There are more avenues than ever for prospects to reach the NBA Draft. In the not-so-distant past, college basketball accounted for almost all draft picks outside a few foreign players.<\/p>\n
The NCAA for a long time has mostly been a monopoly on athletes that wanted to play professionally. The tides have certainly started to change though, and it could have negative implications for college basketball<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2018-19, the NBL (a well-established Australian professional league) created the \u2018Next Stars\u2019 program. In 2020, the Ignite program was created for top prospects to play in the NBA\u2019s G-league system instead of college. For 2021, the Overtime Elite program was created for NBA hopefuls. This was a popular company that kept up with top high school prospects and was mostly famous for its YouTube channel.<\/p>\n Are you seeing the trend? In three consecutive years, three different programs were created to entice NBA-level talent from the high school ranks.<\/p>\n All of this, and we haven\u2019t even mentioned or included overseas or traditional international players<\/a>. These international leagues have long been talked about as having somewhat caught up to the USA in producing stars. This statement comes on the backs of current superstars like Luka Doncic<\/a>, Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>, and Nikola Jokic<\/a>.<\/p>\n If college basketball has been the primary source of NBA talent for decades though, why should they be worried about startups? Often startups with lofty goals such as these usually fail anyway.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, that hasn\u2019t been the case. For the new programs mentioned, there\u2019s an easy case that every one of them has been an outstanding success.<\/p>\n The NBL\u2019s program boasts that they\u2019ve seen eight players drafted since their inception, with three being lottery picks. Lamelo Ball<\/a> is currently their most famous being he\u2019s a franchise player and was the third overall pick in 2020. \u00a0They\u2019ve also produced successful NBA players Josh Giddey<\/a>, Ousmane Dieng<\/a>, and RJ Hampton<\/a>.<\/p>\n For the G-League Ignite<\/a>, they\u2019ve produced a lottery pick every year since it was created. The 2021 draft saw Jalen Green<\/a> and Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> be taken with the second and seventh overall picks respectively. In 2022, Dyson Daniels<\/a> and Marjon Beauchamp<\/a> were selected at picks eight and twenty-four. In last year\u2019s 2023 draft, Scoot Henderson<\/a> was taken third overall.<\/p>\n Lastly, the Overtime Elite program is probably seen as the least potent since they don\u2019t have a \u2018professional\u2019 league of teams. Even still, this past year\u2019s draft saw the number four and five overall picks take twins Amen<\/a> and Ausar Thompson<\/a>. Both were full-time OTE products and served as major success stories for the program. They\u2019ve also found a way to coexist and succeed in the current landscape. They\u2019ve been able to filter high school-age players to the other two programs mentioned. Projected first-round pick Izan Almansa<\/a> is a perfect example of this. He started with the OTE program and is now playing his last season before becoming draft-eligible with the G-league Ignite.<\/p>\n Well now that we\u2019ve established concern, has the NCAA properly adjusted? It can be argued that part of the reason initiatives such as NIL and relaxed transfer portal restrictions were put into place is somewhat in response to this concern.<\/p>\nIs College Basketball Losing NBA Draft Importance?<\/h2>\n
Trending In The Wrong Direction<\/strong><\/h3>\n
No Signs Of Slowing Down<\/strong><\/h3>\n
How Does The Future Look? <\/strong><\/h3>\n