THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Sunday, April 12, 2015

There's been a lot of talk lately about what is ailing college basketball.

The other day, glancing at the TV at the health club during the midst of my daily session of 400-meter intervals on the treadmill (*), I think I saw the answer.

All seven of them.

That's how many Kentucky players stood up at a news conference to announce they were leaving school early to declare for the NBA draft.

Granted, Kentucky had a pretty good team this year - the Wildcats were undefeated for most of the season, but were unable to win the national title, having been beaten by Wisconsin in the Final Four.

Still that was enough to convince these "student-athletes" that they had done enough in college, and it was time to "take the next step."

FULL DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER - I have been a big-time college basketball fan for a long time. I loved watching kids play together for four years, get better each season, and eventually, sometimes, you end up with a super team like Georgetown (1984, '85) and UNLV (1990, '91).

Other than when the Warriors or the Spurs are on the tube, NBA games are largely unwatchable. Olympic curling is more interesting than the first three quarters of an NBA game.

But you can't blame anyone for turning pro while their "stock is high," or so they can get paid to play the game they love, instead of playing for a free education and to make millions of dollars for their schools - none of which trickles back to them.

I get that. But as long as kids only have to stay one year in college, instead of for two or three years, we college fans are going to suffer through this (early) exodus this time every year.

That doesn't mean we have to like it.

IN AN ideal world, there should be a rule that you should have at least been a dominant player in college in order to turn pro.

Some of these players weren't even standouts, much less starters, in college - though they may have been had they stayed another year or two or three.

Maybe there could be a panel of NBA "experts" that could determine if players were good enough to leave, or had to stay in school.

"You, you're ready for the NBA."

"You, you need to develop your left hand, and perhaps learn to make a jump shot."

"You, you need to be able to do more than dunk, son."

Look at Arizona, for example. The perception of college hoops on the West Coast is always better when teams like Arizona, and UCLA, and, in the old days, UNLV, were good.

Arizona is back in the national consciousness these days after a pair of Elite Eight finishes. But how good would the Wildcats have been the past couple of years, if their good kids had stuck around for another year, and played with the latest incoming class of phenoms?

We'll never know.

If the kids that leave early, but hardly play on their NBA teams, think their games will develop faster practicing in the pros or playing in college - or worse, by playing in the "D" League, or Europe - that's a scary statement on the importance of college basketball as well.

People hated on Kentucky this season because, well, they're Kentucky and they're coached by John Calipari. But four players - including three freshmen - thought about declaring for the NBA draft last year, but opted to return and play with an incoming batch of five-star recruits.

And guess what? All that talent made for a pretty good team, and a pretty compelling story this season.

One Kentucky kid actually stayed there through his junior season before turning pro, and I don't think the "extra" time in school hurt him one bit. But in these days of the one-and-dones, he's almost a dinosaur in the college game.

Meanwhile, the Zags are the exception - their players hardly ever leave early. That's why, at their current level of bringing in talent, that cohesion should lead them into the Final Four sooner rather than later.

(* OK, SO I wasn't really doing 400-meter intervals - it was more like a brisk walk up a slight incline. But since everyone embellishes their workouts when they describe them to others ... )

Hmm, that's kinda like when people embellish a kid's pro potential, the kid thinks he's going to go in the lottery or at least the first round - but ends up going in the second round or is undrafted.

Last year, 45 players opted to leave college early and declare for the NBA draft. Another 30 international players also declared. Shockingly, another 15 players - they call them seniors - who stuck it out in college all four years were selected in last year's draft. There are only 60 picks in an NBA draft. You do the math.

How many kids that we've watched in recent years, starring during March Madness, are now rotting on the end of NBA benches? Or are toiling in the "D" League, or in Europe? Or worse, out of basketball and without a degree?

Maybe that was the best move for them, but for us college hoops fans, it's just a sad reminder of how good these college teams could have been.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.