It is lunchtime somewhere. So, welcome back to the lunch hour read of the Meat & Three. Every weekday I dive into a big picture topic and three things to get you through a quarantine spring. 

The ripple effect of the G-League’s path to the pro life will impact the blue bloods in college hoops. But how valuable were one-and-done players really at the college level anyways? Our MJ stream of the week continues with a one of the GOAT’s most famous buckets and, of course, the Stan Johnson photo of the day. 

THE MEAT: HOW WILL THE BLUE BLOODS SHIFT THEIR RECRUITING AGAINST THE G-LEAGUE PATH?

The G-League path that Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd are taking will impact college hoops, no matter what you read on the internet. 

This is an amazing opportunity for Green, particularly. He could be a top three pick next year. It could be a great opportunity for other players moving forward. But understand this - the G-League route isn’t for everybody. This isn’t an open door policy. This isn’t a block party. This is an exclusive group of athletes that will be hand-picked. 

Green said he would have picked Memphis, had he gone to college. 

Duke and Kentucky, the two powerhouse programs that have landed the most one-and-done players over the last decade, are the programs that may be impacted the most. The blue blood programs have combined for 81 draft picks since 2000. Eighty-one. Kentucky has had 14 one-and-done players over the last five seasons while Duke has had 13. 

John Calipari and Mike Krzyzewski will certainly have to shift some recruiting philosophies but they’ll still go after the best of the best. Make no mistake about this. There are benefits to college basketball at a major program like these and there are benefits for the G-League path. 

Understand this, College basketball won’t be ruined by this. College basketball has much bigger issues than star power not spending six months hearing their names being screamed by Dick Vitale. 

We move on. The college game needs improvements but it can sustain a power move like this. The ripple effect could trickle down to the teams that are usually in the 20 to 40 range in the power rankings.  

G-League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim knows the prep level well. He knows who the top players are in the upcoming ranks. He’s been to USA Basketball events. He’s been to travel ball events. He has great perspective as a former prep star, college one-and-done guy, NBA All-Star and front office executive. But it is his experience as the father of a top 50 level player that may give him the most unique perspective. 

His son, Jabri, is a University of Virginia signee. College basketball needs more players like Jabri than guys like Jalen Green moving forward. Guys who are talented but will get even better with great coaching and development in a league like the ACC. 

Jabri comes from a home that values education and an instant move to a professional lifestyle isn’t needed. That’s not the case for every amateur player. Will the blue bloods now focus more on education and development instead of a “here’s a quick path to the NBA” plan? 

Programs that develop and cultivate talent should thrive in a transition period as we will likely see more G-League (or other professional levels) defectors. College basketball doesn’t need "now power”. The college game needs staying power. “Now power” didn’t yield squat in 2019-2020, a down year for college hoops. 

Anthony Edwards was on a team that went 16-16 and finished 13th in the SEC. James Wiseman dipped his toe into the college game at Memphis. Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels were part of a Washington team that went 15-17, finished 12th in the Pac-12 and only won five games in 2020. Cole Anthony was on North Carolina’s 14-19 season (he was 10-12 when he played) and was 13th in the ACC. 

Vernon Carey, a constant player in the top five his entire prep career, was the only player inside our final HoopSeen top 7 who actually had team value at the college level as a rookie. Our former No. 2 overall player in the high school ranks was outstanding for the Blue Devils, posting 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game for the team that went 25-6. 

Finding players that can stick has proven to be the better recruiting tactic than the one-and-done. We’ve only see two lottery picks win national championships over the last five years. Two - Villanova’s Mikal Bridges won two times and was drafted No. 10 overall in the 2018 draft. De’Andre Hunter won a title at Virginia and was taken No. 4 overall in the No. 4 draft. 

Neither of those players were five-star, top-10 gotta-land-em type of players for the bluebloods. They were good at the prep level but developed in programs where it took time to get better. 

College basketball seemed to love those Nova and UVA teams. And college basketball loved watching the fab freshmen squads too. 

You love what you love. So, let’s love the process of letting dreamers dream their own way. 

THE NOTE

There is some major news regarding academics and the class of 2020 that you’re going to want to know about it. Tai Young did a good job of spelling it all out. Please read it HERE. 

THE STREAM 

The documentary we've all been waiting for is almost here. The Last Dance, a 10-part docuseries, focuses on the 1997-1998 Chicago Bulls. Each episode will be an hour long and aired on ESPN. 

The series will begin April 19 and run through May 17. 

To ramp up for what should be a terrific run of Michael Jordan and his Bulls teams, we will focus on five of MJ’s most memorable games. Yesterday we shared a 1993 version of Beast Mode Jordan. 

Today we round out our week of MJ footage with his most famous shot of his career. In 1998 against the Utah Jazz, we saw The Pose, one of the most iconic shots/moves we’ve seen from the GOAT.

THE STAN JOHNSON PHOTO OF THE DAY 

I asked our guy Stan Johnson to send me some of his favorite shots from the 2019 season on our HoopSeen platform. We begin his gallery today in the Meat & Three.