NCAA Basketball: G League initiative does not doom college hoops
By Brian Rauf
Subjective decisions
Even for those who want to bypass college for the G League, there’s a very limited number of these spots and they’re only elite prospects that are at the top of the rankings. This isn’t something that’s available to everyone. And for those top prospects, it’s just another option.
The monetary aspect certainly makes the G League a very appealing option, but there are other factors at play, many of which are unknown.
For this, we’ll look at Ball and Hampton’s year in Australia. Ball was ranked No. 23 in the 2019 class in the 247sports Composite, while Hampton ranked No. 5. Ball thrived during the league year while Hampton was not the same dominant player while playing against other professionals. As of right now, Ball is projected to be a top-five pick in the 2020 draft while Hampton is a fringe lottery pick.
The move was a clear win for Ball, but it’s more complicated for Hampton. He saw his draft stock fall, hurting his projected income from his rookie deal, yet he was able to capitalize on a contract this past year and a lucrative shoe deal with Li-Ning.
Ball’s stardom is a special case given his family’s history and notoriety, but Hampton isn’t as much of a household name as his contemporaries who played college ball, which could hurt his endorsement money once he gets into the NBA. Green, Todd, and others won’t fall out of the sport’s consciousness as much because they’ll still be playing in the United States, but it’s not like the G League has a huge following or is a place that can really help players grow their brand.
College basketball does have that. We saw how quickly Zion Williamson went from YouTube sensation to mainstream superstar while playing for Duke, which helped him earn one of the largest rookie shoe deals ever and countless other endorsement deals.
How do prospects weigh the two? The answer is subjective. Many prospects may certainly take the opportunity for their up-front money and take their chances on the back-end. And who knows, the G League may become immensely more popular because of this – but the NBL didn’t when Ball and Hampton went to Australia, nor did European leagues when others went there. There’s also no guarantee the professional pathway will work as intended or be worth the massive investment the NBA is putting into it. We simply don’t know.