Matt Barnes blames the NBA for the lack of quality in college basketball: “They’re drafting kids that are averaging six points and five rebounds in the Top 10 now” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
NCAA basketball has changed a lot over the years and it is not for the better if you ask Matt Barnes. A 14-year NBA veteran believes the quality of college basketball has gotten worse over the last few years because there are not as many great players there anymore.
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He highlighted that while there are very talented players playing college hoops, most of them look to go to the NBA as soon as possible, without the proper experience that will make them ready for the toughest basketball league on the planet.
Potential over proven quality
That lack of reps gets more obvious year by year and Barnes blames the NBA partly for that as well.
“I just wonder what the future of college basketball is going to be. Because it used to be must-watch TV, March Madness used to be the sh— and it’s still cool, but it’s just not what it was because there are so many other avenues for kids. Whether it’s one-and-dones or going overseas for a year and getting to the league, I think everyone is in such a hurry to get to the NBA when they’re not necessarily ready,” Barnes said before continuing about the NBA’s responsibility in that trend.
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“I fault the NBA, because it used to be a little bit of potential and a lot of talent, and now it’s purely potential they draft. They’re drafting kids that are averaging six points and five rebounds in the Top 10 now,” Matt pointed out.
NBA has changed
It’s safe to say that the days of top picks staying multiple years in college programs are over. Tim Duncan played for four years at Wake Forest, perfecting his craft and trying to get as ready as he could for the NBA. Top picks doing something similar today seems ludicrous, but not just the top five players in draft; most of the first-round players are one-and-done at the college level.
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Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, freaks of nature like LeBron James or Cooper Flagg, guys who are very dominant and it was clear they’ll be instant impact players as soon as they get to the NBA.
But even though he didn’t mention it, Barnes is talking about others, the majority who weren’t blessed with a god-given talent like the top guys. Those top guys need time to adjust to the NBA, too, they need to work hard to improve their game, let alone players who are looking at the career of a role player at best.
Matt knows what he’s talking about because he built his 14-year NBA career as a role player. A great role player, but it took time to get to that point.
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He first played four years at UCLA, but was only a second-round pick in 2002 by the Memphis Grizzlies. Even when he was drafted he played two seasons in the D-League, which means those were six full years of developement before someone gave him a shot at the NBA level, which the Los Angeles Clippers did in 2004.
Many young players flame out by going to the league too early and expecting too much when they’re not ready for that level of competition. Even though some of them end up with solid overseas careers in the end, the reality is they probably had potential to become very good NBA players, but their lack of patience is what costs them in the end.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 23, 2025, where it first appeared.