Conference play is here, and with it returns the Sunday Mailbag. It is one of the few opportunities readers have to ask a question about anything college basketball-related and have a writer answer it. The first week of the Sunday Mailbag sent me more questions than I could answer, so I am going to use those questions and answer them over a two-week period.
Every week the Busting Brackets X account will ask if anyone has any questions to ask for me to answer.
The question was also posed on various other social media outlets that got a lot of response. The five questions this week are about the recent signings of a former NBA draft pick, where does the sport go from here. Let’s get into that and so much more.
Is today’s men’s college games any better with players being paid by schools and NIL monies? Or instead, has chaos been created?
Since I was asked this question I put a ton of thought into this as I was watching games over the last few days. The answer is that both of these things are true. The product is much better especially when the game has teams who have older players like Yaxel Lendeborg who would otherwise be in the NBA are making the product better and a more enjoyable experience for the average fan.
The games are more competitive with teams being able to buy rosters and that has led to the talent gap shrinking but NIL was never intended to be a pay for play. I know that no one heeded the warnings that it would lead to this, but it was intended to truly be a Name, Image and Likeness compensation for the players making money for the school. Do with that information what you will.
Given what the NIL era has turned into it has created its fair share of chaos. Check out the transfer portal every offseason. NIL pays more than the G-League and can potentially pay more than the rookie wage scale in the NBA, which is giving players incentive to leave the NBA and go play in College. That is where the chaos ensues. There is zero reason that any player drafted in the NBA should be playing in College, but Baylor just signed a player last week in James Nnaji who was drafted in 2023.
If the NCAA doesn’t step in and establish a set of rules for everyone to abide by when it comes to recruiting the chaos is going to get worse. The lack of rules is currently killing the sport as we know it and is only going to lead to things getting crazier and crazier. It is good that the right people are speaking out about how this is killing the sport. Stay tuned.
Why is Vanderbilt getting so much love?
The Commodores are currently the 11th ranked team in the country and are undefeated. That is a tremendous start to the season and every team would be getting hype after that type of start but are the Commodores fraudulent? That seems to be a question on a lot of peoples minds. However, that isn’t on the minds of any of the experts that cover college basketball. All you will hear is how good Vanderbilt is and how they are going to win the SEC.
Lets just analyze the numbers. The Commodores are currently 6th in the NET, 4-0 in Quad 1 games, number 5 in KenPom with the 6th best offense and 12th best defense in the country. Right now the Commodores do deserve some hype but Vanderbilt has not been overly tested as of yet. The best wins on the ledger are UCF and Wake Forest. The UCF win looks much better but those teams are no where near as good as what Vanderbilt will face in the SEC.
The Commodores are going to get tested next week when they face Alabama. If the Commodores can get past that game then the hype will be real. Vanderbilt is well-coached and has a fantastic roster, but they do have to show a little more for the hype to be real. They do not yet have the wins that some others do.
Thoughts on the transfer portal catastrophe? Eligibility and older players coming back, guys transferring mid-season. General thoughts and projection on the landscape?
I touched on this in the first question, but the current rules under which college basketball operates are not sustainable. It is not sustainable to have over 2,000 kids enter the transfer portal in the offseason. There is no way that teams overhauling their roster every offseason is sustainable.
Eligibility is set at five years; it has not passed yet, but the coaches' consensus is that it will pass. That is going to help recruiting and increase roster retention, as all players will get a blanket five-year contract, giving them more time to play, which will likely increase NIL deals and incentivize players to stay longer. At least that is the hope.
The bottom line here is that if College Basketball continues on its current path, something is going to have to change for the sport to be sustainable. There are too many transfers, and it's hard for teams and coaches alike to keep up with things. College Basketball has to have some regulations that are fair and all-inclusive, which is what all the courts have been trying to tell them.
How do you see the Big 12 shaking out? Are there really six teams that could win the league?
The Big 12 is the best league in the country. Currently, the Big Ten leads, with the Big 12 in close second. The league will have a good number of teams make the NCAA tournament and will be highly competitive at the top, but how many teams can reasonably win the league?
Houston was the favorite in the offseason, and they are currently 13-1, but don’t look nearly as dominant as they have in years past. BYU is loaded and has AJ Dybantsa, who is arguably the top NBA prospect. Texas Tech has the league's best duo in JT Toppin and Christian Anderson. Kansas has to be a favorite, especially with Bill Self and one of the best players in the country in Darryn Peterson. Iowa State is one of the best teams in the country. They don’t have individual talent, but they have one of the best teams and are extremely well coached.
Finally, the Big 12 is home to the best team in the country, the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona has been blasting teams out of the gate and looks like an unstoppable force that will be very hard to beat. Arizona is loaded with talent. Brayden Burries and Koa Peat are two of the best freshmen in the country and have played significant roles in turning Arizona into the best team in the country.
Who is the best mid-major this year that can win a game or two in the tournament?
These types of questions always make me happy because I love mid-major basketball, and there are a lot of teams this year that can do a ton of damage, but the question specifically asked who can win a game or two in the tournament. I can only think of three different teams that could fit that bill.
Miami Ohio is the first team that comes to mind. The Redhawks are currently undefeated and, after beating Akron and Bowling Green to open MAC play, they are starting to get some serious publicity. Miami played one of the worst schedules in the country before MAC play opened. The Redhawks are one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country and are never out of a game. Miami will be a dangerous squad if they play in the NCAA Tournament.
Murray State is another dangerous team. The team is filled with a bunch of old power-conference players, mostly former Creighton players who followed their former assistant coach, Ryan Miller, to Murray State. The Racers have a lot of talent and can score points in bunches.
Finally, the Santa Clara Broncos are the last team that can win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament. Santa Clara has been a team on the rise in the previous five years under head coach Herb Sendek, and this year, things are coming to a head. The Broncos have a team that can beat Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s, but will likely need to win the WCC to get into the NCAA Tournament. Santa Clara has already beaten Xavier and is going to knock off a big WCC team.
That will do it for the Sunday Mailbag this week. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would like to ask a question, find us on X.