As the excitement of the NBA All-Star weekend comes to an end and with a couple of weeks to go before the start of March Madness, what better time to bring up the age-old debate of which basketball association is the superior: the NBA or the NCAA? It’s a hot topic, and you’re sure to find people who won’t hesitate to make a case for one side of the squabble. Contributing Reporter Jordan Katz argues in favor of the NBA’s excellence, while Staff Columnist Allie Wieczorek defends her NCAA obsession in point-counterpoint format.
Jordan Katz:
NBA vs. NCAA. Playing for millions vs. playing for free (well, mostly). Professional vs. amateur. Which form of basketball is better? In the world of sports, this is becoming a legendary debate. However, judging by most people’s opinions of the respective associations, I will be playing the devil’s advocate here.
The NBA is better, hands down. There, I said it. In a one-on-one game between the NBA and the NCAA, from a purely technical and objective standpoint, the NBA easily wins. My first problem is with rules in college basketball like the 35-second shot clock and the lack of a defensive three-second rule in the key, both of which provide for much slower game play. Just imagine if NBA centers like Shaq or Yao Ming could stay in the key as long as they like on defense. You could say goodbye to inside plays from smaller guys like Allen Iverson or Jason Kidd.
Another problem I have with the NCAA is that there is no team continuity. At the very most, college basketball teams stay together for four years, whereas in the NBA, teams can stay together for much longer. I find it so difficult to keep up with the ever-changing carousel of NCAA players from year to year.
Furthermore, the kill level in both leagues cannot even be compared. If you watched the All-Star game festivities this past weekend like I did, there can be no doubt in your mind that the players in the NBA are far and away the best in the world. Just look at LeBron James, Vince Carter or Tracy McGrady’s jaw-dropping dunks…or how about Steve Nash’s supernatural passing skills? Simply put, even the top players in college couldn’t hold a candle to what an NBAer can do.
I don’t know why, but for some reason I have a real problem with NCAA players who wear undershirts. To me, it seems like basketball players who wear undershirts just aren’t manly. Picture Ben Wallace wearing an undershirt during a game; he wouldn’t seem quite as intimidating in the post, now would he? Wearing an undershirt in basketball is like using training wheels when competing in the Tour de France. No matter how good you are, you’ll never get the street cred.
The overall entertainment a fan experiences by going to an NBA game far exceeds that of the NCAA. While ticket prices for NBA games are shooting through the roof, think about how much $50 for a nosebleed seat will buy you. You get mascot antics, thoroughly entertaining firework and light shows that rival LSD trips and those damn fine cheerleaders doing their risqu‚ dance routines during game breaks. What do you get at an NCAA game, you ask? A marching band? Cheerleaders that seem like Puritan spinsters compared to their NBA counterparts? I am easily entertained by watching infomercials, yet an NCAA game puts me to sleep faster than 151 and Nyquil.
More than just the in-game highlights, NBA players masterfully channel their artistic abilities into media besides basketball. For example, take the NBA stars that have turned into rappers, like Shaq and Allen Iverson. Lyrics like “don’t need the drink crooked I juice to get loose / my favorite cartoon is Bullwinkle the Moose” (ShaqDiesel) would make Tupac or Biggie jealous (may they rest in peace) and are far out of the intellectual reach of any collegiate basketball player. And what about the commercials, movies and TV shows starring NBA players? Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird have all made insane shots while betting for Big Macs in a pitch for McDonald’s; Darius Miles had a moving performance in “The Perfect Score.” Let’s not forget Kendall Gill’s inspirational role in the short-lived Nickelodeon show “My Brother and Me.” These laudable performances can only be expected of NCAA players after they have graduated to the big league, the superior league-the NBA.
Being from Cleveland, I’ve never been a fan of college basketball mostly because there are no good teams to follow. Now with King James tearing up the hardwood every night, I find it even harder to get into college basketball. Call me biased, but I think my case for the NBA speaks for itself.
Allie Wieczorek:
Okay, since my end of this argument needs no introduction, all I’m going to say is to prepare yourselves to agree with everything I say.
If we we’re discussing who would win in a one-on-one match-up between the players in the NBA and the men in the NCAA, we wouldn’t be writing this article. Considering the NBA draft consists predominantly of college basketball players, it is clear that the skill is greater in the NBA-that’s why it’s the step after college play. I will not try to argue that Duke’s Shelden Williams could school Shaquille O’Neal. That’s why he’s in a lower, unprofessional league. But he will be in the NBA one day, and Shaq may still be better then, but now we’re talking about individuals and not leagues.
