrote:JJ Redick vs Lebron James. JJ Reddick was a huge college star, how did that turn out for him? Lebron had his high school games televised on ESPN while Redick was a freshman at Duke. College is dead for top pro prospects. College is for Redicks...

What? I feel like it just made the case for college. If JJ went straight to the pros he would be viewed and forgotten like many guys who have a career 12ppg. The fact that JJ went to Duke and built up a huge name for himself is one of the reasons why his name is so recognizable and why he immediately had multiple jobs lined up for him after he retired.

Also using LeBron as the other comparison is dumb. We don’t see guys with LeBron hype come around often. Even Zion who was a YouTube sensation wasn’t getting his high school games on ESPN regularly.

Yes if you’re on the level of hype and prospect as LeBron, you can go any route you’d like and it won’t make a difference.

Jimmer Fredette... College is finished.

ESPN literally just posted 2 Jimmer Fredette videos on their YouTube channel in the last day. I literally have no clue what argument youre trying to make here. I dont think anyone is saying if you become a college basketball star it is a guarantee you will be a NBA star. But bringing up JJ Redick and Jimmer as examples as going to college isnt a good option for players, I really have no clue what youre talking about. Both guys are great examples on why college is a great route for some players. That would be like saying college hype and fame hasnt helped Tim Tebow.

Duke4life831 wrote:

SelfishPlayer wrote:

Duke4life831 wrote:
What? I feel like it just made the case for college. If JJ went straight to the pros he would be viewed and forgotten like many guys who have a career 12ppg. The fact that JJ went to Duke and built up a huge name for himself is one of the reasons why his name is so recognizable and why he immediately had multiple jobs lined up for him after he retired.

Also using LeBron as the other comparison is dumb. We don’t see guys with LeBron hype come around often. Even Zion who was a YouTube sensation wasn’t getting his high school games on ESPN regularly.

Yes if you’re on the level of hype and prospect as LeBron, you can go any route you’d like and it won’t make a difference.

Jimmer Fredette... College is finished.

ESPN literally just posted 2 Jimmer Fredette videos on their YouTube channel in the last day. I literally have no clue what argument youre trying to make here. I dont think anyone is saying if you become a college basketball star it is a guarantee you will be a NBA star. But bringing up JJ Redick and Jimmer as examples as going to college isnt a good option for players, I really have no clue what youre talking about. Both guys are great examples on why college is a great route for some players. That would be like saying college hype and fame hasnt helped Tim Tebow.

https://theathletic.com/news/scoot-henderson-shoe-deal-puma/e1tGtDTN69g7/?

The early showings of G-League vs NCAA isn't great so far. I honestly believe Green/Kuminga would have gone as high had they gone to school. While a tier below those two as prospects Hardy also would have fared better had he gone to school I think.

God Squad wrote:The early showings of G-League vs NCAA isn't great so far. I honestly believe Green/Kuminga would have gone as high had they gone to school. While a tier below those two as prospects Hardy also would have fared better had he gone to school I think.

https://www.nba.com/blazers/trail-blazers-select-shaedon-sharpe-first-round-2022-nba-draft

College is finished...

I still don't know why the NBA is propping up the G League Ignite team.

I can't imagine it adds any real eyeballs to G League games, most of the guys who might have considered going to the NBL for the cash can just sign NIL deals in college now saving execs the trip to Australia which seemed to have been one of the reasons that the Ignite were set up . Seems like a pointless waste of money for the NBA really.

The Moose wrote:

Shock Defeat wrote:The question should be why even play at all. Just be like Shaeden Sharpe and sit out the entire year to still get drafted in the lotto.

Yeah, I think Sharpe being taken 30 spots above Jaden Hardy might play a factor in future decision making for top prospects

I’ve been saying this exact same thing.

Why play? If you’re a top 1/2 prospect coming out of high school with no injury concerns just sit it out and wait to be drafted lotto.

Of the last 16 MVP seasons, only 6 of them have been won by an NBA player that attended college. The 16 MVP seasons prior to that, only 1 player didn't attend college. College is finished...

SelfishPlayer wrote:

Duke4life831 wrote:

SelfishPlayer wrote:JJ Redick vs Lebron James. JJ Reddick was a huge college star, how did that turn out for him? Lebron had his high school games televised on ESPN while Redick was a freshman at Duke. College is dead for top pro prospects. College is for Redicks...

What? I feel like it just made the case for college. If JJ went straight to the pros he would be viewed and forgotten like many guys who have a career 12ppg. The fact that JJ went to Duke and built up a huge name for himself is one of the reasons why his name is so recognizable and why he immediately had multiple jobs lined up for him after he retired.

Also using LeBron as the other comparison is dumb. We don’t see guys with LeBron hype come around often. Even Zion who was a YouTube sensation wasn’t getting his high school games on ESPN regularly.

Yes if you’re on the level of hype and prospect as LeBron, you can go any route you’d like and it won’t make a difference.

Jimmer Fredette... College is finished.

lol. jimmer had like two offers out of high school. Siena and BYU. if he doesn't go to college he woulda been an accountant. instead, he made about $20mm playing professional basketball and has an NBA pension.

what point were you trying to make bringing up Jimmer?

that said, i do tend to agree g league is a better option in general for the top prospects. i just think playing in a pro style, with grown men, with professional training and being able to devote all your time and energy to the game is better for overall development. plus college can really expose guys - if you suck in the g league everybody excuses it because you're just 18 playing with grown men. if you suck in college, you just suck.

but as others have said, if i'm a top 2 or 3 prospect, i'd be tempted to go the dante exum/shaedon sharpe route and just sit out and guarantee myself a top 10 slot.