"SWEET 16": פלורידה (7) / מנחם לס

 

1. הגיע הזמן שאוהדי NBA יבינו שגם במכללות משחקים כדורסל

אחרי נצחונה המדהים של קנטקי על קנזס בשיא הפרש, קרו שני דברים:

1. מאמנה של קנזס, סלף, שתה כוס מים גדולה ואמר בחצי פה "הלוואי שזה היה וודקה".

2. התחילו לברבר שקנטקי היתה גוברת על פילדלפיה.

אז "1" יכול מאד להיות נכון. "2" בטוח שלא. 25 הפרש היה ההפרש בנצחונה של הסיקסרס על קנטקי במשחק 48 דקות וחוקי NBA. אבל מה צריך להשוות בכלל בין ה-NBA והמכללות?

אלה שני מיני כדורסל עם יתרונות וחסרונות, וכל אחד נותן את ההנאות המיוחדות שלו.

בדרך כלל זה לא קורה עד אמצע מרץ כשעכברי ה-NBA מתחילים לשים לב שיש כדורסל מכללות, ואז כשהטורניר הגדול מתחיל, זה הכל 'מכללות' לשלושה שבועות. אבל עד אז? שפוטי ה-NBA לועגים לרמה הנמוכה, השגיאות המרובות, וההחלפות הרבות במשחק הקולג'ים. שפוטי המכללות יטענו שה-NBA זה לא משחק בין שתי קבוצות אלא משחק בין 2-3 כוכבים בצד אחד נגד 2-3 כוכבים בצד שני.
לכולם ישנן דעות מחלטות על הכדורסל ב-NBA והכדורסל במכללות, ורובן לא נכונות, או מוגזמות. ה-NBA זה לא קבוצות המרכבות מכמה כוכבים והשאר ממלאי מקום, וכדורסל מכללות זה לא כדורסל של חסרי יכולת המנסים לחקות שחקני NBA. המתווכחים על 'מה יותר טוב ממה' מתווכחים ויכוח עקר שאין בו תועלת.
ה-NBA הוא משחק כדורסל של קבוצות המשחקים כדורסל נהדר, וה-NCAA הוא כדורסל של מכללות המשחקות כדורסל נהדר. אילו שיחקו אחד נגד השני הויכוחים היו אולי הגיוניים פה ושם. אבל כשה-NBA משחקת רק בתוך עצמה וה-NCAA משחקת רק בתוך עצמה, לשתי המסגרות ישנו תוצר עליון להציע לנו, חובבי הכדורסל. הנה הסיבות:
*ב-NBA נמצאים שחקני הכדורסל הטובים בעולם, אבל שחקני ה-NCAA לא צריכים לשחק נגדם. הם משחקים רק ביניהם, והם טובים מספיק כדי ליצור ביניהם כדורסל שנראה כטוב בעולם!
*השגיאות ב-NBA הן חמורות כי שחקנים מקצוענים המשתכרים מיליונים מבצעים אותן, כגון 60% קליעה מהקו. במכללות משחקים ילדים שרובם בני 18 ו-19, ושגיאותיהם מתקבלות בהבנה ובחיוך, וככל שהעונה נמשכת, אנחנו מתפעלים יותר ויותר מהרמה הנפלאה אליה מגיעים צעירים אלה.
*ה-NBA היא עונה ארוכה בה קבוצות משחקות אחת נגד השנייה לפחות פעמיים, ועד ארבעה פעמים. יש עניין של רבנג', 'שנאת אחים', הכרת קבוצות, ומה לא. זה יוצר עניין מסוג אחד. במכללות ישנם מצבים בהם קבוצה לא משחקת נגד אחרת משך שנים. כל משחק חשוב כאילו הוא 'עושה עונה'. מצד שני ישנן ליגות הקונפרנסים הרבים בהן קבוצות משחקות פעמיים אחת נגד השנייה, ואז שוב בטורניר הקונפרנס. הכל מעורבב, הכל מבולבל, עד שהוועדה קובעת את 64 הקבוצות לטורניר הסופי. יש עניין מהרגע הראשון עד האחרון.
*הפלייאוף של ה-NBA הוא הטוב מ-5 או הטוב מ-7. הדבר יוצר עניין מסוג אחד. במכללות הטורניר הוא 'נוק-אאוט'. העניין שונה לחלוטין.
*ב-NBA 90% מהשחקנים מוכרים למפרע, ואת ה-10% האחרים אנחנו מכירים תוך שבועיים.  אנחנו מתעניינים בשיפורים, בירידה ברמה, בהשפעת הגיל, וכו'. במכללות כמו קנטקי, 60-70% מהשחקנים הם חדשים מעונה לעונה. במכללות בהן התעבורה אינה כה מחלטת כמו בקנטקי, אבדן שחקן-על תמיד מתקבלת בעניין של 'מי יחליפו'. ישנו עניין מתמשך בחידושים.

