Jamie Dixon’s squads typically are composed of experienced college basketball players. For a long stretch, having a super-talent in the mix like DeJuan Blair or Sam Young was simply a bonus. The college landscape, however, is changing. Seventeen one-and-done players have been selected over the past two NBA drafts. Plenty more have gone undrafted. Not since the 2003 Syracuse team fueled by Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara has a squad won the National Championship depending so heavily on freshmen though. So, is it more valuable to have experience or talent?
The guys over at Rush the Court wrote a great piece statistically investigating the argument.
With the NBA rule change in 2006 that no longer allowed high-school players to directly enter the draft, the college game benefited immensely. It is only a matter of time before those players start to culminate at one school. In fact, the Kentucky Wildcats already have featured some of the best all-freshmen teams ever assembled. As of right now, experience may defeat talent, but it won’t stay that way for long.