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2017 NBA championship winner Matt Barnes criticized the current NCAA landscape, focusing on issues surrounding NIL and player age on the "All the Smoke" podcast. The former UCLA Bruins player also took to X on Tuesday, calling out NCAA's leadership.
Barnes does not blame players for benefiting from the extra eligibility rules. However, he says that the traditional idea of college sports is fading away as several CBB athletes are older than some NBA players.
One of the hottest topics of late has been the NCAA," Barnes said, "the NIL and these old ass men playing college basketball."
"I wanna make this very clear - by no way do I fault the players that are taking advantage of a situation the NCAA has no control over. You look at a team like Auburn, who has an average age older than the Oklahoma City Thunder."
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Matt Barnes also highlighted the mindset shift in players and coaches by noting Rick Pitino's approach and Dan Hurley's struggles:
"You look at Rick Pitino whose team is a 2 seed, congratulations, but he's talking about not recruiting high school players. Dan Hurley talking about half his team will jump in the portal after winning back-to-back championships."
Barnes also said that younger players are being looked over by schools and being forced to play in junior colleges because of the age barrier in D1 basketball.
"I think there is a real issue in the NCAA ... there needs to be some sort of regulation and age limit in college."
Matt Barnes wants Jay Bilas to take over the NCAA
After boldly stating that the NCAA is "always behind the curve," Matt Barnes advocated for analyst Jay Bilas to take over an authoritative role with the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
"You guys need to let Jay Bilas run that sh*t, Jay Bilas is always talking real sh*t, you guys need to get the f**k out of the way," he said. "Jay, you need to retire from you analyst job and go run the NCAA."
Like Barnes, Dick Vitale has also openly criticized the current landscape of the NCAA, expressing a desire for a change in the association's representatives.
The renowned analyst and broadcaster advocated for Duke's former basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski and Alabama's former football coach, Nick Saban.
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