By Evans Erilus

No one ever likes to hear the phrase “things aren’t the way they used to be,” especially when that comment is followed by an incessant rant about everything that is wrong in today’s society. Most of the time, the complaining is a waste of time by some senile individual incapable of adapting to these times of change. Other times, however, the assessments of the discrepancies are very sage in nature.

With that said, everyone is Yoda when the topic of discussion is the NBA, which has stood for No Baskets Allowed in recent seasons. Though there are numerous reasons for the drop in quality of play, the consensus is that no one understands how to play the game anymore. For every breakaway reverse jam, there is the point guard who shoots a pull-up three with two men open on the wing. For every blocked shot followed by a barbaric yawp there is the oblivious frontcourt man that neglects to call out a screen for his undersized point guard. Players nowadays prioritize flair over fundamentals.

When you look at it closely, however, it really makes perfect sense. Younger players grew up wanting to be like Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, and, to a lesser extent, Dominique Wilkins; no one wanted to be a Larry Bird or a Reggie Miller. They were more intrigued by a Magic Johnson wraparound pass than a textbook chest pass from John Stockton. In the process, players learned how to dunk before mastering the free throw, and developed a killer crossover before discovering how to find the open man. The result? Only 11 players (minimum 500 shots) are shooting over 50 percent from the field this season. Ten years ago, 30 players made more than half of their shots from the field — thirty. This year, only two teams average more than 100 points per contest (Sacramento and Dallas). In the 1993-94 season, the figure was 10 times that. This is not even factoring in the increased amount of turnovers, personal fouls and referees in the witness protection program. (Where is Tim Donaghy, anyway?)

Despite the presence of some very marketable superstars (Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson), the league is in serious trouble throughout the motherland. It is losing ground in popularity to football and baseball (despite the steroid ordeal that’s tarnishing the sport), simply because those sports offer the best competition available with athletes who understand the game. Therein lies the caveat; if athletes play hoops without understanding its intricacies, the quality of the sport drops.

So how does one solve the problem? One could take the Mark Stein approach, which involves widening the court to create a more free-flowing game. I propose stopping the problem where it starts: the rookies. In every other sport, athletes enter the league ready to play; they may not be the most talented of athletes, but they are physically and mentally prepared for the grueling nature of the sport. It is only in the NBA that you see valuable roster spaces taken up by immature and underdeveloped athletes who never get off the bench in their first two seasons in the league, thus wasting a roster spot. One could argue about the exploits of Lebron and Carmelo to buck the theory; still, for every one of those guys, there are five or six Leon Smiths and Lenny Cookes.

The key to saving the league lies in fixing its minor league system, plain and simple. The National Basketball Development League presents an opportunity for athletes to compete, but offers little else. Solving this problem is simple; take a page out of the ice book. In hockey, players drafted out of high school are claimed by NHL franchises, but the athletes are still allowed to go to school, or to junior hockey leagues, and develop. If the league adopted this philosophy, they could draft high schoolers, send them off to colleges, semiprofessional leagues and Europe, and have no qualms about their development becoming impeded by a lack of game experience. Under this scenario, athletes would enter the league more prepared, resulting in a smoother game. Who knows, if everything works out, it may turn out to be a blast from the past both literally and figuratively speaking.

DOGGIE BITES: Now, I’m not one to toot my own horn, but I am unafraid to do so if those around me are drinking HATER-ade. With that said, you read in this very publication about Rocky Hager becoming NU’s next football coach A MONTH AGO, in addition to several details involving the developing soap opera days of Don Brown. In the words of my shorty, we’ll just leave it like that. This may be the only time a hockey team ever receives a shout-out from yours truly, but congratulations to the Tollgate High hockey team, who finally ended Mount St. Charles’ 20+ years of dominance by recently sweeping the Rhode Island Class A State Championships, 2 games to none. Sorry Mounties, but the dominance had to come to an end someday.

— Evans Erilus may be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard every Friday from 3-6 p.m. on WRBB 104.9 FM’s “Dog Pound Sports Sound.”