data-mm-id=”_ra1lrslh7″>Today, we saw two of the top high school basketball recruits in the class of 2020 opt to skip college and head straight to the pros. ESPN's No. 1 recruit in the nation, Jalen Green, and No. 13, Isaiah Todd, both decided to take advantage of the new rule allowing elite 18-year-old prospects to join the NBA G League instead of heading to college. This follows the paths of LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton, two of the top 2020 NBA Draft prospects, to play overseas this past season instead of playing in college. Guess what? That's the best thing for college basketball. Since the NBA instituted a rule in 2006 requiring players to be one year removed from high school before entering the draft, the aptly-nicknamed "one-and-done" rule, college basketball has lost its identity. The ultimate team sport has transformed into an individualistic game where the superstars are praised and highlighted on television. while the teams that actually grow together and eventually win don't get nearly as much attention until the media has no choice but to acknowledge them. Let's take the 2018-2019 season as an example. Zion Williamson was all the talk of college basketball and more people tuned in to watch him. Hell, Barack Obama went to see him play. Then, when he got hurt, it was national news for weeks. What happened to his shoe? Can Duke recover? Will he play again? That's all anyone wanted to talk about. Meanwhile, veteran-led teams like Virginia, Michigan State, North Carolina, Texas Tech and Gonzaga were having outstanding seasons and no one seemed to care. Looking back at the great teams in college basketball, the ones pundits praise and debate whether it was the best team ever, all of them featured veteran players who developed chemistry over the years and then won it all together. Sure, there are individual stars on those teams, but what made them great, and what was discussed and written about during the season, was the team. The one exception was Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, but those two always were the exception. That's what the NBA is for, not college basketball. The NBA shouldn't deny these kids an opportunity to make money if teams deem them talented enough to jump to the pros straight out of high school and college basketball shouldn't deny what its greatest strength is. Like the 1960 and 70s UCLA Bruins, the 1980s Indiana Hoosiers, the 1990s Duke Blue Devils and even the 2000s Florida Gators, it's not about the individual in college, it's about the team. Ultimately, having these talented young players skip college basketball and go straight to the pros will eliminate the one-and-done rule and help college basketball reclaim the magic it built under the watchful eye of John Wooden. Outsiders and capitalists might look at the game, and specifically as these individual players, as a cash cow with the opportunity to suck it for every cent they can, but that's not what college basketball should be. Thanks to these kids skipping it, college basketball will be better off.
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The Argentine forward, who became Cardiff s record signing last week after agreeing a move from Nantes in Ligue 1, was aboard a plane that disappeared on its way to the Welsh capital on Monday.
Thursday saw the start of a third day of searching for the missing aircraft and Guernsey Police confirmed that efforts have been resumed using a Channel Islands Air Search plane.
Manchester United interim boss Solskjaer, who managed Cardiff for a brief spell in 2014, is hoping there will soon be some good news.
It s tragic news and you know when you wake up you hope to read the news that there is some good news, but of course the more time …
Real Madrid attacker Mariano Diaz is desperate to play for Spain and switch his international allegiance from Dominican Republic.
Mariano, who returned to Madrid in August following a year at Lyon, has only one international cap to his name for Dominican Republic, whom he qualifies for through his mother.
That appearance, a 3-1 win over Haiti in which he scored, was a friendly back in March 2013, meaning his international future is uncertain because he has not featured in a competitive match.
The 25-year-old Barcelona-born forward is yet to play for Madrid this term and failed to score in his three Ligue 1 appearances prior to the transfer, therefore a snub by Luis Enrique for Spain s recent games against England and Croatia was not a shock.
But Mariano n…
Javier Hernandez has completed his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen to West Ham in a deal worth £16million
The 29-year-old joins the Premier League club on a three-year deal after completing a medical and agreeing personal terms.
Mexico striker Hernandez scored 39 goals in two seasons with Leverkusen and becomes West Ham s fourth signing of the transfer window.
For me, the Premier League is the best league in the world and when the opportunity came, I was desperate to sign for this club, said the forward.
It was not a difficult decision. West Ham is an historic club, and very ambitious – this summer you can see with the players signed that they are looking to have a very good season.
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Liverpool made it 20 Premier League games unbeaten but were left frustrated after a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield.
