OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The battle to give top football and basketball players a cut of the billions of dollars flowing into college athletics began in earnest Monday with former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon taking the stand in federal court to describe how he spent long hours working on his game and as few as possible on his grades.

The lead plaintiff in a landmark antitrust suit against the NCAA said his goal at UCLA wasn’t to get a degree, but to get two years of college experience before being drafted into the NBA.

O’Bannon portrayed himself as a dedicated athlete who would stay after games to work on his shot if he played poorly.

The testimony came as a trial that could upend the way college sports are regulated opened, five years after the suit was filed.