LeBron James Doesn't Follow March Madness; Says It's Hard To Watch College Basketball

During his interview with Pat McAfee, LeBron James spoke about the ongoing March Madness tournament and NCAA college basketball as a whole. The King admitted that he doesn't regularly follow college basketball and believes the games are difficult to watch because of the different rules they follow compared to the NBA and other professional basketball leagues.

"I'm going to be honest. No [when asked if he follows college basketball]. I don't follow. I don't do the brackets. I love the sport. I watch occasionally, but it's hard watching college basketball, for me. It's a different sport from what we play."

"Every time a player drives, a kid can just come out of nowhere and slide underneath them, and it's always a charge. You can't do a Eurostep, it's a travel... You shouldn't need 35 seconds to shoot the damn basketball. It's the game."

James was attending several college basketball games last year when his son Bronny James was playing at USC. Granted, Bronny did not get to play a lot of minutes, as he was coming off a very serious cardiac arrest that limited his physicality. But that may have been the only time he kept a close eye on the collegiate scene.

The rules in the NCAA collegiate scene are a little different from the NBA. The refs in the college game allow for far more physicality than the NBA does. And, of course, the shot clock is moved to 35 seconds rather than the standard 24 seconds seen in the NBA and in the professional scene.

James could be considered a basketball purist, someone who believes that the game needs to be played in a certain type of way; otherwise, the sanctity of the sport is being disrespected. However, LeBron should remember that the players in the collegiate system are still developing.

LeBron never experienced the collegiate game, as he was so magnificent that he got the chance to enter the NBA directly from high school. However, not all players are that talented in high school, and they need more time and experience to develop their game. If there are some rules in place that appear more lax compared to the NBA, that is by design so that players can feel comfortable working on their game.

Of course, James didn't use his platform to criticize the players, but the system as a whole. However, there is one important question to be asked. LeBron has regularly spoken about his rookie teammates and how he watched them in college. Most recently, the King spoke about watching and being impressed by Dalton Knecht's stint at the University of Tennessee.

Given that James doesn't follow the game, how did he come to know of Knecht? It's very possible that prior to the draft, LeBron tries to watch as much footage about the players that his team could possibly be drafting. Regardless of what approach he takes, James isn't a big fan of the NCAA tournament.