Mavericks owner Mark Cuban calls college basketball 'ugly'

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says college basketball is ugly to watch and doesn't properly prepare players for the NBA.

Cuban told ESPN Dallas that the slow-paced style of college basketball and increased physical play is hard to watch. Cuban noted that his biggest concern is that players trying to go pro aren't learning how to properly play the game.

"If they want to keep kids in school and keep them from being pro players, they're doing it the exact right way by having the 35-second shot clock and having the game look and officiated the way it is," Cuban said. "Just because kids don't know how to play a full game of basketball."

Cuban went on to say that he wants the NCAA to fix its rules and officiating problems to allow the game to be played at a faster pace and create more scoring.

“It’s uglier than ugly, and it’s evidenced by the scoring going down. When the NBA went through that, we changed things.”

Cuban joins a number of people who have criticized the college basketball game recently. University of Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma called the men's game a joke and far behind the times.

There may be some progress made as the NCAA rules committee will meet later this spring to discuss shortening the 35-second shot clock.