NCAA Basketball

In addition to being a Kentucky fan, I am a huge college basketball fan. After watching a season and half of the tournament, there is no doubt that the NBA, which is an awful product to watch I think, has destroyed the quality of the NCAA game. Don't get me wrong. The NCAA tournament is still the best event out there. But there is no questioning the quality of the play is not what it once was.

This years All-American team (there are many versions - here is one example) would not beat more time than not the following single teams from just the 1990's:

1996 Kentucky Wildcats
1992 Duke Blue Devils, and
1990 UNLV Running Rebels.

The "leaving early for the NBA" movement was already in full force in the 1990's, but it was still the exception rather than the rule. Not so anymore. Duke has proven this year that if you can convince a good (Williams) and a great (Reddick) player to return for four years, you don't need much more to be in position to make a run on the title.

Teams like this will not exist again unless great players have a reason to play three, much less four seasons, in college.

I'm not suggesting that there should be a law. I am just lamenting that I have already witnessed the greatest college basketball teams that I will ever see.