Situation Critical - Do Foreigners Come Here Just To Play Basketball?

A few weeks ago, I met up with a friend who’s closely associated, in a professional way, with the NCAA. Among the many things we talked about was the question of parity among teams in the league. Inevitably, the discussion centered on the manner in which San Beda College ran roughshod over the opposition in 2k10. For him, a huge reason behind the Red Lions’ success in Season 86 was the play of American center Sudan Daniel. And who could argue with him?

I then told him that about a column I wrote a few months back, stating that the outright banning of foreign players was not the solution to bridging the huge gulf in talent among teams in the country’s oldest collegiate basketball league. It wasn’t the difference in opinion, however, that struck the two of us, but the ensuing exchange.

“We have to ask the question: Do foreigners come here just to play basketball? Do schools recruit foreigners for athletic purposes only?” he asked.

“Answering that question will merely scratch the surface of the system,” I replied.