College basketball is certainly rich in tradition. When you think about the historic programs like Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina and UCLA, you can't help but to think of the big names associated with their programs. Issel, Manning, Laettner, Jordan and Alcindor all stayed in school past their freshman season.
It's not as common these days for a high school senior to choose a program that will nurture him from the age of 17 or 18 through his senior year of college. Instead, the "one and done" athlete is all too prevalent in today's game of college basketball.
Long gone are the days when we rushed home, adjusted the rabbit ears on the floor model set, hoping to get a better picture of Bird vs. Magic playing for a national title - or debating who was the better college big man, Olajuwon at Houston or Ewing at Georgetown?
The reality is that these debates and individual college rivalries are a thing of the past. While Kansas has had its share of great players leave after one season, no one has been more successful at recruiting and developing the "one and done" player than John Calipari at Kentucky.
Is this bad for college basketball? Or do you feel like it makes the game more exciting when the talent is so stacked?
The Wildcats and Jayhawks will meet Saturday, Jan. 30 at Allen Fieldhouse at 6.
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Dee Jackson can be reached at dee.jackson@kshb.com.
