As I'm sure we all can't wait for March Madness to begin, we should take a moment to emphasize the effect that organized college basketball has on the NBA and the lack of college basketball in Europe. NCAA basketball is huge in many aspects. It attracts a diverse fan base, fosters an immense pool of talent (that filters straight into the NBA), and generates immense amounts of revenue. The presence of such an organization puts a spotlight on future players. Before playing in the NBA, many of the best players already play on a huge stage and are thus already well known. They can be stars before they ever play a professional game. No amateur level of basketball exists like this in europe and in this aspect Euroleague is a great disadvantage in comparison to the NBA
- Michael Spetner
It is a definite disadvantage and it may be a large reason why the Euroleague is second tier to the NBA. It would be interesting to see if a competitive European college basketball league developed. With this addition could Euroleague basketball begin to get more notice in an otherwise soccer dominated region?
ReplyDeleteIt is very uncommon that soccer players even get drafted from a college program. College is not really a part of an athletes life, at least in the soccer world. Do you think that basketball could really change the way a sport or even an athlete is created with the idea of adding a competitive college league? It would take years to get the process going and to actually create a strong foundation for any sort of college level competition in basketball, or even any other sport. They do not view college athletes in Spain, or Europe as we do in the states.
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