Ten Reasons Why You Should Not Buy a Wilson NCAA Basketball

10. Grip: The grip on a basketball is as important as the tires, brakes, and steering wheel on a car combined. Maybe that's a smidge of an exaggeration. But, nevertheless, good grip is paramount for any high quality ball-without it, you're not never going to be displaying those "handles" you've been bragging about. And it gets tough to shoot a basketball that squirms out of your hands every time you touch it like a goldfish.

9. Weight: The weight of a basketball varies with the size and style. For instance: NCAA balls weigh slightly less than NBA balls. That, however, is not the issue with the Wilson NCAA basketball. It is more an issue of warped weight or lopsidedness. And trying to shoot a lopsided ball is going to make you look like an awful big idiot out on the neighborhood courts.

8. Grooves: The grooves in the Wilson NCAA basketball run much too deep. While that makes palming the ball easier, it throws off more important functions like shooting, dribbling and passing. The extended grooves give the ball an uncomfortable feel-almost like a football threading.

7. Weight, again: Aside from problems with the lopsidedness, another prominent weight issue arises in the Wilson NCAA basketball: All the weight is on the outside of the ball, making high arc shots fall embarrassingly short when they're not missing to the side by 3 feet. I have enough problems getting the ball into the hoop without the ball damaging my chances.

6. Color: This is a petty complaint, but the ball is neon orange. It can be very distracting-except at night when the lights have been shut off. Then it actually comes in handy.

5. Leakage of Air: Nobody wants to purchase a basketball, only to have to fill it up with air every time you're heading down to the court. It's a pain in the neck and it ends up affecting your play, since the weight and concentration of weight shift so quickly. I know it seems like an easy fix, but I assure you, it's an even easier fix to avoid purchasing a basketball that suffers from these annoying problems.

4. Synthetic Leather: You get what you pay for. People tell me that all the time. I just don't have enough money to afford to listen. It's great advice with basketballs though. Remember how important grip is to a basketball? It's also important that the grip has staying power. With leather you get that. And some high quality synthetics will give you results that are close. But, the Wilson NCAA ball pales in comparison. What grip it had shaves off into a jagged surface after a few games of 21. The durability of a basketball is an important factor to consider before purchasing.

3. Spin: One of the problems that deep grooves facilitates is poor spin. This means that you can't get good rotation on the ball, so you end up chucking hard bricks that draw attention to your weaknesses as a ballplayer. Sometimes bad publicity is just bad publicity.

2. It's a NCAA ball: I know you cannot entirely fault
Wilson
for this, but there needs to be a standard weight and size for all basketballs. It's an inevitability that NCAA programs will want to use the same ball that NBA teams are using. Why deviate? And why make a lighter, smaller ball?

1. It won't last and you won't want it to. Ultimately, when purchasing anything, you need to decide how long you think it will last and how long you need it for. This basketball doesn't even come close to satisfying those requirements for me. Avoid it.