baycat93 wrote:rgdeuce wrote:And u guys dont want the same rules as MLB, for many reasons. For one, it would require a complete makeover of the D-league. Multiple skill levels, probably would need at least 1 or 2 additional levels. It would ruin college basketball. Think about it, in baseball you go D1 and stay 3 years, JUCO and can leave after 1 or 2, or go straight out of high school. Which are the two most attractive options for the basketball player? I'm going to tread very lightly here and don't want to insult by speaking in absolutes, but typically baseball and basketball are comprised of two entirely different demographics. The average American baseball player is white, from middle to upper middle class background with two college educated parents. The average American basketball player is black, placed at a big disadvantage in the country solely based on their skin color, more likely to come from a single parent home, more likely to come from an impoverished background and live in the inner city, and the importance of education may be lower based on the typically poor educations provided in lower-income/urban schools. $30,000 to the baseball player may not be the same to the basketball player. Again, not trying to stereotype here by any means, but one demographic is likelier to have things much easier as a teen than the other. Which leads me to my guess:
This bolded above is the part I am not so sure is true. Especially if it was 2 years instead of the 3 for Baseball. Even the JUCO argument would only apply to a select few.
Certainly there would be some very talented kids that went JUCO or Dleague. However the sheer investment of infrastructure (coaching, facilities, competition) in the College game is a pretty big barrier to entry that the NBA has not shown an interest in making and JUCO's can/will never make.
As someone that played juco baseball in Arizona, I wouldnt be so sure. Here's a list of guys I played with or against who actually played on a MLB team and what route they went. I know ive missed a few but u will get the general idea.
Straight out of HS: JJ Hardy, Tom Wilhelmsen, Chris Duncan (3)
JUCO: Scott Hairston, Sergio Romo, Ian Kinsler, Rich Harden, Andre Ethier, Tim Wood, Dallas Braden, Doug Mathis, Mel Stocker, Chris Saenz, Matt Pagnozzi (11)
D1: Shelley Duncan, Brian Anderson, Jamie Vermilyea (3)
Now, some of those JUCO guys ended up going D1 after two years of JUCO ball, which is very common. Keep playing til you get into better draft position. Some guys get drafted and the teams retain their rights until the next draft. But of that list, there isnt a single guy who wasnt a D1 talent out of high school. And im talking Pac 12/SEC/Big 12/ACC talent. I played against a few teams that would beat more than half of the NCAA teams. Those guys made those decisions with the draft in mind. And if we are talking about guys I played with/against who flamed out in AAA, or the minors in general, multiply that list by 6 or 7. And the distribution goes even heavier into JUCO guys. And no, Basketball wont get that drastic that fast, but over time that is what you will see, especially when u consider there is almost absolutely no market for baseball players to go overseas until their careers in American baseball flame out. And if you know baseball, which of the three has the big names in it?
A lot of kids want the least amount of school possible while pursuing their pro dreams. Many dont care about playing for an ex pro or established college name as much as they care about this. The best coaches and systems are still in D1 college baseball.