Men’s college basketball has lost its star power

Kyler Gilliam, Contributing Writer

The stars of men’s college basketball seemed to have vanished. Stars like JJ Redick, Jimmer Fredette, John Wall and Zion Williamson simply do not exist in today’s game. 

There are plenty of good players such as Zach Edey from Purdue or Armando Bacot from North Carolina-Chapel Hill, but they don’t draw attention from fans like those others. Players like Wall and Williamson simply play elsewhere for their path to the NBA.

Organizations such as G-League Ignite and Overtime Elite give opportunities to high-caliber prospects to only focus on basketball and get paid for it without having the student responsibilities that come with playing in college. 

These organizations have proven themselves to be successful in a short period. G-League Ignite has had 10 players selected in the NBA Draft and four players in the top 10 since its inception in 2020, according to the NBA G-League website. 

The G-League Ignite is also projected to have two top-10 picks in the upcoming draft with forward Ron Holland and guard/forward Matas Buzelis, according to Bleacher Report.

Amen and Ausar Thompson were products of Overtime Elite and went fourth and fifth overall in last year’s draft, being the first players selected from Overtime Elite, according to USA Today. 

In next year’s draft, only five collegiate players are projected in the top 10. This will make it back-to-back years that this has happened, which is a first in NBA history. 

The last time only five collegiate players were selected in the top 10 was in 2001, which saw four of the five non-collegiate players coming out of high school, according to Basketball Reference.

An increase in the number of high school prospects in the draft led to the creation of the one-and-done rule in 2005, which made American prospects ineligible for the NBA draft until they were a year removed from graduating high school. 

The rule was implemented in hopes of keeping high school talent in the college pipeline. This added an extra step for many prospects who were already deemed NBA-ready.

G-League Ignite, Overtime Elite and the option of playing overseas are in direct competition with college basketball for player acquisition, and with the NBA still having the one-and-done rule still in place, the stars avoid college since most do not see the benefit. 

If college basketball wants to keep its stars, it would be beneficial to let the NBA abolish the one-and-done rule so athletes don’t see college as an obstacle or stepping stone, but as an opportunity to play in front of a large audience and build a brand off the back of long-standing institutions. 

Athletes building their individual brands should be encouraged by their respective universities, especially after the addition of name, image and likeness, also known as NIL deals. 

Before NIL, student-athletes were not allowed to make money off their brand or they would be deemed ineligible to compete. 

The NCAA came around and allowed athletes to make money, this is key for the NCAA to keep its stars. The incentive of money can help compensate for the rigid schedule of a modern-day student-athlete. 

Then once the universities get the star players out of high school, the NCAA needs to market and push them. Most casual fans tend to not know most of the best players in the nation before March Madness. The casual audience not knowing some of the best players and personalities in the nation before the sport’s playoff hurts the product and notoriety of the NCAA. 

Men’s college basketball is fading from the mainstream and the NCAA needs to wake up before the only people that watch are alumni.