Colin Cowherd (44:21)
Knicks Pacers have the fastest pace in the NBA the last three years Knicks have the slowest in the NBA the last two years. To me, that series comes down to which team can force the other to play their style and their pace. I think Indiana is the better team, but I think the shot making by the Knicks in the fourth quarter against Boston and Detroit, it was really, really impressive. These are two point guard led teams. It's my kind of basketball. I always told you I like the Magic, the Chris Paul. I like guard play. I got nothing against centers, but I like good pace. I like analytics over analytics. I don't want a parade of three point shots. So I think the Pacers and the Knicks are not reliant on the three point shot. I think they're both capable of winning the championship or at least winning the East. I'm not sure if anybody can get through the buzzsaw known as okc, but we'll find out. This is so Stefan Castle was a great player on that UConn team two years ago that won the title and blew everybody out. It's one of the best college basketball teams in 20 years. But college basketball has had a weird thing going on for the last 25 years, which is a lot of the great players at a high school went to the G League or they went overseas or if they did go to college, it was one and done. So college basketball has been watered down for about 25 years. Where the college player of the year a Doug McDermott at Creighton, he's just a bench guy. Like you didn't know if a guy, if he was great in college, was he necessarily great When I was, when I was growing up, Tim Duncan growing up, Patrick Ewing, he was great in college. He was going to be a great NBA player. Like if you saw a guy Christian Laettner may not have Been a great NBA player. But Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, Larry Johnson, if a guy was dominating in college, he was going to be at least a good NBA player. There were always outliers, but over the last 20 years, it could be fool's gold. I mean, Jimmer for debt is crushing college basketball. And you're like, he's an overseas player. So this is interesting. Stefan Castle was on that UConn team couple years ago. He got all rookie team. Also, Zach Edie did. And there were a lot of questions about Zach Edie. Remember we were hearing he can't play in the NBA because I think when a culture changes or a sport changes, it's hard to be on the forefront of it. So Zach Edey makes the all rookie team, and he was a very effective player. Who's. Who's just every the last four years, every time I watch him, he's better college or pro. So I think college basketball is roaring back because of the nil. The NIL is keeping more good players like Zach Edey in college basketball another year. And it's taking some G league guys. And they say, well, I can make more money in college. I'll go college. The NIL payments are now potentially affecting Europe. A story out today that Barcelona and Real Madrid are considering shutting down. Not yet, but shutting down. They're considering it. Their youth academies. Why? Because so many Spanish players are coming over to college basketball because college basketball can now pay them. So the NIL is making college basketball healthier. Zach Eady can go pro. No, just stay at Purdue. You're getting this all over the place. So that UConn team that dominated college basketball, well, are they really any good? Well, two of their guys, Donovan Clingan and Stefan Castle, made all rookie teams. Yeah, it was that good. That UConn team historically was one of the better college basketball teams in the last 30 years. Zach Eady was an NBA player, so college basketball was fool's gold. You see a guy dominate college basketball, and he's at best, he's like an overseas or a rotational guy. Not anymore. And by the way, the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament this past March, highest TV ratings in 32 years. So America catches on to quality pretty quickly. So I think this is really good. I know everybody's afraid of college at the NIL and the transfer portal, but I was looking at guys, Doug McDermott, Luca Garza, Tyler Hansborough, who were players of the year in college and really dominating. And then you watch them in the NBA and you're like, they're just rotational guys. And it felt like years and years and years ago, in the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, the early 2000s, if you dominated college basketball like Ralph Sampson, you were going to go be a good pro. Akeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley. And then there got. There was this string where so many guys went to Europe or it's one year of college or it's. Or it's the G League, where it's so watered down, you don't know who's good. A guy can score 25 a game in college. He's a rotational guy. He may play overseas. So it's official. Zach Eady can play in the NBA. And that UConn team two years ago was really, really good. I also think I saw this. And by the way, J. Mack, you are the biggest college basketball fan I know. And I. And I do think you and I talked about Zach Edie. There was an amazing pushback. And then Mark Few came on my show and said, if he can't play in the NBA, he goes, I coach the Olympic team. Right. Like, we can't stop him. We've never faced a player at Gonzaga we can't defend. And then, remember, Hurley came out and said, yeah, like, if he can't play in the NBA, the NBA's got a problem. He's a dominant player. So I really do think that's fun for the fans. It legitimizes college basketball, and that's the sport. I would say that's your second favorite sport after pro football.