11-2-2011

In case you haven't heard, NBA arenas are empty because there is an ongoing lockout in the NBA right now. NBA players like Tony Parker, Kenyon Martin and Leandro Barbosa are leaving to go play overseas. The players that would normally go overseas are stuck in the states, waiting to see what happens. The lockout will only hurt the NBA. It's ratings with the exception of this past season have been decreasing slowly for years. No fan wants to watch a bunch of undeveloped thugs play basketball with no defense and no pride. Even poor old Lebron would have trouble putting up today's numbers with the likes of Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler and Dominique Wilkins guarding him. 

I follow Twitter, ESPN, Stephen A Smith and really haven't seen anything that makes me optimistic that there will be a season. Since the NBA arenas will stand empty, NBA fans have a void and many think that the NCAA Men's basketball will be what fills it. Like the NBA, men's college basketball has also seen a steady decline in it's ratings and numbers.

The development of the player's just isn't there. Players are leaving out of high school or only staying one or two years in college. This was unheard of in the Jordan/Bird/Olajuwan glory days. The quality of play today is very poor. All signs that the game has changed. The lockout will only hurt the NBA and many fans simply won't go back.

Major ticket brokers like RazorGator are increasing their inventory of college basketball tickets in anticipation that the attendance at college basketball game's will increase. I stand firm that there will be little change in ticket sales but a big change in viewer ratings. The best college basketball is played where there are no NBA teams. Chapel Hill, NC. Durham, NC. Lawrence, KS. Lexington, KY. Lansing, MI. Syracuse, NY. Bloomington, IN. College teams like St. John's, Georgetown and UCLA might appreciate the lack of an NBA season.