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Is this a good reason to enjoy college basketball as opposed to the NBA?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Devin, Dec 19, 2010.

  1. Brian

    Brian Well-Known Member

    Yeah, I realize that my comparison has holes, but I do enjoy the tenor of college basketball. I can't really state it as well as I sense it. It's just a taste thing.
     
  2. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Whenever anyone starts talking about "street ball" it's because they don't think they can really get away with dishing N-bombs.
     
  3. SpeedTchr

    SpeedTchr Well-Known Member

    Not true, Starman. Maybe in this case, but not always. I prefer watching "street ball" to any league because the players seem to be doing it because they love doing it and it has a much freer atmosphere. Then again, I am not a huge hoops fan.
     
  4. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Well, there are teams that shoot poorly, commit a lot of turnovers, play lazy and porous defense, deliver lackadaisical and inconsistent effort, play selfishly and stupidly, at every level of basketball from kindergarten biddy basketball up through the NBA and the Olympics.

    The difference is, the lower the level the game, the players doing all that stuff are less and less talented.

    And oh yeah, with college basketball schedules now pushing toward 40 games if you advance very far in the NCAA tournament, the phenomenon of "mail-it-in-games" during the "dog days" of midwinter is hardly an NBA-only occurrence.
     
  5. old_tony

    old_tony Well-Known Member

    Others have pointed out reasons for things such as the extra personal foul and the lack of any real differences in the shot clocks.

    But here's a reason why they play man-to-man defense in the NBA: Zone defenses can only be used briefly as a change-up masure because the shooters in the NBA will start dropping three-pointers on your butt if you sit back in a zone. It's also a reason why zone defenses are now much less prevalent in college ball than they were in the '70s.
     
  6. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    I'll take a college band over the noise and b.s. that fills the dead time in the NBA.
     
  7. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    Unless it's a WWL cross-promo, Dick Vitale doesn't do the NBA!
     
  8. Turtle Wexler

    Turtle Wexler Member

    I can't watch the NBA because they never call traveling. Those guys take like eight steps with the ball and it kills me. I know that may sound petty, but it's like the proverbial nails on the chalkboard for me.

    And I agree with DanOregon, to an extent. I hate the whole "game broke out in the middle of a marketing music video" atmosphere.
     
  9. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

    It's glaringly obvious. The regular season's too damn long, and doesn't do enough in terms of eliminating trash teams from the postseason. So you get a truckful of half-assed January/February efforts against teams mediocre or worse. Boooooore meeeeeeeeeeeeee.
     
  10. sportbook

    sportbook Member

    I enjoy the college pep bands, the gameday atmosphere, and the tournament (more because of the format than anything else). With that said, I'm not sure that the college basketball product has ever been worse. The quality of play just isn't very good and it is NOT all about players leaving early for the NBA. It's just bad basketball in many cases. Most teams play really hard, and the games are hotly contested, but many players can't shoot and just aren't very skilled. The shooting woes really come out when college teams play on NBA floors. The shooting percentages in NBA arenas during conference tournaments are usually atrocious. The college game is overcoached to a ridiculous degree.

    I loved college basketball before I started watching the NBA in-person on an almost nightly basis. I still enjoy the occasional good college game. However, the level of play in the NBA compared to college is stunning. The difference is even more profound in person than on televison.

    I used to work under the assumption that NBA players didn't play hard every night. I don't anymore. Yes, there is the occasional stinker but I think it's remarkable that NBA players can play as hard as they do play more than 80 nights a year. The physical nature of the game is incredible.

    For some reason it's become cool to say, "Oh, I don't watch the NBA. I much prefer college basketball." I was one of those people who said that for years. I was wrong. That may have been the case in the 1990s, but no longer.

    I'd still probably rather watch Carolina-Duke than Clippers-Kings but I'd at least have to give it some thought because if I watch Clippers-Kings I get to watch Blake Griffin.
     
  11. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    Well ... of course. It's pro basketball versus college. The NFL is far, far better skill-wise than college football too.

    I can watch college or NBA. I appreciate them both on their own merits.
     
  12. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    The best "team" to play basketball was the 1969 Knicks. A 24 second clock, man-to-man defense and 6 personal fouls were in effect. I don't think I saw a member of the starting 5 dunk during a game all year.
     
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