The real question here is which association is better. And anyone who truly understands and appreciates sports for sports knows the answer to that.
Guess what? We don’t need to worry about Shaq and Yao hanging around in the key for as long as they please-they’re in the NBA. Besides, the “little” guys in college make plenty of inside plays. And I cannot understand how a person who calls himself an NBA fan can watch a professional game and watch a college game and honestly tell me there is slower game play in college. And if we’re going to talk about actual speed then you surely cannot tell me that Shaq is faster than any college center. If the flow of the game is slower, then why do I drop whatever I’m doing for a good two and half hours to watch a college basketball game while I prefer to just check the NBA scores on ESPN.com? The answer is because NBA games are less exciting.
Okay-for most people who aren’t Reggie Love, college is only four years. And the new trend to opt out of college early for the NBA doesn’t help the team continuity my colleague speaks of. But whether or not the opportunity is there, you very rarely see an NBA team stay together for anything close to or more than four years. Trades are constantly happening and players are constantly adjusting to and trying to create new team chemistry whether or not a few of the best players stay together.
So I guess it’s time for me to admit that I did not exactly watch the All-Star weekend festivities. I do enjoy the Slam Dunk Contest and Rookie Challenge and read about them in depth, but the actual All-Star game just wasn’t going to do it for me. Instead, I watched one of the best college basketball games I’ve ever watched. I was planning on turning on the All-Star game when Duke finished whooping Wake Forest, but then I saw a commercial for what was on FSN after the Duke game. Don’t tell me you’d expect me to watch the NBA All-Star game over “Beyond the Glory: Mike Krzyzewski” (That’s Duke’s Coach K for anyone who didn’t learn how to spell his name before her own).
I don’t understand this problem with undershirts that my colleague discusses; basketball players don’t have to be manly to be good. And some people have damn good reasons for their undershirts (e.g. J.J. Redick’s back-ne), but there are rumors that he’s gay, so I guess he’s not manly enough for you anyway. Besides, his undershirt doesn’t change the fact that he can pop a beautiful three-pointer from far beyond the arc his opponents are guarding. I’d say there’s something intimidating about that. I’m more comfortable comparing training wheels in the Tour de France to magic shoes like those worn by Lil’ Bow Wow in “Like Mike”-now that qualifies as cheating.
So the NBA has a lot of money and they can entertain. I don’t mind going to games myself. But what do you get from going to a college basketball game? I couldn’t tell you because I’ve never been, but I dream about it every night. It gives you amazing live basketball. I don’t believe a person could come close to falling asleep during a live college game. But shouldn’t sports fans get annoyed with all of that bullshit entertainment and just want to watch some basketball? Please never look me in the eyes and tell me any NBA game would be better than going to your first game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. And I know that that holds true for people without my Blue Devils obsession. It’s like telling me you’d rather see a better baseball team play than see a game played at Wrigley Field, especially if you’ve never been there.
Maybe you haven’t been watching enough TV lately, but college players and coaches are quite the thespians themselves. That commercial with Christian Laettner’s famous shot (don’t pull the “Laettner’s in the NBA” card-we all know he’s a college player) and Coach K coming out of the bushes cracks me up every time. Maybe they’re few and far between, but college basketball isn’t about media attention and commercial gigs.
Let’s not forget that college basketball players play basketball. And whether or not under-the-table financial transactions actually take place, college basketball players don’t play for money. Never would an NCAA star go into the stands and physically abuse a fan…unless he jumped into the crowd out of excitement to celebrate and accidentally knocked someone over. Maybe the NBA is the “big” league, and maybe it’s superior in terms of the talent that’s there, but it is not superior in any other way. It’s less pure. It’s less fun. It’s less nice. And it’s more corrupted.
I know it’s cheap at this point to bring up the NCAA tournament, but I’m going to anyway. If that’s not excitement, what the hell is? Why else would I spend days working on my bracket, hours trying to decipher R.P.I.’s and Lunardi’s bracketology and weeks watching even the first-round games?
Growing up as a Duke fan got me into college basketball, but we cannot forget that I also grew up in Chicago in the ’90s. Who remembers Michael Jordan? I’ve been in one of his old cars and played a pick-up game with his youngest son at their country club. Scottie Pippen ran over my sister’s toe when we chased him into his car trying to get the last signature of the 1992 Bulls on the basketball we got my dad for his 40th birthday. I love the NBA. I love the Bulls. But I believe the NCAA is a better league that shows the best sport in the best light. Why do parents like their kids better before they’re old enough to talk back? Same reason I like my basketball games and basketball players uncorrupted by fame and fortune.