THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Thanks, Ed, for perhaps saving college basketball

I was worried that college basketball, one of my favorite things in the whole wide world, was dribbling off into oblivion.

But, little did he know, Ed O'Bannon saved it.

It only took a little more than a decade, but ...

His lawsuit in 2009 over having his name, image and likeness used in an NCAA basketball video game eventually paved the way for current college hoopsters to profit from their name, image and likeness (or NIL).

And that — along with the other current craze, the college version of free agency known as the transfer portal, as well as the option to play one more year because of COVID-19 — appears to have kept some of them in college for longer than they normally would have.

All of which are good things for college basketball fans like me.

LEW ALCINDOR stayed at UCLA through his senior year.

So did Bill Walton.

And that was when freshmen were ineligible to play varsity basketball, so the most they could play in college was three seasons.

Patrick Ewing played all four years at Georgetown, after freshmen were allowed to play.

We were blessed to get three years of Michael Jordan at North Carolina.

None of those guys would have stayed in school anywhere near that long these days — even with name, image and likeness.

But maybe they would have stayed more than one year.

The beginning core of Coach K's Duke dynasty — Dawkins, Amaker, Alarie and Bilas — came out West to play in an NCAA regional in Pullman in 1984.

That dynasty might not have happened in the current climate of college basketball.

But it has a better chance to now, now that some players might choose to return to school and make some money through NIL, rather than risk not being drafted and having no other option other than maybe the G-League or Europe.

How much fun was it to watch the Hoyas during the Patrick Ewing days? Or UNLV, a decade and a half later? Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony led the Runnin' Rebels as FIFTH-YEAR SENIORS. Larry Johnson was a JUCO transfer who played all four years of college.

IT WAS easier to follow your favorite college team back then.

When a star player came in, you knew you could enjoy him at your favorite school for four years — or at least three, if he wanted to leave early.

The current one-and-done craze has made that a lot harder to do.

Entire rosters change yearly — you start to get used to a player, and are looking forward to how much he improves next season ... and he's gone for the pros, or somewhere else.

At least that's better than when players could jump to the NBA out of high school. Had that still been allowed in 2007, we would have been denied the chance to see Kevin Durant in the NCAAs at the Spokane Arena, in his lone season at Texas.

THE ZAGS have gotten into the one-and-done sweepstakes in recent years, but are mostly a collection of three- and four-year college guys, plus grad transfers and other veteran transfers.

A guy like Drew Timme might have been elevated to "All-time Zag" status anyway, but coming back for a final year in Zagland (and, presumably, another year of Northern Quest Casino commercials) pretty much seals it.

And even with the one-and-dones, with all Zags games on TV, and the massive amount of local media coverage the team receives, it will just seem as if the likes of Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren were in Spokane for a lot longer than they actually were.

The Lovable Zags were kind of an anomaly in the current college basketball climate anyway, even before NIL.

All that's missing for them is the parade.

Thanks to a knee injury, O'Bannon was still around in Westwood in the 1994-95 season, when he was a fifth-year senior on UCLA's national title team, and the Final Four's most outstanding player when the Bruins won it all in the Kingdome.

Without O'Bannon still at UCLA then, we might not have seen a tiny but swift senior guard named Tyus Edney go the length of the floor in 4.8 seconds in Boise for the winning basket in a second-round game, keeping UCLA's national title hopes alive.

SELFISHLY, I like to see players stay in college — I'd rather watch them play there than watch them not play in the NBA. But you can never begrudge someone for wanting to get paid.

And now that you can "get paid" in college, maybe a few more folks will hold off on leaving for the NBA for another year or two.

And that would be great for college basketball.

And for college basketball fans as well.

Thanks again, Ed.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.