Why De’Aaron Fox is wrong about College Basketball

As college basketball fanatics, we can all be fairly opinionated when discussing various topics related to the sport. Some individuals may believe that the addition of the flop rule (which states that any act of flopping caught by the referees will result in a Class B technical foul) will help clean up the college game over time, while others may feel that the rule will result in an excessive number of unearned free throws at the foul line. The wonderful part about the college basketball community, however, is the fact that everyone has the ability to push their differences aside and express their respect for the collegiate game at all three levels.

Unfortunately, Sacramento Kings guard and former Kentucky Wildcat, De’Aaron Fox, doesn’t feel as though any college basketball game is worth his time nowadays. On March 24th, the 6th year pro was quoted saying “I kind of flip through college games. I can’t watch a full college game. No, I can’t, It’s hard. Shot-making is not, obviously, at the pro level. Refs are bad. A lot of coaching is really bad. I can’t stand it.” Now, was Fox wrong in saying that the college game is flawed? Absolutely not, but I do take issue with the 2022-23 All-star comparing amateur basketball to professional basketball. Yes De’Aaron, the NBA is the highest level of basketball that an individual can reach, so it goes without saying that the shot-making will be ridiculous every time you tune into a contest.

So, what should you do when you stumble across a low, mid or high major college basketball game? Well, you should simply appreciate it for what it is. Yes, there will be mistakes make all throughout the contest, but more often than not, you’ll see two teams competing for 40 minutes and giving fans the occasional “Sportscenter top 10” worthy highlight. Look, I love De’Aaron Fox, but I’m sure there were plenty of NBA players who had no problem watching the East regional thriller between Kansas State and Michigan State. On the Wildcats’ side, Marquis Nowell put together one of the best individual performances in NCAA Tournament history, as he notched 20 points and dished out 19 assists in Kansas State’s 98-93 overtime victory. Lovers of deep logo threes and dazzling no-look and/or behind the back passes surely appreciated Nowell’s game of a lifetime. A.J. Hoggard, who was Michigan State’s best player in the game, netted 25 huge points and recorded six assists for Tom Izzo and the Spartans.

So yes, I understand not wanting to watch lobsided college basketball contests as a professional hooper, but if you make the decision to ignore compelling back-and-forth battles between two hungry ball clubs (like Michigan State and Kansas State), then you’re only doing yourself a disservice. To put it simply, you shouldn’t have a problem catching full collegiate games if you truly love the game of basketball.