College basketball was at the forefront of the discussion surrounding the NBA draft, with 28 college players selected in the first round, the most since 2012.
NBC Sports broadcaster John Fanta spoke to Front Office Sports about the draft and what it says about the state of college basketball. Plus, Fanta shares his thoughts on NIL, NCAA tournament expansion, and recaps his first year at NBC. Some of the Q&A below have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Front Office Sports: You tweeted Tuesday night that the college basketball product has never been better. Why is that?
John Fanta: First and foremost, if you look at any analytics, we’ve never seen teams playing at the level that they’ve been performing at. That’s led us to the last two years of Final Fours that have just featured historically great teams.
When you combine that with the draft, and that was the biggest reason why I tweeted it the other night, there’s fewer and fewer fringe decisions in the NBA draft needing to be made. If you’re thinking about it and you’re uncertain of what your NBA future holds, you should be going back to college because there’s a solid to good chance you could make more money in that one year of college than you’re ever going to be guaranteed in the NBA.
When you look at that, that many of the best players that are teetering are staying in the college game, it’s leading us to having some tremendous, tremendous teams and depth of teams in college basketball.
FOS: The NBA draft just wrapped up. What were some of your favorite picks from the draft?
JF: In terms of favorite picks, I’m gonna start right with the Grizzlies. If you’re the third pick and you told me a year ago, you’re gonna get Cameron Boozer, I’d have said where do you sign the papers. That guy’s won everywhere he’s gone, he’s the consummate professional, and Memphis needs a new face.
I love the Kings picking Darius Acuff Jr. I had heard from sources that Sacramento wasted the fewest time of anybody to submit their pick. Other winners. The rich get richer with Oklahoma City. To walk away with Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz, superb. I thought the Hornets drafted smart. They got Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr. Charlotte in 2 or 3 years has a chance to be a very, very dangerous team in the Eastern Conference.
FOS: What is your opinion on NIL, and how do you think it’s changed college basketball for the better or worse?
JF: Wild, wild west is no longer even a proper statement. It’s the craziest sport in the country in terms of its offseason. The bidding wars are starting in winter, and anybody who doesn’t think they are is living under a rock. The portal never stops. People are putting lists together by December of the season.
To me, the portal is the big thing that really changed the axis of the sport because you can transfer however many times you’d like and there’s no restrictions. In a perfect world, I’d like to see players be allowed to transfer once, and then any ensuing time you do it, there has to be something like having to sit out a year. That doesn’t seem realistic, though.
But in terms of NIL, it’s the reality of the situation. If you’re whining or complaining about it, at this point, what is the point of doing that? I want to see kids get paid, and they should be getting paid. To me, the lack of any sort of salary cap or any sort of collective bargaining is glaring. It’s hard to see a path towards that because the NCAA still says they’re student athletes. That messaging versus what it actually is, which is pay for play, couldn’t be further from the other.
FOS: Do you think the level of spending in college basketball is sustainable? Do you expect teams at some point to start refusing to meet players’ asking prices?
JF: A lot of people say to me that at some point, the money’s going to run out. My response to that is that there will always be enough money to go and get the talented player that donor X or coach Y thinks can win them a championship.
At a certain point, some will balk, but others are not going to and will pay an understood rate. I think we’re going to see the market settle down a little bit in terms of, this is what’s understood a player goes for. When you’re paying anywhere from $4 million to $7 million for a college basketball player, how much more can they really be getting paid for what amounts to nine months of work?
Three years ago, we didn’t think it was sustainable, and now it’s three years later. And guess what? It’s just increased each offseason. I don’t see a world where there’s just an end. I think there’s just perhaps a settling down.
FOS: What are your thoughts on the NCAA tournament expanding to 76 teams? Despite all the negativity surrounding the move, will it be a positive for college hoops?
JF: I didn’t see the need for expansion, but I’m also not in the class of, “oh my gosh, this is going to ruin college basketball.” The NCAA tournament is the best postseason event in American sports. Adding eight teams means more games of that event. Can we not give it a try, and are we against more basketball?
I think my biggest thing in the sport, which I’m seeing coaches do now that there’s 76 teams, is the schedule. College basketball needs to continue to schedule marquee November and December games. The sport needs to find ways to continue to break through in those early months. When you’re taking 76 teams in your tournament, losing a game in November or December to a marquee opponent does not hurt you at all.
FOS: You personally just wrapped up your first basketball season at NBC. How was it?
JF: Unbelievable first year with NBC. It really was a year where I took on some new opportunities and fun challenges that really allowed me to grow. A lot of people have gotten to know me as a college basketball guy, and I love college basketball and will never let go of the sport. But I grew up on the west side of Cleveland and am a huge sports fan. As a result, I want to take on different sports and try to bring my energy to the table across different properties.
To get the opportunity to do that with college football and the Kentucky Derby, which was a spectacle and an amazing opportunity, was beyond my wildest dreams. To be able to step into baseball this summer. I don’t know if people know this, but I’m a massive baseball fan. It was really my first love with my dad. To be able to jump into that sport has been really cool because it’s so fun to tell stories across the clubhouses.
To jumping into the NBA. The NBA on NBC is iconic. To get the opportunity to contribute to their team was a dream come true. It’s been a really fun year, and I’m super excited for the future.
