How To Fix The NBA Draft and NCAA Basketball

With NCAA Basketball close to getting started and the NBA already under way, the murmurs regarding eligibility in the NBA have come up once again. Should high schoolers be able to go pro? Should a college player have to stay at least two years? Should NCAA players get paid? Well, the last one is a definite yes, but people can't seem to agree on what the best way to decide eligibility as we must protect the precious institutions involved in the NCAA and make it easier for NBA teams to evaluate talent, as yes, sadly those do seem to be the two biggest goals.

Luckily, I have a solution that should make everyone happy, and it is so simple that I'm shocked that I haven't seen it anywhere else.

First off, let's make everybody eligible. And I mean everybody. Any year in college, sure, you're good to go. You just graduated high school? Good to go. But really, there isn't any reason to stop there. If you're a super talented 15-year-old who wants to declare for the NBA draft, we let them. Why not? tennis players, golfers, and gymnasts are all allowed to compete with the best at any age, and there is no reason that we shouldn't allow basketball players the same opportunity.

Obviously, this is an extreme take, but it comes with a caveat that ensures that this will be what is best for the player and the organizations.

Before the draft, the player must declare their lowest draft value. Basically, a superstar high schooler who wants to come out to play pro ball will say that he must be a top-five pick in order for him to go to the league. If he gets drafted in within the first five picks, he goes pro. If not, he goes off to college. Once the sixth pick comes around, he is off the draft board, so there is not even the temptation of him dropping his value after the fact. It works the same way with college athletes, as they set their value, and if they don't get selected within that range, then they just go back to school another year to sharpen their skills. And in the reverse direction, couldn't have LeBron come out after his junior year, possibly even his sophomore year and become the number one pick in the draft. I'm not saying he would have, but he should have been given that opportunity.

The only loser in this situation is the NCAA as college coaches won't know who is going to be a part of their program until it is too late to replace them. Boo-hoo is about the most sympathy I can muster. They'll be fine, and honestly, the NCAA game will probably get better as more current college players will play extra years when they don't reach their perceived value in the draft.

I know my idea of letting 12-year-olds turn pro is slightly controversial, but I am willing to ditch that part in order to get my overall idea in there. Let players name their value. If the NBA doesn't agree, they go back to school. It would absolutely be a win for everyone, and that is why it will never happen.

I Was Wrong About Iowa Basketball

Going into this season, I thought that the Iowa Hawkeyes were going to be awful at basketball. Early on in the season, I felt vindicated as Iowa couldn't beat a good team to save their lives. They couldn't beat Seton Hall at home, and more embarrassingly, they only manged 41 points against Virginia, then followed that by giving up 100 points to Memphis. Their offense depended on everybody being hot from the outside, and their defense was nonexistent. They followed those two games by getting beat by Notre Dame before hitting rock bottom and losing to University of Nebraska...Omaha. Iowa wasn't going to struggle this year; they were going to be abysmal.

Then something weird happened. They beat the 25th ranked, Iowa State Cyclones. I didn't think they'd be good enough to win a game like that, but it was a rivalry game, and as the cliche goes, you can throw the record books out when those two teams get together. Then, something even more odd happened when Iowa totally handled Northern Iowa. Even if UNI wasn't strong this year, Iowa shouldn't have been able to dominate them like that.

And since then, outside of a beating they took from Purdue on the road, Iowa looks like a real basketball team, and that is something I did not see coming. In fact, they even avenged the beating that Purdue gave them by getting a win over the Boilermakers at home. I thought they were going to be the hottest garbage, but I really underestimated the talents of this team.

First, there was Peter Jok. It's not that I really underestimated Jok, because I've always been a huge fan, but I saw what he is doing this year as the absolute height of his potential; I didn't think he'd actually reach it. But the dude has been phenomenal and deserves national attention for his play so far this year. He's an incredible scorer, and he's really stepped up in his ability to contribute in other areas this season which is not easy to do while doing most of the heavy lifting on offense.

On production alone, I had Tyler Cook pegged fairly well, as nothing he has done has really surprised me, but how he is doing it is more impressive than I anticipated. He's just so damn...smooth. Everything he does in his actions are very fluid, and as he adds strength and some bulk, he's going to be very tough to deal with for any team facing the Hawkeyes.

