Honestly, I doubt many NBA fans would be willing to accept college basketball as an alternative to watching basketball played at the professional level. I think instead many NBA fans might start watching European leagues as many college-level basketball players might want to go overseas to pursue a a professional basketball career.
Maybe that's the case, but I really doubt it. I have plenty of opportunity to watch Euroleague stuff and have zero interest in it. I might if some of our young guys went there though, but Jennings was a rare exception going over there. Most of our great young players go to college. Besides, I really enjoy a good college game too.
The NCAA tournament is a single-elimination bracket format tournament in which all athletes aren't receiving a paid salary so you could never expect the game to replicate anything close to a playoff-system in a professional basketball league.
Well, I love the NCAA tournament. Obviously the teams aren't as good as NBA teams, but it's where the NBA gets its players from, and it's really entertaining. Every bit as dramatic as NBA stuff. That said, my first allegiance is the Celtics. Just saying, I love the tourney too, but different strokes.
Some people enjoy the college aspect of the game because they dislike the NBA's pacing, individual playing-style, they may feel NBA players get paid too much, they like the longer shot-clock, etc. so there still may be a good chance that more people could be drawn to college basketball if the NBA had a lock-out, however that is still only relative to the sport of basketball as a whole.
Personally, I enjoy NCAA BB for its own sake, and not because I dislike aspects of the NBA, and I'd much prefer watching it to Euroleague. NBA v NCAA is not an either/or for me. I like 'em both.
Remember, not every great basketball player in the NBA went to college; in fact, some of the more prominent players in today's league made the jump from high school straight into the NBA, so that alone should tell you that college ball might not be as relevant as NCAA basketball fans want you to believe.
The fact that some guys were good enough to make the jump from HS to the NBA says nothing about the NCAA's relevance. It merely says that those guys were good enough to grab the cash before the eligibility rules changed. The NCAA is a flat out cash cow. The tourney, and particularly the final four draws an enormous viewership. It's plenty relevant. But like I said, I like 'em both, so it's not an either/or for me. I recognize that there're probably a goodly number of NBA fans like yourself that don't much care for college ball, but just because that's true does not mean college ball is in any way irrelevant.