The Bowl Games are a joke. March Madness is possibly the greatest US sports event, to include professional sports. I highly doubt it ever becomes a thing.
My guess is players will skip games when they don't have a shot at winning a National Title, just as they do in football. Since all tourney teams technically have a shot (no matter how unrealistic), we aren't going to see it unless they bring back the consolation game in the F4. Agree that the bowl games are no longer more than glorified exhibition games.
Doubt it becomes a factor in basketball. (A) Likelihood of grave injury is significantly lower than football; (B) if you're in the ncaa tournament, your best case scenario is winning a national title. If you're competing in a bowl game, your best case scenario is winning the bowl game.
The other aspect is players can greatly improve their draft stock or national image in the NCAA tournament. Football 1 game bowl if it ain't the title game is just another game and potential career altering injury risk. The bowl game just really won't change draft stock at all. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Butler Hoops mobile app
Maybe the NIT? Do you think Ben Simmons skips the NIT if LSU made it in 2016 instead of 2018 (for some reason he came to mind)?
Yeah, never gonna happen in the NCAA's but the Ben Simmons hypothetical or like if Oregon goes to the NIT/CBI/CIT, I can see Bol Bol sitting out. The more likely situation is basically what Jarred Vanderbilt did and what Ed Oliver is doing. I realize that depends on what you believe about either player's actual injury status, but I also don't care how injured or not injured a player may or may not be when amounts of money that will make their kids rich are on the line.
I could see guys sitting out the “other” post season tournaments, but there’s a much bigger risk in doing this in hoops. There are only two rounds in the draft, and a lot less spaces to make a team. Unless players don’t care about working up from the d-league it makes no sense to offer another reason to not draft you.
If you need an example of what the tournament can do for you look at Dante DiVencenzo went from no way he's leaving to first round pick. To a lesser extent Omari Spellman Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Butler Hoops mobile app