College Hoops Is A Lie

I just heard a college coach casually explain that a grown man came back to college, used his NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) = publishing money, to pay alimony to his ex-wife, and is now suiting up against 18-year-olds.

If that sentence doesn’t reset your entire mental model of college sports, then read further.

This is not amateur athletics anymore.

This is not “student-athlete” culture.

This is not AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) with nicer gyms.

This is a professional development league wearing a college jersey.

And honestly?

long overdue.

Europe Solved This Years Ago

In Europe, there is no college basketball pipeline.

You don’t “develop slowly.”

You don’t dominate kids your own age for clout.

You play against grown men.

Men with mortgages.

Men with families.

Men whose jobs depend on winning.

Remember LeMello Ball skipping college to go to Europe and Australia to play against grown men?

There is something to be said about that.

He is now one of the best guards in the NBA

That’s also how players like Luka, Giannis, and Dirk, were forged.

Not hype.

Not mixtapes.

Pro development pressure

The AAU Problem Everyone Ignored

For years, people complained about AAU:

• Overplayed kids

• No real development

• Coaches chasing wins and shoe deals

• Players treated like inventory, not investments

Everyone knew it was broken.

But instead of fixing it, the system just let it rot.

Now the correction is violent.

The NCAA Pivot (Whether They Admit It or Not)

Here’s what’s actually happening:

• Eligible Older, experienced players return

• NIL money turns “students” into paid professionals

• Incoming freshmen are thrown into adult competition

• The league becomes a blended environment: youth + experience

That’s not chaos.

That’s accelerated development.

If you’re paying players like pros,

then let them play against pros.

You don’t get NBA readiness by being protected.

You get it by being exposed.

“It Looks Ugly” Because Growth Always Does

People hate this phase because:

• It breaks nostalgia

• It kills Cinderella stories

• It exposes entitlement fast

But development isn’t pretty.

It’s friction.

It’s hierarchy.

It’s survival.

This is basketball becoming honest again.

The Bigger Question (And It’s Coming Fast)

If college basketball is now a pro development league…

What happens to:

• Football?

• Track?

• Soccer?

• Baseball?

• Olympic sports?

Once you pay athletes like professionals, the illusion is gone.

You can’t call it amateur

while cashing pro checks.

That’s diabolical

Final Thought

College basketball isn’t dying it’s shedding its skin. The future isn’t comfortable it’s competitive and it doesn’t care how old you are. Pressure makes pros. Comfort makes content.

Now here’s my question?

I think I have one year of college left.

Should I go back?