 

Meet the NBA's future stars

Context is everything when it comes to sports. Without it, the game really isn't that interesting. You need to know that the Warriors could have traded Klay Thompson for Kevin Love, but decided against it. You need to know everything that went into LeBron James' return to Cleveland. You need to know Jan Vesely got drafted ahead of Kawhi Leonard. Mostly, you need to know why this thing you obsess over is worth watching.

There's no better place to start paying attention than at the college level. There's two premium examples that immediately come to mind: Kevin Durant at Texas and Anthony Davis at Kentucky.

Durant seems like the first star of the modern generation. When he burst onto the national scene at Texas in 2006-07, it immediately felt like you were watching future greatness. To see a 6'10 perimeter player do the things Durant was doing at 18 years old was incredible. That he entered the NBA just as League Pass was catching on and Internet basketball writing started to gain steam made it even better.

Davis was the same way on a Kentucky team that blitzed everyone on the path to a 38-2 record and a championship season. A lot of people complain about the impact of the one-and-done era on both the college game and the NBA, but it has a way of making college hoops more compelling while giving the players a fanbase that'll always love them and a taste of high-leverage situations against their peers before they start playing against adults. Adam Silver is going to get his way eventually with the raising of the age limit, but as much as the opposition to such a move makes sense, that could also be a net positive for both levels.

There's going to be stud freshmen every year, and this season is no exception. Even when they don't pan out as planned (Harrison Barnes comes to mind), it still provides an essential prologue to a future NBA career.

This year, you need to watch Duke's Jahlil Okafor (the consensus Player of the Year before he ever played a college game), Arizona's Stanley Johnson (a 245-pound wing already bigger than half of the NBA's centers), Texas' Myles Turner (he's already got the Dirk fade!) and Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns.

 

Duke vs. Michigan State final score: 3 things we learned from the Blue Devils' 81-71 win

By @CardChronicle on Nov 18 2014, 9:10p 1

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Blue Devils have long been considered the kings of college basketball in November, a reputation they added to with a decisive victory over Michigan State in the Champions Classic Tuesday night.

The fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils continued to build on their legacy of getting off to hot starts by taking down No. 19 Michigan State, 81-71, in the first game of the Champions Classic.

Despite a game effort from the Spartans, Coach K's team was in command of things from start to finish. After trailing by seven at halftime, the Spartans cut the lead to three at 51-48, but Duke responded with a 7-0 run and remained in control from there.

Four players scored in double figures for Duke, which shot 54 percent from the field and won convincingly despite being out-rebounded by Michigan State, 35-25.

Three things we learned

1. Jahlil Okafor is going to be this season's freshman obsession … and it's going to be justified

Earlier this month, Jahlil Okafor became the third freshmen in five years to be named a preseason first-team All-American by the Associated Press. The previous two honorees — Kansas' Andrew Wiggins and North Carolina's Harrison Barnes — did not finish their first year of college ball as first-team All-Americans. Based on his first real spotlight performance, it's safe to say Okafor is in line to change that trend.

Okafor scored 17 points, snagged five rebounds and was a force on the defensive end both when he was blocking shots and altering them. The big man connected on 8 of 10 field goal attempts to improve to a ridiculous 25-for-31 from the field in his first three collegiate games.

ESPN and the like are going to talk so much about Okafor in the first few weeks of the season that it's going to make people sick, but hopefully that doesn't keep folks from appreciating just how good the kid is. College basketball hasn't seen a first-year big man this polished since … Greg Oden?

2. The Blue Devils have another freshman star, but they're a much more complete team this season

Jabari Parker was fantastic last season, but as a team, Duke was neither complete enough nor dedicated enough on defense to win a national title. The result was an exciting regular season that came to a somewhat predictable early conclusion. This Blue Devils team is a different beast.

When Okafor went to the bench with four fouls and his team leading by just seven, the common thought was that Michigan State would make a run. Instead, the Blue Devils added to their advantage and the final outcome was never really in doubt.

After going scoreless in the first half, Tyus Jones — who was the highest-ranked point guard in the 2014 recruiting class — poured in 17 second-half points to spearhead Duke's post-break onslaught. His performance served as the perfect accent to veteran backcourt mate Quinn Cook, who scored 19 and dished out six assists. Then there was the play of yet another freshman in Justise Winslow, who scored 15 and at times looked like the most talented player on the court.

