Originally Posted by
Henderson
I think it has to do with player development, player visibility, stigma, and cultural comfort. But the times might be changing.
Player development: I don't doubt that there are excellent international coaches who are great teachers of the game who can prepare a player for the NBA. Better than Larry Brown? Not sure. International coaches taking on American players typically want to see scoring to justify the salaries. And right away. I'm not sure how much a stake they have currently in prepping a player for the next level. I don't really believe that coaches "produce" NBA players, but we've got some good ones on this continent, and they have a stake in the NBA success of their players. If more OAD prospects played oversees, maybe we'd see that mindset among (say) Chinese coaches, because it would allow them to attract more talented 19 year olds. But I don't think they're there yet.
Player visibility: Mudiay isn't going to be overlooked. But he isn't going to be on TV every week for his friends, family, sports commentators, and scouts to see. I could see that as an issue, particularly for non-lottery players. Even for the player who won't be overlooked by scouts, how many Guongdong games will his friends and family get to see? Has to be a consideration for these kids.
Stigma: Right now, in the US, fair or not, there is a stigma for Americans playing oversees. In the past, that's where players who couldn't make it stateside went (generalizing here, duly noting exceptions).
Cultural comfort: I personally think this should be a plus for 19 year olds. But not all 19 year olds agree. I've lived in a foreign country without speaking the language, and you either embrace it as a growth experience, or you feel lost. The food is weird. The street signs make no sense. And don't minimize the male adolescent thing: SMU girls vs. Guongdong girls? I'm not making a judgment but rather perceiving life through the 19 year old's lens. For a young college basketball star, college in the US is pretty sweet.
Those first three reasons hold true for the D-League too (though it also has the problem of paying poorly). And that may be changing. The last issue will probably always be there. Indeed, I suspect it explains in part why young Euro-stars don't immediately jump to the NBA when they can.
Things may change rapidly on all these fronts. The world is getting smaller; the NCAA is under pressure; and paradigms may be shifting. But right now, Mudiay is a sort of pioneer. It'll be interesting to see how that turns out, and I'm sure a lot of 16 year old phenoms who don't want to go to college are interested too.
The other issue, I believe, is personal development. Would a normal American teenager benefit more as a person in college, in the D League or playing overseas? It depends, of course, but college should involve a wider and more diverse set of friends, an educational environment (even if sometimes muted), and more nurturing coaches.
I am a believer in the intangible educational benefits of college life, such as living in a college dorm or a Greek house. After Duke, I attended grad school at another private university and, as an off-campus dweller, got to know the students who commuted to school (basically to save money). Over a three-year period I observed that these kids changed much less than the kids who lived in the dorms. Living with other college-age kids is an education in itself, and if you filmed or recorded all the conversations that occurred, you would probably be amazed that an educational process is going on, but I believe it is.
Playing in China as a teenager, even accompanied by a parent or other adult, sounds like a process that produces an extremely immature 21YO, and it could even be a disaster.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013