College Basketball Has No Meaning

It's not very often I give my friend's credit using their real name (I try to respect their privacy), but Dexter Mitchell hit the nail on the head with his assessment of the Nerlens Noel situation.  As we were watching the Final Four he posed the question will Nerlens Noel go pro this year.  I told him there was NO WAY an NBA team would draft a player with a torn ligament in their knee.  Maybe a broken bone, but not a torn ligament. 

In his infinite wisdom Dexter pointed out, "What if he's a top 5 pick, doesn't he have to go pro?"  I agreed with the scenario, but balked at the notion anybody would take a gamble that risky.  Now news has surfaced that not only will Nerlens Noel be a top 5 pick, there's a good chance he will be the overall number one pick.  I saw Noel play this year and I can't say I was overly impressed.  Sure he's an athletic big man, but his game is raw and unpolished.  Searching for reasons as to how this could happen I looked up the 2013 college basketball All American team.  Surprisingly the list put things into perspective for me.  The All Americans this year are as follows:

Trey Burke
Doug McDermott
Victor Olapido
Kelly Olynyk
Otto Porter

Only Trey Burke has a legitimate shot at contributing on the next level.  To say this draft is shallow is like calling the Titanic a small boating accident.  Doesn't really do it justice.  If somebody on one leg can usurp the best players in the country then there's an obvious lack of talent.

The bigger question is what does this do for Kentucky recruiting?  Now the John Calipari pitch is more persuasive than ever.  He can tell potential recruits they don't even have to be healthy to get drafted in the top 5 if they become a Wildcat.  With that kind of impact other schools will be left fighting over scraps.

I think the amazing recovery of Adrian Peterson has people thinking ACL tears aren't that serious.  He is the exception, not the rule.  In reality it usually takes 12 to 18 months to recover from such an injury.  Look no further than Derrick Rose if you need proof.  The fact of the matter is college basketball is a joke right now.  They might as well go back to drafting kids out of high school if they're going to pick players that show flashes of brilliance and no consistency with the 1st pick.  I guess the Kwame Brown experiment has been forgotten.  Get your money Nerlens.  If someone will give it to you you'd be a fool not to take it.