Duke is the real deal when it comes to being a legitimate threat to cut down the nets in April, and I'm not sure that was ever the case when Parker was their frontman.

3. Duke still owns Michigan State

There aren't many programs in the country that can claim a decisive advantage over either Michigan State or Tom Izzo, but Duke has been dominant against both. The loss dropped Izzo's career record against Coach K to 1-8, and Michigan State to 2-9 all-time against the Blue Devils.

The victory also guaranteed that Duke will own the best record in the Champions Classic for at least the next year. Both the Blue Devils and Spartans entered Tuesday night with records of 2-1 in the event, while Kansas and Kentucky have each gone 1-2.

Speaking of Kentucky ….

Kentucky is insane

If you put every Kentucky alum on the same team, would it win an NBA championship? You'd have DeMarcus Cousins and Davis in the front court, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Eric Bledsoe on the wings and John Wall running point. The bench would have Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight, Patrick Patterson, Julius Randle and ….. you get the point.

Almost every college basketball fan is tied directly to their school, and that's fine. As a liberated college basketball and football fan, though, I can tell you this sport is so much better when you're not living and dying with every mistake a 19-year-old playing for your alma mater makes.

Most college fans hate Kentucky because they're brash, win a lot and recruit so many future NBA players. But if you're an NBA fan looking to get into college ball in your free time, doesn't that make Kentucky an ideal favorite team?

John Caliipari is the perfect ring leader for this traveling circus. Playerslove Calipari. While Jim Boeheim is selfishly trying to shame his stars into coming back to school, Cal just wants everyone to get rich and be happy.

Funny stuff happens here too

The NBA is hilarious. Just in the last week alone, we've had Lance Stephenson slapping himself in the face to try to draw a foul, Cousins getting a technical while military veterans were being honored during a timeout and Doug McDermott getting shoved out of the way during a photo op with a rapper.

College ball is entertaining, too! This is where I hit you with the Kansas State block Vine:

 

 

…. and the picture of the best hair in college hoops:

What's not to like?

***

This Tuesday, you get to watch Okafor go up against a Michigan State team that doesn't have anyone to match up with him. In the next game, my dude Cliff Alexander and Kansas take on Kentucky's horde of future pro big men. It's going to be a good time.

Have you looked at the NBA schedule for Tuesday night? It's not pretty outside of the Kentucky on Kentucky crime that is Boogie vs. Brow.

So, please: take some time to check out college ball on Tuesday and periodically throughout the rest of the season. It's a good time.

I hate college basketball

The tournament is ridiculous. There’s no reason why 68 teams should get a chance to play for the national championship. If you finish third or worse in your conference, you are not close to the best team in the country. The regular season is completely meaningless in college basketball.

One and Done has also destroyed what was once a great sport. Gone are the days when a Ralph Sampson-led Virginia team went up against a Michael Jordan-led UNC team. Or when Ewing’s Hoyas took on Hakeem’s Phi Slamma Jamma Houston clubs. Now we get freshmen who can barely dribble who leave after a season to sit on an NBA bench for a year or two. The quality of all levels of basketball has suffered because these kids don’t receive the proper coaching. I watch a few games here and there to see the up and coming stars but the game itself is not compelling to me.

Governor Sandwiches

quality of the nba is better than ever

not that i’m discounting all of your points, but the idea that the pro game has suffered is factually incorrect at best.

I prefer the NBA, and have for a long, long time,

And it has always seemed to me that casual NCAAB fans are the first to cast stones (and unfortunately, I think sometimes that is just thinly veiled racism and/or the "Moderately Athletic White Guys ‘Heart n’ Hustle’ Fan Club"). But it’s the "no defense" crowd that laments a Tuesday night matchup between the Bucks and Magic, but then only seem to reference March Madness as to why they prefer the college game. Have these people ever watched a Tuesday night matchup between Northwestern and Penn State? Does two teams shooting sub-40% really mean the defense is better, or just that the offense is so, so much worse?

Most people I know that are avid (really genuinely avid) basketball fans of either the NBA or college ball, at least acknowledge the other, and don’t outright dismiss it. That seems to be reserved for the casual fans (and in my experience, especially the college casual fans).

Mike Prada

As an NBA fan, I understand that view

I’d also say, though, that the side casting the first stones is a matter of perspective. If you prefer the NBA, you generally feel that college fans do. If you prefer college, it’s the other way around.

I'm sure that is the case. Perspective definitely matters.

However, in college I met a few kids who claimed to be NCAA basketball fans … then only watched from the conference tournaments onward. Since college, I’ve met some people who say "I don’t really follow the NBA, but the playoffs are great." Seems like a fundamental difference. (This could also certainly just be age/maturity related).