The guy I missed the biggest on was Jordan Bohannon. Like, he's a Bohannon, so I knew he'd be able to shoot, but I did not think he'd be a competent facilitator as a true freshman. It's incredible how far he has exceeded my expectations in running the offense, as I thought Christian Williams would have to run point with Bohannon playing the off guard position to run around screens and shoot up threes. He's been way more than that, and this is an excellent sign for Iowa's future.

The guy that everybody underestimated was Cordell Pemsl. I didn't really expect him to get any minutes this year, but he's been great. He's basically what I dreamed that Ahmad Wagner would become this year. He's like a poor man's Corliss Williamson (who was one of my favorite college players ever). I don't think Pemsl has the highest ceiling, but if he could just do this for four years and maybe improve his free throw shooting, that's a really nice college player.

I also didn't expect much from Isaiah Moss who may have the most potential of any of the freshman (non Tyler Cook edition). He's athletic and can make threes fairly well, which is a really good starting point for a college player. When Jok leaves, Moss is going to get a chance to shine much brighter, and i think he'll do just that.

On top of that, you have Nicholas Baer being the ultimate hustle guy; Brady Ellingson is nailing threes like it's nobody's business; Ahmad Wagner still being a solid big that can take some minutes off the bench and do good things; Christian Williams puts in quality minutes while running the offense and playing strong defense; Dom Uhl....well, Uhl has kind of taken a step back, but he's still long and athletic; and Kriener and Dailey are a-okay young fellas.

I know I'm talking about this Iowa team as if they are real contenders, and they're not that yet. The Big Ten is down this year, but Iowa has gone from a team that I expected to win 4-5 games in conference play to a team that could be right around .500. Instead of them getting blown away consistently, they have shown they can compete, although they are inexperienced enough where the occasional blowout is going to still happen. Most importantly, this team is super fun, and they're only going to get better. I thought I was going to be excited about the future of Iowa basketball; I didn't know I'd be so excited about the present.

Sometimes it's good to be wrong.

(And of course after I wrote this, Iowa immediately got blown out by Northwestern, because I can somehow never be right about this team)

My Experience at the Advocare Invitational

As shoppers fought for the best Black Friday deals, I went on a different mission and that was to watch the best basketball team in the nation, the Iowa Hawkeyes (Note: opinion may be slightly biased) take on the most evil, putrid, awful pieces of shit on the planet, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Note: not an opinion, just a fact) in the second round of the Advocare Invitational. Growing up in Iowa, I never had a chance to go to one of these early season tournaments, so I decided to make the hour and a half trek to check it out, and it was totally worth it.

Now, before even arriving, I had done a lot to set myself up to be in a great mood. First off, I found out about the game and got my wife's approval, as long as her male family members could tag along. Not a problem by me, as I basically black out while watching Iowa sports, so they would provide no hindrance to my viewing pleasure, and I even earned bonus points with the old lady (also, it was nice to have people to talk to during timeouts so I didn't look like a total psychopath as I screamed at basketball players a decade younger than me).

On top of earning points with the old lady, I was also in the midst of a potent high caused by Iowa completing their undefeated regular season. With that, a basketball win wasn't the icing on the cake, it was more a cherry on top of a sundae, as I would prefer it, but it wouldn't ruin some perfectly good ice cream.

We arrived at the ESPN Wide World of Sports about 15 minutes before tipoff and used our General Admission seats to take sixth row at half court. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all. Although the game didn't have the outcome I would have preferred, Disney did do a good job of creating a fun experience for the fans.

The key to Disney's success during timeouts and halftime was giving people constant entertainment. Sure, the cheerleaders took a handful of breaks to have guys hold up girls in the air for a while. It is important to note that only Iowa had cheerleaders, because Notre Dame is full of garbage people.

