By Kaleb Page

April 14, 2015

As this edition of the college basketball season comes to a close, it is time to reflect back on what we all saw.

I guess we should start off by giving a round of applause to the Duke Blue Devils for taking down a tough Wisconsin squad; a squad that just came off a thrilling win over the nearly untouchable Kentucky Wildcats. At the same time it is important to look at the collective product of college basketball.

To be honest it was a sore sight to watch this season. Between free throw shooting, offensive production and fluidity; this season was rough.

For awhile now Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been all over this subject and a proponent of changing a lot of aspects to rules involving college basketball. He even went as far to say the D-League should be an introductory step before the NBA (possibly eliminating the one and done rules).

Now would I go that route; not necessarily. I think the rule of just one year is bad for college basketball. It should be similar to how it once was with if you are good enough to go you go, but this time players should have an evaluation period so they don’t make the mistake of coming out of high school when they shouldn’t. This one and done culture is not good for the collegiate game.

It cheapens the product because not only is it just delaying the inevitable but it is possibly taking away spots from kids that have the talent to go to a Kentucky or Kansas; kids that need to be and want to be there for multiple years. It will only help the college game and NBA game by letting those talented guys in right away, and then allowing guys who want to build in college the chance to do so.

In Cuban’s interview on Bleacher Report, he went on to list his new list of changes to the game. His first order of business was bringing down the shot clock closer to what the NBA has.

“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.” -Mark Cuban

With the scoring of college basketball being the lowest its been since the pre-shot clock era (Grantland Sports), Cuban’s quotes above and below make a lot of sense. Cuban’s take on tempo with games and how offense is in college, is something I look at when watching college basketball (not as extreme as him though).

“It’s horrible. It’s ridiculous. It’s worse than high school. You’ve got 20 to 25 seconds of passing on the perimeter and then somebody goes and tries to make a play and do something stupid, and scoring’s gone down.” -Mark Cuban

Will the NCAA partner with the NBA to make these changes and bring basketball standards to a better level? Only time will tell.

Why should the NCAA feel rushed when they have a 35 second shot clock to work with.