[BktBallRef]

Mark is exactly right. We have different rules, which are essentially different rules for different age groups. Most kids play by the Natinal Federation of High Schools rules. NCAA rules are designed to allow the more mature players to grow and use their skills. Obviously, the NBA is in a league of it's own. It's entertainment but it's also adult basketball at it's highest level.

As Mark said, this may sound like the ugly American but basketball on the international level has not reached the level of American basketball. International teams that have taken our collegiate kids to the limit are usually made up of professional league players. I do not believe the best amatuer players in the world would be any match for the 2001 Duke Blue Devils, MSU Spartans, or UNC Tar Heels.

Don't use the Olympics as an example. The professional players that we send now are the best in the world. However, it's a group of superstars, not a team. There probably isn't an international team in the world that could have beaten the 1989 Pistons, the 1996 Bulls or the 2000 Lakers.

As far as the World Championship goes, it simply has no meaning to most American basketball fans. Most feel that the best basketball team in the world is the team that wins the NBA Finals.

I'm sorry but 99% of American basketball fans feel this way and there's really nothing that can be said to change their minds.