Mike Prada

Could also be a matter of scope

The NBA is 30 teams playing a long regular season and playing each other multiple times. More people are fans of the league as much as they are fans of a team.

College hoops is 300+ teams playing in multiple conferences against multiple levels of opponent. It’s hard to follow it all during the regular season. The end of the year is the only time where it really feels like one cohesive body.

I’d also say it has something to do with how both are marketed. The tournament isTHE thing in the NCAA. In the NBA, the players get marketed more than the teams or just the playoffs.

Also, if anybody on either side of the debate finds out someone they're having a conversation with is

an (NBA or NCAA) fan, while they’re a fan of the other, and immediately starts criticizing that person … that is not a person I want to be around, even if they are an NBA fan and make points regarding NBA > NCAAB that I agree with.

The demeanor of how one approaches this conversation (i guess as well as much in life) has a lot to do with it.

 I like both, but the "no defense" argument really bothers me.

Sure, there are 82 games and that will naturally lend itself to a team not bringing it every single night, but a lot of the college basketball fans that repeatedly say there’s no defense in the NBAsimply don’t appreciate just how good the players are at that level. It’s not that they aren’t playing defense, there is literally NO defense for the best guys in the league. You just can’t stop Lebron, KD, etc. on some nights, no matter how hard you try on defense. Personally, if I’m going to watch something for enjoyment, I like to watch the most talented people that do it. 40% or under shooting and slooow pace is not my style (and I’m a Wisconsin basketball fan).

I also love the tournament and can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t (just for pure entertainment value), but it does bother me that the best team rarely wins the championship. It’s part of the charm, but it just doesn’t sit well with me for some reason.

100% agree with everything you said

I will also preempt any diehard college basketball fan's argument

by acknowledging James Harden’s 2013-14 somewhat invalidates my own. But he’s trying kinda hard this year, guys!

I really can’t stand watching college basketball. Why would I watch an inferior product with lesser talent when I can watch NBA everyday? If people think that NBA teams are too dependent on their stars and nobody plays defense, European basketball is a better alternative than college basketball.

So you only watch games that feature the Cavs, Spurs or Thunder?

by bukuma on Nov 1

מנחם לס

מנהל הופס. הזקן והוותיק מכולם בצוות. מנסה לכתוב יומית - כל זמן שאוכל!

לפוסט הזה יש 9 תגובות

  1. Reignman

    14 נוב 2014 15:09:06

    מפלצת גופנית? הוא 9'6 עם מוטת ידיים של כ-1'7. זה מרשים, אבל לא freakish ובטח שלא בטווח של מנוט בול (גובה 7'7 עם מוטת ידיים מפלצתית של 6'8!!!!!!!!!).

    רוצה דוגמאות לפריקים של הטבע כיום?
    דוראנט רשום כ- 9'6 (כנראה הוא 10'6) עם מוטת ידיים של 4.5'7.
    דיוויס הוא 10.5'6 עם מוטת ידיים של 5.5'7. האוורוד הוא 10'6 עם מוטת ידיים של 4.5'7.
    מהגארדים ג'ון וול הוא 3'6 עם מוטת ידיים של 9'6, אבל המלך של האייפ אינדקס הוא ללא ספק ראג'ון רונדו – 1'6 עם מוטת ידיים של 10'6. זה מטורף.

      1. Reignman

        14 נוב 2014 23:21:43

        לפי SI המוטת ידיים שלו 3'7, וזה גם נתון מוגזם (לא נמדד בשום מקום). לא יודע מאיפה הבאת 5'7 (וזה הבדל משמעותי מאד) – זה ממש לא היה בכתבה.
        לפי המדידות הרשמיות הוא בכלל 9'6 (עם נעליים) ומוטת ידיים של 1.5'7. ראה פה:
        http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Chris-Walker-6457/

        בכל מקרה, הוא ממש לא פריק של הטבע,

  6. Smiley

    16 נוב 2014 16:48:55

    בילי דונובן מאמן מצויין ואין ספק שיש לו ביקוש בnba, אם הוא רק מחליט לצאת לשם.
    מנחם, האם אתה חושב שיהיה כמו ריק פיטינו או קאליפרי במקרה שיצא או שיקבל גב כמו סטיבנס?

    לדעתי, שישאר בקלוריות ויהפוך לאגדה באותה מכללה כמו ששבסקי או דין סמית. רק מקווה שיצליח לגייס כישרונות מהתיכונים ויהפוך ליותר פופולרי בקרב הצעירים. נראה כאילו הם מכללה מהדרג השני של העילית

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