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Alabama and Clemson players should boycott Monday's game

I would think that the sheer volume of games is a factor in the decline in regular season ratings. Being able to watch dozens of games actually decreases the numbers of people watching any given game.
 
LilburnDeac said:
I would think that the sheer volume of games is a factor in the decline in regular season ratings. Being able to watch dozens of games actually decreases the numbers of people watching any given game.
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I was thinking the same thing. It would be more instructive to compare the same time slots and channels.
 
Get your hands on a copy of James Michener's Sports In America, published in the mid-eighties. He saw these very problems and wrote about the effects of money on the games we old farts grew up playing! I consider it a great read and you can gain some interesting perspectives on these issues. Go Deacs!
 
PhDeac said:
No. Just no. College basketball doesn't generate as much interest as it used to because of the drop in absolute skill of the players.
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I do not believe this is true at all. Fans didn't stop watching college basketball or cheering on their alma mater during the period of time when HS kids could go straight to the pros - there was a time there where the top of every recruiting class never entered college.
I think you could take the top 50 or 100 HS kids every year and send them straight to the NBA - or straight to some development league - and it would not impact college fandom whatsoever. The level of play would, by definition, have to drop - but the competition and the games would be just as compelling. The rivalry bragging rights would be just as valuable.
 
Again, you're conflating interest and profitability. There will still be fans, just like there were plenty of fans and rivalries before the influx of broadcasting/naming/apparel money. Without the names, though, it will be hard to make as much money. While the best players in college basketball are probably Buddy Hield and Denzel Valentine, the only guy getting 24/7 love on every broadcast is Ben Simmons. Casual viewers likely contribute most to ratings and the big names draw those viewers.

The game would change, though, for the better, IMO. I don't think renting elite talent for a year or two has been good for college basketball. In fact, it's just created a system where the best/shadiest programs get 75% of the best players, most of whom are warehoused a lot of the time and benched in favor of even better players.

We're talking about the top-25 (usually a decent cut off for 5-star prospects, though. Again, the NCAA system works for most basketball players and coaches. It's the concentration of the elite coaches, players and programs that have absolutely corrupted the whole enterprise, IMO.
 
scooter84 said:
I do not believe this is true at all. Fans didn't stop watching college basketball or cheering on their alma mater during the period of time when HS kids could go straight to the pros - there was a time there where the top of every recruiting class never entered college.
I think you could take the top 50 or 100 HS kids every year and send them straight to the NBA - or straight to some development league - and it would not impact college fandom whatsoever. The level of play would, by definition, have to drop - but the competition and the games would be just as compelling. The rivalry bragging rights would be just as valuable.
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So you don't think early entry into the NBA has hurt interest in college basketball?
 
PhDeac said:
So you don't think early entry into the NBA has hurt interest in college basketball?
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That is correct, I don't. I think "interest" may be down in a lot of sports for other reasons - dilution being a huge factor almost across the board.
 
scooter84 said:
I do not believe this is true at all. Fans didn't stop watching college basketball or cheering on their alma mater during the period of time when HS kids could go straight to the pros - there was a time there where the top of every recruiting class never entered college.
I think you could take the top 50 or 100 HS kids every year and send them straight to the NBA - or straight to some development league - and it would not impact college fandom whatsoever. The level of play would, by definition, have to drop - but the competition and the games would be just as compelling. The rivalry bragging rights would be just as valuable.
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+1 I also think that if people just watched for the talent, why would anyone bother watching college sports ever? You could just watch the NBA and see the best talent in the world. Maybe because college is the real development league for the NBA. Then again you have minor league baseball, hockey and basketball and nobody cares about watching those, otherwise you would see them on ESPN. If TV networks thought they could make a profit they would be televised.

College sports are an american tradition especially outside the northeast. People watch because they want to support their team, or because college teams are the only sports team in their area, or maybe because their dad or mom were big fans. I think viewership might decline some for the very casual fan who just fills in time between the next pro game but the majority of fans would still continue to watch.
 
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People don't just watch for talent but they watch more when there is more talent.
 
PhDeac said:
So you don't think early entry into the NBA has hurt interest in college basketball?
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No, AAU basketball has hurt college basketball. The product is not there. I have seen it every night on the high school floor since the mid-90's and they are the ones heading to the college floors. No fundamentals. They don't learn the skills need in AAU needed anymore. All the parents want to see their kids do from 12+ on is learn how to shoot the 3 [even tho they can barely heave the ball up to the rim] and dribble behind their back. Then as soon as a 14 year old kid can dunk the ball, the fans start oohing & ahhing and coaches start forgetting about the kid that can play defense, pass and feed it into the post. The don't work on their shooting fundamentals, free throw shooting or anything else associated with great basketball except for long range 3's and dunking. No fun to watch.
 
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PhDeac said:
People don't just watch for talent but they watch more when there is more talent.
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I see your point and I guess the fact that people on these boards are even having this discussion means that to some people the talent of the players or product on the court clearly matters to varying degrees. I guess personally I would still watch because I love the rivalries and pulling for the Deacs.
 
scooter84 said:
I do not believe this is true at all. Fans didn't stop watching college basketball or cheering on their alma mater during the period of time when HS kids could go straight to the pros - there was a time there where the top of every recruiting class never entered college.
I think you could take the top 50 or 100 HS kids every year and send them straight to the NBA - or straight to some development league - and it would not impact college fandom whatsoever. The level of play would, by definition, have to drop - but the competition and the games would be just as compelling. The rivalry bragging rights would be just as valuable.
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I agree - in college, its about the name on the front of the jersey.
 
scooter84 said:
I do not believe this is true at all. Fans didn't stop watching college basketball or cheering on their alma mater during the period of time when HS kids could go straight to the pros - there was a time there where the top of every recruiting class never entered college.
I think you could take the top 50 or 100 HS kids every year and send them straight to the NBA - or straight to some development league - and it would not impact college fandom whatsoever. The level of play would, by definition, have to drop - but the competition and the games would be just as compelling. The rivalry bragging rights would be just as valuable.
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91deac said:
I agree - in college, its about the name on the front of the jersey.
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You agree with that? Without the top 50 or 100 HS kids every year you'd be watching glorified high school basketball. I'm not spending any time watching that. It would be as bad as college baseball. Worse actually.
 
BiffTannen said:
You agree with that? Without the top 50 or 100 HS kids every year you'd be watching glorified high school basketball. I'm not spending any time watching that. It would be as bad as college baseball. Worse actually.
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Are you going to watch the wfu vt game tonight?
 
there aren't any top 100 HS recruits on wake and vt?
 
JohnToms said:
I don't know. I don't have time to look them up but not many and I would bet none in the top 75
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According to RSCI, there are no top 50 recruits in the game tonight. There are 4 top 75 recruits (CMM and D Moore both #75, Clark and Hill both #61). There are 7 top 100 recruits (CMM 75, Moore 75, Crawford 94, Robinson 95, Clark 61, Hill 61, Bibbs 87).
 
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