College Basketball Changing, Leaving Some Teams In Better Position To Succeed

They say change is good, but are the changes occurring in college basketball good?

Change can be a good thing, and it is a constant in college athletics where there is no better example than basketball where players are finding other options to further their NBA dreams outside a season of NCAA basketball. 

In another era, not too long ago, players graduating high school with dreams of professional basketball would take their talents to college as a proving ground in preparation for an NBA career. 

That's no longer the case with rule changes and the implementation of the NBA's G-League, where players can now go and spend their required one-year outside high school on improving their skills and avoiding the hassles of having to attend college classes. 

Schools like Duke and Kentucky, two of the "Blue Bloods" of college basketball has become home to a growing number of one-and-done athletes who use those universities as a pitstop between high school and the NBA. 

It's a formula that worked initially for Kentucky and head coach John Calipari with players like Anthony Davis, who led the Wildcats to the 2012 national championship in his one season in Lexington. 

Likewise, at Duke, head coach Mike Krzyzewski has had success with one-and-done players like Zion Williamson, though that Ble Devil squad fell short of the title. 

Of late fans in the bluegrass have become more vocal about this practice where the WIldcats have an almost entirely new team each season. 

It takes talent to win an NCAA Tournament title, but it also takes experience, and teams who must continually replace their entire rosters each season lack that element. 

Teams like Gonzaga have built themselves into title contenders using the old philosophy of talent and experience with players who, with few exceptions, sign with Mark Few's programs to stay in school for three to four years. 

Calipari and the Wildcats are bringing in the No.1 class in the country in 2020, which is needed considering every single player that logged minutes for the Cats last season has left early for the NBA Draft or transferred. 

The Cats will be loaded with talent and could well win the whole thing, but the odds are against them, and other teams around the conference and country are closing the gap with skill and experience over physical talent alone. 

This should lend hope to programs around the SEC like Alabama and Vanderbilt, who have strong histories in basketball but have struggled of late. 

The Crimson Tide will bring a strong recruiting class to Tuscaloosa in 2020 while Vanderbilt will return a large portion of players who logged significant minutes last season. 

There are no guarantees, but the SEC race in 2021 seems to be more wide open than most years as the league boasts five of the top ten recruiting classes in the country and other teams who should take steps forward next season. 

The question that should be asked is just how much longer colleges will continue using the one-and-done athletes before opting to make a move to a three-year rule where players signing with colleges must stay three seasons before moving to the draft. 

Having the G-League, available talents like Sports Illustrated All-American Player of the Year Jalen Green, who's opted to spend his one season outside high school where he will earn $500,000 on a single-season contract will help colleges reduce the numbers of one year players. 

Those players who intend on spending one year at any stop before moving on to the NBA Draft will have the option of taking the money rather than being bothered with having to spend a season pretending to be a college student. 

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