Mark Cuban: NCAA referees ‘couldn’t manage a White Castle’
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Maybe I am in the minority here but I think that college basketball is more exciting than the NBA. I have tried in the past few years to watch a couple games but they didn’t come close to the excitement of almost any Top 50 college teams playing, especially in the conference. The tournament this year had a lot of great games, I can’t imagine any basketball fan would watch and say this is lame. Do all of you love the NBA, or is this board mostly college basketball fans ? What am I missing with the NBA, could any NBA fans tell me who would be a good team to watch, or has a different style than the next team? That seems to be the big difference for me, all the teams do the exact same thing. Is my perception wrong ?
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I’m college… but I’ll usually come around the NBA by late May, when the playoffs heat up.
Pros have way way too many games. So many that most games have little meaning. The screaming fans are into college ball. I’m a screaming fan!
Pro ball used to be a lot more exciting. I miss the Bird/Magic era and several other periods.
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Is my perception wrong ?
Yes. There are many styles of play in the NBA and most are pretty fun to watch. Obviously we have (a bigger) emotional involvement and attachment to college teams and even when they play poorly, we still like to watch them play. I know there was talk that UK could beat an NBA team and those comments were obviously made by someone not familiar with the NBA; on a bad day, the worst NBA team would easily beat the best college team, anyone that watches the NBA and college basketball regularly know this.
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@5541-james Big time college fan here. Someone gives me tickets to a pro game about once a year. Be it NBA, NFL, MLB. I go and relax. I SELDOM watch any PRO stuff on TV either. (I did follow KU players who I knew at KU that made it to the NFL like Nolan Cromwell-but once he was out that was it. And I watched Pierce a few times when the Celtics were in the championship playoffs.
I was on an airplane during the superbowl this year. When I got home I asked if there were any good commercials.
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Good post. I always tell people to go to a NBA game and experience it for yourself. If you go to games for the crowd enthusiasm, you may be in the wrong sport… or at least, pick your venue carefully.
Wow… if you can get close to the court you will have quite the experience watching insanely talented athletes. Even if the game turns out to be a dud, you will see a playing level far far above what you could ever see in college. I always try to catch some live NBA every year. Often I will target specific players I want to see play more than just the teams. I’ve experienced many of the greats… and many I missed. Sometimes it feels like the same desire I have to see some of the old rock bands I never caught before. Some real “bucket list” stuff.
I always advise everyone to go try to catch a game with Ray Allen. He is definitely one of my all-time favorites and to experience his jump shot near the floor is as good as it gets… ever!
But my overall preference is college ball. There actually is no comparison between the two. Both offer different things.
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@drgnslayr That’s a good way to put it. It is apples and oranges to me. I was in the Toyota Suite at a Rockets game last year. It was like they had three other things going on to entertain you just incase you didn’t like NBA basketball.
It reminded me of a scene from the movie “Gladiator”. While people are being slain in the Colosseum people aren’t watching and having side conversations about anything but the event at hand.
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Thanks for the replies, every year their is a game at the sprint center and I will make an effort to go. I want to love the NBA like I do CBB so I will try and invest some time in watching again. It’s the exact opposite with football for me, although my interest in the NFL is slowly going away. So would the NBA fans on this board want CBB to be more like the NBA, or is that even possible? To me CBB just needs a few tweaks, but not a complete overhaul like they tried last year.
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@5541-james I think one of the best things about college basketball are the students at the game. College can and should be a magical time for young people, and it is such a treat to be in Allen fieldhouse when that place is rockin’ with college students having the time of their life.
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The only pro sports I’ve been to are baseball games. Dodgers at Giants in old Candle Stick those fans get into it. Also saw Cards at Cubs and again those fans get into that rivalry. Made them fun games to go to. Saw KC play someone a few years back, just wasn’t that exciting even though they handed out Buck O’Neil bobble heads and wore Negro League Uniforms.
I’ve been to my fair share of college games, my one time in Allen Field house was amazing, even though it was against Baylor the first year they had like two scholy players on the roster. A lot of college football games in Lincoln, and of course the college world series.
When the fans take stake in a team and really get into it it really does make the game more enjoyable.
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The funny thing is I do think the college game is pretty awful to watch…unless it’s my team(s). Missed shots galore, turnovers, 18 year olds who think they’re NBA ready, etc.
Last night I was channel surfing, caught the end of a good Mavs-Suns game. I watched Nowinsky casually drain a 3 pointer under pressure with about 10 seconds left to essentially seal the deal. I mean these guys playing in the NBA are really good, well except the 18 year olds who haven’t learned to play yet.
But there’s no passion. It’s not much fun to watch.
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@wissoxfan83 Oh the college game is awful, if it weren’t for KU this year I probably wouldn’t have watched any games during the regular season. I watched conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament.
