In the times we live in with the one-and-done rule being imposed by the NBA (remember it is an NBA rule that has been negotiated with the NBAPA). This year’s Final Four has shown that there are numerous ways to build a winner in college basketball. There does not seem to be just one way to win any longer.
The first way is the Duke and Kentucky way of building a team. What Coach K and Coach Cal have done is, they have cornered the market on the best players. They turnover their rosters each season. They bring in the best players who want to fulfill the NBA guidelines and then bolt to the NBA. More often then not because the best players are going to these schools, They will always have a chance because they get these best players. However, sometimes that doesn’t work, chemistry issues might arise or players aren’t as good as they have been touted as.
The second way is a sort of new one-and-done. That way is to grab grad-transfers at key positions to go along with the players whom the coaches recruited. The grad transfers aren’t necessarily as good as the freshman one and done, but these players are successful and have defined roles. They are usually good shooters or they have size. Texas Tech is a good example of this way to find success.
The third and final way that I’ve seen is the recruitment and development of players. Virginia is the shining star of this way succeeding. Tony Bennett understands what kind of players will thrive in his system. Tony Bennett has the ability to find those players that will develop and will then succeed in his system. This kind of development is become rare and more rare.
These are the ways that I see that you can succeed in college basketball. You don’t necessarily get all of the high school one-and-dones. You can definitely win these days in multiple ways. However, you really need to pick one of these ways and commit to it. If you can’t get the great high school players, you can recruit those kids who fit your coaches system and develop into great players. Or with the transfer portal you can recruit proven players that fill holes in your schools roster.
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