The Masked Blogger (Turkey Attack)

I am a child of the 80’s. I wore stonewashed jeans, tight-rolled them, and listened to the likes of Van Halen, Def Leppard, and Quiet Riot, and watched movies such as ‘Sixteen Candles’ and ‘The Breakfast Club’.

During these times, the NBA was flourishing. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson brought an energy to the game that caused a need to emulate them. I mean really, who didn’t want to be like Mike. During the 80’s, most NBA players were not just great Basketball players but college graduates as well.

Today’s game is vastly different. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are unquestionably the two best players and yet both were drafted without College experience. To prohibit this pattern, the NBA has implemented a policy that requires all drafted players to have completed one year of collegiate play. Look, I am not saying that you should be a Professor to play hoops, but I don’t think the NBA should cater to those who are simply athletic. The fact is, education should be a major emphasis whether you have physical talent or not. Today’s NBA seems to be filled with selfishness and a lack of discipline. These are the very issues that are addressed in a Collegiate Athletic Program. The NBA has been marred with corruption, greed, illegal activity, and laziness that make the sport down right unwatchable. The things that go on in today’s game are the by-products of a lack of mentoring in a College atmosphere.

I don’t pretend to have all of the answers. Certainly, college recruiting is one of the big ways to address this problem. My point of contention is that a game that I grew up watching and playing is something that I find less entertaining than ‘Dr. Phil’.