The best thing about the Big Dance is that if one game stinks there are usually three more on during the first weekend anyway. That and the occasional upset/cinderella winning on a last second shot.
I still remember Kobe as a rookie, he was shooting air balls, and getting is pocket picked by a lot of guys that never had their name on a shoe.
It takes time for guys to mature physically and mentally to be a good player let alone a great player in the NBA.
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And your perspective is quite interesting on NBA, too. Sounds more like going to an entertainment show in Vegas.
I’ve heard from friends who get opportunities to use a NFL skybox and they mostly rave about the food.
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@drgnslayr I will say my wife had fun with all the “extra activities” going on including leaving our seats to go chat and find various snacks. I should have known since she and my daughter watch “Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders” that she would find the Rockets Power Dancers and costume changes just as important as the game. And she loved the music.
As for the athleticism on the floor it has been a LONG time since I have had close seats for an NBA game. I have had great seats for KU games about once a year and I’ve posted before the athleticism of big men is off the charts compared to my KU days in the 70’s.
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You are so right about this. I remember seeing Julius Erving in person from the fourth row end of the court, when he was still pretty young. I had seen probably a hundred KU and college games in person by that time. He was on a fast break. I just remember watching him take off from the top of the key and I was expecting him to pull up and drain a jump shot. But then he kept moving up and forward. I was expecting him to come down and shoot kind of a driving hook. But he kept coming forward with the ball in his right hand fully extended, like it was out on the end of a pitchfork, or something. Then I got worried that he was actually going to hit the back board from about the waist up. Then from the head up. Then he just crammed it down and ducked his head and pulled it to the side a little bit to clear the rim and he landed kind of like some giant flipping albatross and then as if it were nothing at all–not a hint of celebration–he just curled gracefully around and loped back down court to play defense. It was still the damnedest single play I have ever seen in person and I attended several Show Time Lakers games and a Shaq Attack or two. I know Julius was supposed to be only 6-6 or 6-8, but he played the tallest of any guy his size that I ever saw before or since. He was almost spooky, because at other times on the floor he moved around just like an ordinary person. It was like he transmogrified into this different creature when he was in transition.
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My opinion about the NBA, I wouldn’t walk across the street if I had owners suite tickets. Just my opinion.
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@brooksmd In the early 80’s we lived in Houston and I attended 10-12 Houston Rockets games. But I got over it pretty quickly.
We probably went to 30 Astros games every year though - that was a blast. Also that was when it was still affordable.
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@nuleafjhawk A few years ago my son and I went over to Houston to catch a series with the Cubbies/Sosa. He had one very impressive hr. Nice ball park they have. Not Wrigley, but nice.
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@brooksmd What did you think of that odd little hill against the fence in Center Field?
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@brooksmd I’d like to see that - when I lived there, they still played their games in the Astrodome. Coldest foam in the Dome! It really was fun. The “homecoming” game for Nolan Ryan was one I’ll never forget.
If you want to see a really beautiful Triple-A ball park, check out Dell Diamond - home of the Round Rock Express in Round Rock, Tx, which is a farm club for the Texas Rangers. It’s pretty sweet!
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@JayhawkRock78 Strange. Don’t understand the reasoning for it. I guess if you played your home games there no problem. But to play 6 games or so a year would be a pain.
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@nuleafjhawk Very nice ball park. Entrance is very impressive. New Orleans Zephyrs have a nice park. Been to a couple of games. Would go to more but would have to be by myself and 120 miles rt which rules out cold ones. I do enjoy minor league games. We also went to games when we lived in Columbia, SC. Think it was just single A so not as nice a park.
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@brooksmd Well, the Royals resurrected my enthusiasm for watching baseball on TV last season, but I’ve always enjoyed going to games in person. It’s just so dang…American.
(cue the Star Spangled Banner and wait for the fighter jets fly-by)
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@nuleafjhawk My sisters live in Topeka and catch a few games every year. One goes ape for the Royals. Wish we could get their games down here. I should go home for a visit and take in a series or two.
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@brooksmd Thank you Mr Cuban for saying that. Maybe those idiots running the NCAA will listen. Cuban might be an ass but he is a very intelligent one.
Now that I live on the east coast, I am a 4 hour-ish road trip shy of MSG. I hope to go see some live NBA action some day soon.
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I’ve been to one NBA game. NY Knicks at Cleveland in January 1997. Patrick Ewing didn’t play (injured). I think Herb Williams from Ohio State back in the 70s started instead–he had to be about 50 years old. The score was 75-65. John Starks and Terrell Brandon chucked about 40 shots between the two of them and made about a third of them. It was the most boring sporting event I’ve ever seen in my entire life. In hindsight, it probably was a lot like some of today’s college games.
That was enough NBA for me.
I did get to drive through a blizzard to get back to Youngstown, Ohio. So that was kind of exciting.
