Hardwood hot takes: College basketball needs a superteam

A fresh batch of college basketball hot takes are ready to be read and this time around we tackle two issues with the game: “superteams” and the block/charge call.

Looking for a superteam

Before the season began, a lot of the talk was about how blue-chip recruits were opting to play for schools closer to where they grew up, rather than make the move across the country to one of the perennial powerhouses in college basketball. Anthony Edwards chose Georgia and Jaden McDaniels stayed in Washington rather than team up at Kentucky. Nico Mannion decided to play for the Wildcats but in Arizona.

With there being no superteam this year the expectation was these stud freshmen would be able to elevate the programs they went to higher up in the national spotlight. However, those three teams have a combined record of 40-30 at the time of publishing.

This was not the season any of those three teams expected to have. Particularly for the Pac-12 teams as they brought in other high-level recruits to play alongside their in-State headliners (Josh Green and Zeke Nnaji for Arizona and Isaiah Stewart for Washington). However, neither team has been able to rise to the top of their conference.

Georgia was facing an uphill battle in the SEC. Auburn was coming off a Final Four trip and still retained most of their key pieces. LSU was in year two with Will Wade and only lost Naz Reid from a team that nearly made their own deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Last but not least, there’s always Kentucky. John Calipari might not have gotten the best recruiting class in the country but he did bring in a lot of talented youngsters as usual.

Yet, Edwards entered college as the belle of the ball. Some believed he was the type of player who could single-handedly turn around a dormant program like the Bulldogs. He has the size and skill to do whatever he wants with the ball and can score from all three levels — though he prefers to settle for perimeter looks too often.

Alone, those three have struggled to elevate their programs. However, could you imagine what the three of them would have been able to do together? We just saw the Duke Blue Devils bring in the top three recruits in the 2018 class with R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish. That group looked destined to cut down the nets until an upset loss in the Elite Eight.

Edwards, McDaniels and Mannion wouldn’t have been ranked as high but they might’ve been a better fit. Mannion is a true point guard and facilitator. Edwards is a versatile and dynamic wing scorer. McDaniels is every bit of the modern big, at 6-foot-10, he can play on the perimeter and operate in the interior on both offense and defense.

No disrespect to Gonzaga or San Diego State (who are both undefeated) but if that trio had chosen to play together they would easily be the most talented team in college basketball. Many thought Memphis would be the youthful team of destiny this season. They had the No. 1 recruiting class thanks to a seven-man group that was giving off Fab Five vibes.

In the end, the one-and-done players for 2019-20 did not have an impact on college basketball we have grown accustomed to seeing.

Get rid of the charge

There is a very simple change that could make college basketball a much better viewing experience for coaches, players and fans. It would mean adopting a rule so everyone would benefit. What would that change be? Eliminating the charge call.

For far too long, the block/charge call has been problematic. Defenders sliding under players already in the air. Violent collisions between two athletes can lead to unnecessary injuries.

While a majority of the calls officials make are judgment ones (did someone commit a foul? Was a player out of bounds? Etc.) this one call is the most opinion-based of them all. Two different referees could watch the exact same play and call it differently.

Unlike most calls that have specific guidelines that fit regardless of what happens in the play, what is a block on one possession could be determined to be a charge on the very next one.

The NCAA made it a point of emphasis to rid the game of flopping this season. Vice President Dan Gavitt said before the start of the year, via ncaa.com, “The rules committee made it clear they want it out of the game. We will see a bunch of calls early and it will cause some anxiety for players and coaches but everyone will adjust.”

One of the main situations, where the flop comes into play, is on the block/charge. It’s not often that an opponent takes a hit directly in the chest (or in some cases the chin). Instead, most defenders exaggerate the contact in an attempt to trick officials.

Most importantly, it isn’t even a basketball play when you think about it. Outside of trying to take a charge, there’s no other time when a player is told to let another run directly into them.

There isn’t much skill involved in standing in place. People do it all the time in non-sporting events. And yet, this simple and mundane act has changed the outcomes of way too many possessions and plays.

While a select few have been able to use this call to their advantage — looking at you Aaron Craft, Matthew Dellavedova and Collins Gillespie — the overall outcome of this call has been more of a nuisance than it’s worth. It’s time the NCAA steps up and does the right thing. Get rid of the charge.

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