First-half goals from Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane – his first ever strike against the Seagulls – were cancelled out by Enock Mwepu and Leandro Trossard.
With Chelsea claiming a dominant win over Newcastle United, Jurgen Klopp s men slipped three points off the pace at the summit.
The only negative in a bright start for the Reds was losing Naby Keita to injury after just 20 minutes. The Guinean appeared to be suffering from the same problem sustained in the incident that saw Paul Pogba sent off during last week s 5-0 win at Manchester United.
Graham Potter s side were ultimately well worth their p…
Prediction: Both Teams To Score and Aston Villa to Win
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A place in the Premier League is up for grabs as Aston Villa do battle with Derby County in the Championship playoff final at Wembley Stadium.
The two teams clash on what promises to be an entertaining afternoon on Bank Holiday Monday in the capital.
Aston Villa
Heading into the final itself, Dean Smith s Villa are the red-hot favourites. Having squeezed past local rivals West Bromwich Albion on penalties, the Villans now head into their second consecutive playoff final. They missed out last season as they lost to Fulham at Wembley and will hope to avoid a repeat this time around. However, their form since Smith arrived in the West Midlands has been stunning an aspect that…
According to a recent report from Corriere dello Sport, Inter Milan could be interested in bringing Valencia forward Rodrigo to the club. This news comes in the wake of the Mauro Icardi saga, as the prolific goalscorer seems to be edging closer and closer towards the exit door with the club. Rodrigo, 28, has been with Valencia since back in 2015, when he made the switch over from Benfica – where he had spent five years of his career. Rodrigo also had a brief spell with Bolton Wanderers that proved to be unsuccessful.
Rodrigo is also a Spain international having made his debut back in 2014, but it does seem like all of this talk is dependant on what happens next with Icardi.
Rodrigo currently has a £100 million buyout clause in his contract, and is one of many candida…
Fiorentina are set to complete all arrangements to sign Jonathan Ikone from Lille in January, according to . The deal will see the Ligue 1 club bank an initial sum of €15 million, with a sell-on clause to potentially make it larger to be included.
The winger joined the youth ranks at Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 12, and made his way into the first-team squad six years later. He never got a proper chance to show his talent there, however, and he had two separate loan spells with Montpellier before making a permanent move to Lille in 2018, reportedly for €5m. Since then, he s gone on to score 16 and assist 25 goals in 146 appearances for his current club, and earned four caps as a France international.
The proposed arrival for the 23-year-old to Florence is belie…
He would have to reflect on back-to-back losses against Crystal Palace and Leicester City and a damaged Premier League title defence for a little longer, but Pep Guardiola leaned mischievously forward on his desk and broke into a grin.
Speaking ahead of Sunday s restorative 3-1 win over Southampton, the Manchester City manager was asked whether the playing philosophy he was told would struggle under Premier League scrutiny – only to yield 100 points last term– might be due for a rethink during this mid-season turbulence.
Oh, I was waiting for that question, he said before adding, with a deliberate head shake: That is not going to happen.
No way. Why should I change? Because I lost two games? No way – that is not going to happen.
There had been a …
Serie A leaders Inter Milan ensured they would remain top of the table for another week with a 2-1 victory over Atalanta under heavy rain at Gewiss Stadium.
Though the hosts had the better early chances, it was Hakan Calhanoglu’s spot-kick that ultimately broke the deadlock for the league leaders, his 36th goal in the Italian top flight enough bring him level with Sukru Gulesin as Turkey’s all-time top scorer in the league.
Inter captain Lautaro Martinez extended his side’s advantage after the break before Gianluca Scamacca swiftly pulled one back.
Victory in Bergamo!
— Inter (@Inter_en)
Atalanta substitute Rafael Toloi was sent off for a second yellow late on.
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Santiago Solari said Gareth Bale helped define Saturday s derby after scoring his 100th Real Madrid goal against Atletico Madrid.
It was a memorable outing for Bale at Atletico s Wanda Metropolitano, where the Welsh forward celebrated his century of goals in the 3-1 LaLiga derby victory.
Bale came off the bench and netted Madrid s third – his 100th goal in all competitions since arriving from Tottenham in 2013 for a then-record fee of €100million – against 10-man Atletico.
And Madrid head coach Solari praised Bale following reports the Wales international walked back to the dressing room on his own following the triumph.
Vamos!
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11)
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