College basketball: Five consequences of FBI investigation

Reevaluating one and dones

The players currently involved in this investigation are guys not likely to stay all four years. These are guys planning on leaving after one year to the pros and the shoe companies, and advisors are trying to latch onto them as soon as possible.

These schools are risking everything for a guy that’s only going to play for them for one season. There’s a good chance that Louisville’s Bowen will never play a minute for the Cardinals. Yet he may likely have the biggest impact for the school in history due to the fallout. And what happens to him? He collects 100k and goes overseas for a year before getting drafted in the first round of the NBA.

This isn’t a suggestion to punish the player, as the adults are the ones who prey on them. But a new discussion needs to happen about whether these players are even good for the game. While it’s great to have players like Jason Tatum of Duke and the many Kentucky players over the years, the Ben Simmons experience and others who don’t truly want to be in college only hurts both the team and the product in general.

It’s understandable that the NBA doesn’t want 18-year-olds in the league and wants college basketball to weed out potential busts. But the NCAA has to do what’s best for their sport as well, even if the NBA doesn’t corporate.

Going two years minimum in college can help deal with some of the corruption, and there are plenty of other options for those who don’t want to play in college.

These one and dones are starting to do more damage in their one year than they’re helping, and the NCAA needs to fix that.