Basketball Brands

I recently read an article on the blog of Dallas Mavericks Owner, Mark Cuban. In it Cuban discusses and compares the intricacies of international basketball with the NBA. It's a fabulous and insightful article reflecting his crisp, innovative and yet business-oriented mindset. However, there was one section of the post that triggered some thoughts which were reinforced by a couple reader's comments: "I don't understand why we have a Highschool 3 point line, college 3 pointer and then Nba ... It doesn't prove useful in any international competition."

I looked into it. Actually, high school and college share the same 3-point line distance (19'9"*basket-top arc), but are significantly different from the NBA (23'9"*), which is significantly different from the international game (20'8"*). There's also a considerable difference in court length/width. Why is that? And more importantly, is there a benefit to having the college, NBA and International game played and taught at these dimensions (not to mention the rule disparities) or does it reflect our exclusive and exceptional view of American sports? i.e. the best athletes in the world, most competitive leagues and the idea that Indianpolis vs. Chicago will decide the "World Champion."

I don't mind the idea of keeping high school ball at its current dimensions. And assuming that NBA ball is the most challenging, competitive and overall 'cream of the crop,' then it seems to me that NCAA hoops and its cross between high school and the NBA is the odd man out. I understand it may want to prepare its athletes for the professional game but has the NCAA brand of basketball come at the expense of our international game? Why not educate college athletes on how the game is played around the world as well as in the NBA? Especially considering that the vast majority of college basketball players will never play in the NBA (over 20,000 college basketball players and only 60 get selected in the draft).

It makes the most sense to me to eliminate this private adaptation we see in today's college hoops and enhance our understanding of FIBA and the international game. This would not only create and hone the skills to effectively help Team USA during international competition but it would also educate the fans and media about the World's brand of basketball.