Bruce Pearl discusses advantages of college basketball, professional options

A few seasons ago, professional options like the G-League were able to lure top prospects away from college basketball. The NCAA fired back with the creation and passing of NIL regulations. In just one year, NIL has changed the path that players can take from high school to college and even college to the NBA. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl got to see examples of this first hand this season.

In a recent appearance on ‘The Herd’ with Colin Cowherd, Pearl talked about the differences between collegiate and professional options. He says those who just want the money should certainly consider the G-League. If you want the experiences, though? He believes college is still the way to go, as evidenced by the No. 3 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft Jabari Smith.

“If you want your 18-year old son to be the breadwinner right away for your family, go ahead and put them in the G-League if that’s what it’s all about. Jabari (Smith) said I want to go to college. I want to be a freshman, to be in ‘The Jungle’ at Auburn, to go to football games and sit in the front tow, to get to know Sunni Lee and support her. I want to get better and when my game is right, the NBA is going to tell me my game is right.”

The experiences on a college campus versus a league like the G-League are so different. The coaching style is different as well. While college coaches are moreso worried about development, professional coaches are worried about getting their prospects ready for the pro lifestyle. In that sense, Pearl says he and the college game excel at handling young men at that age.

“I may not be as good coaching men, but (professional coaches) are not as good at coaching boys,” he said. “That’s who they still are. They may look like they’re men but they’re not.”

While NIL has changed how recruitments look, it has also changed the decision making process of NBA prospects. Top prospects have had to enter the draft in years past even if they weren’t necessarily ready in order to strike while their stock was the highest. NIL has taken an immense amount of pressure off of those decisions. Pearl described UNC’s Armando Bacot as the prime example. Rather than rush himself to the league, he’ll comfortably be able to return to school and develop instead.

“The NIL will help a little bit. (Armando) Bacot at North Carolina? He’s got a chance to win a (national championship) next year. He wasn’t forced to go,” said Pearl. “If the advisory committee said even though you might have been the best center in all college basketball on both ends and took North Carolina as far as you did but you’re looking like you’re gonna be in the middle of the second round? Okay. I’ll take your word for it. I’m gonna go back to school, work on a few things, make a little bit of money, and have another great year. And not have to earn the bread for the family when he’s 18 or 19.”

NIL will only grow more influential in years to come. It won’t only affect which players commit to the college game. It will also affect players similar to Bacot like Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, Gonzaga’s Drew Timme and Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis in giving them the freedom to continue to play at a level where they best fit. This is only the beginning and programs across the country are engaged with how it will grow from here.