Mark Cuban hates the way college basketball is being played. Slow, boring, un-watchable are some of the words used to describe the current state of the game. Experts have debated the various reasons for why the college game is in it’s current state. Whether it be the one-and-done rule, officiating, or pace of play may all have a part to play in the blame game. The owner of the Dallas Mavericks, says that the effect of the college game is hurting the NBA product as a whole.
“If they want to keep kids in school and keep them from being pro players, they’re doing it the exact right way by having the 35-second shot clock and having the game look and officiated the way it is,” Cuban said Wednesday, per Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “Just because kids don’t know how to play a full game of basketball.”
The star of the hit TV show Shark Tank doesn’t hold back when it comes to hot button issues; yet he always seems to have a certain amount of facts to back up his claim. Brian Phillips of Grantland pointed out last month, college basketball scoring is down to its lowest rate since the pre-shot clock era. Teams nationwide have increasingly slowed down the game, grinding out possessions and taking advantage of the 35-second shot clock.
Others have come out with the same premises as Cuban over the last few months. Certain ideas have been suggested such as expanding the painted area and shortening the length of the three-point line. Cuban believes that it is like teaching a new language for these college kids.
“You’ve got three kids passing on the perimeter. With 10 seconds on the shot clock, they try to make something happen and two other kids stand around. They don’t look for anything and then run back on defense, so there’s no transition game because two out of five or three out of five or in some cases four out of five kids aren’t involved in the play.
“It’s uglier than ugly, and it’s evidenced by the scoring going down. When the NBA went through that, we changed things.”
What do you think about the state of college basketball?
KingJut (@KingJut92)