They had fun games at the other timeouts, mostly with children competing against each other. Kids trying to put a basketball in a backpack and then make a layup with a second ball for the right to keep the backpack, free throw contests, shooting contests, puzzles, a race to put on oversized shorts and a Udonis Haslem jersey before making a layup, more free throw contests, and most importantly, a dance competition featuring Iowa's beloved mascot, Herky, who somehow transported from Nebraska to Orlando in just seconds. All they were missing were dogs catching frisbees or somebody trying to set a really stupid world record (my personal favorite was a guy trying to hit the most tee shots in a minute), and they would have had the greatest basketball entertainment of all time. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

And yes, the Hawkeyes lost to Notre Dame, a school that I'm pretty sure doesn't even have a football or wrestling program. They keep running into the same issue where they don't score for long stretches at a time, they make a great second half run, and then run out of steam before the end of the game. The starters played nearly the entire second half, and they just had no legs at the end, which led to Notre Dame finally finding open looks in the final few minutes. But I got to see the yearly Adam Woodbury game where he actually makes shots and gives all Iowa fans hope that he has found his offensive game (maybe this is the year?). Iowa lost, which sucked, but after the high of a 12-0 football season, no loss can really sting me (this never includes wrestling). So if you have a chance to go one of these early season tournaments, I would highly recommend them, just like all the great products sold by Advocare.

7 Guys I Love In The 2014 NBA Draft

So I am not going to go nearly as in-depth as I did with my NFL Draft coverage, and I will freely admit that my ability to scout basketball pales in comparison to my football analysis. Still, I watch enough college basketball to find guys that I really like. I will admit that my list skews horribly towards the Big Ten, but that's who I watch the most, so I have the most confidence in what I have seen from those players. Still, there are a couple guys outside the B1G as well as an international prospect, because I've got to represent for Hrvatska.

Zach LaVine - If there is a star to have after the first ten picks, this is the guy (although he is right on the border of being in the first 10 picks). Ridiculous athleticism and range for days. He's raw, and with that comes inconsistency, but the tools are there for him to be great. The chances he reaches his full potential may not be great, but they're not bad either. The only reason he isn't guaranteed to go in the Top-8 is that he was underutilized and misused at times at UCLA (their coach has a history of doing things like that, and I'm one of his defenders). Because of that, there is uncertainty with his game, but even if he is a terrible NBA player, he'll still be super fun to watch, and isn't that what's most important?

Roy Devyn Marble - Homer pick? Maybe, but I don't see how he can't be better than Tony Snell. He has range, he can handle the ball fairly well, and he was the only guy on the Hawkeyes who could create his own shot. He's a guy who you can probably get away with at three different positions who will keep you in things for 20 minutes a game. Considering I have only seen him projected at the middle to end of the second round, that is really good value.

Mitch McGary - He's an athletic guy with size. He has back problems, which is terrifying, but I'd take a chance on him. I don't think he's an All-Star, but I do think he could be a competent starting center who can run the floor which is something just about any team could use.

Adreian Payne - Payne is a guy who is going to get downgraded, because he is a senior, but once you get outside the first five picks, upside starts meaning a whole lot less. Payne will never be an All-Star, but getting big man who can play defense and shoot well from the outside is an incredibly valuable piece to have. And here's the best part: He already is that player. Sure, consistency is an issue for any rookie, but he is going to flash that immediately and just get more and more consistent with it as time goes on. I have a hard time seeing a team not being happy with Payne.

Dario Saric - I have never seen him play, but he is from Croatia. Since my surname comes from the same land, I cheer for all Croats with all my heart. If he falls to the Bulls, he could become the new Toni Kukoc and set the world on fire. It will be totally awesome.

Nik Stauskas - I understand that Stauskas is pretty awful on defense, but he's pretty ridiculous on offense. He can do damage on or off the ball which means he can fit in anywhere. He's got decent enough handles and knows how to set up teammates, but the shooting is where he is going to make his money. I understand his defense is bad, but he's so much better on offense that I do not see how people could value Gary Harris over him. On top of all of that, Stauskas went from an awful body to a bad body in one year, so he might still get in better shape and improve his quickness.

TJ Warren - His game is ugly, but it works. There is a lot of herky jerky motion, but he uses it to keep defenders off balance and he seems to always make it to where he wants on the floor. It's partially because he is comfortable in awkward spots, but the guy scores. It may not be pretty, but if you can score, they can find a spot for you in the league.