The major difference b/w the Upperclassmen filled champs of the 80s and today is that those players were the best 21-23 year olds in the WORLD and these are not. As an example, the starting 5 of the OKC Thunder is essentially the same age as the starting 5 of UNC.
Put another way ... in 1989, NCAA Division I was probably the second best basketball league on the planet (maybe some of the Eastern/Southern European leagues were close). Now, it's probably not even in the Top 5, maybe not even Top 10.
Completely. In fact, as these successful NCAA tourney teams become more and more filled with upperclassmen again, the paradox is that they are going to feature fewer and fewer top pro prospects because the NBA hopes for guys who are 25-year-old 6th-year seniors on team #3 (or whatever) are next to nonexistent. So ironically, the better the college players, especially relative to unseasoned freshmen, the worse NBA chances they have.
Will also be interesting to see how NIL plays into this. If you are a sophomore at UNC who would be a 2nd Round NBA pick, but could realistically win an ACC or NCAA title in your last years of eligibility, which decision has more Net Present Value, being a starter on an NCAA Championship Tar Heel team or taking your shot in the Association?
The major difference b/w the Upperclassmen filled champs of the 80s and today is that those players were the best 21-23 year olds in the WORLD and these are not. As an example, the starting 5 of the OKC Thunder is essentially the same age as the starting 5 of UNC.
Put another way ... in 1989, NCAA Division I was probably the second best basketball league on the planet (maybe some of the Eastern/Southern European leagues were close). Now, it's probably not even in the Top 5, maybe not even Top 10.
Completely. In fact, as these successful NCAA tourney teams become more and more filled with upperclassmen again, the paradox is that they are going to feature fewer and fewer top pro prospects because the NBA hopes for guys who are 25-year-old 6th-year seniors on team #3 (or whatever) are next to nonexistent. So ironically, the better the college players, especially relative to unseasoned freshmen, the worse NBA chances they have.
Will also be interesting to see how NIL plays into this. If you are a sophomore at UNC who would be a 2nd Round NBA pick, but could realistically win an ACC or NCAA title in your last years of eligibility, which decision has more Net Present Value, being a starter on an NCAA Championship Tar Heel team or taking your shot in the Association?