I’ve never been one to stand in the way of a man and his money but when it comes to Collegiate Men’s Basketball players leaving school early to enter the annual June NBA Draft, I have to do what other intelligent people won’t do and say “NO”. For the last 10 years I’ve seemingly been the lone soldier with the opinion that college freshman and sophomores along with players straight out of High School aren’t prepared mentally or physically to take on the rigors of the National Basketball Association. Now for every Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Magic Johnson there’s thousands upon thousands of wannabe’s who’s professional basketball dreams never materialized and they eventually gave up playing all together or took the minor league route and played ball internationally (there’s nothing wrong with playing ball overseas, good money can be had, but after a while it takes a toll on the players body and family life and eventually most Americans return home after only a few years to start another career--often in the world of sports entrepreneurialism). Of course you have your ‘extreme high hope’ players who came into the NBA, in recent years, with a whirlwind of marketing and notoriety to only crash and burn as their rookie contracts and signing bonuses dried up; names like Darius Miles--Sebastian Telfair and Leon Smith, to name a few, might ring a bell.
Now I do have to give props to the NBA for installing the new ‘freshman college Age rule’, that started this season (’06-’07), that states all high school basketball players looking to enter into the pro draft must be at least year removed from their high school graduation. That should derail a few guys from making that fatal leap into the NBA prematurely but I still ask the question; is just 1 year of college enough to say I’m prepared for a long 82 game pro season? Without family to help the young man schedule his daily activities, take care of his home duties, balance his checkbook, etc it can prove to be very hazardous for a 18 or 19 year old rookie; even with family members around there’s no guarantee that player will make a successful transition.
If a college basketball player feels he’s ready to enter the NBA draft after completing 3 full years then I endorse that decision. Usually by the end of their third year a player has a sense of where he’ll get picked in the draft and most importantly he knows from an on court skill point of view if he measures up to the pro game and a NBA scout, along with his college coach, will help him in that assessment. At the least he would return for his 4th and final year of college ball eligibility if necessary. And as far as I’m concerned there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of the full college experience, that’s the whole point, being a college student along with a college athlete is nothing short of being a ‘Mythic God’ around campus, you would be crazy not to like that a little bit. College is the only life experience where to truly understand it and enjoy it you have to be in the moment and of right age, 18 to 22. Of course people move on in life and go back to college at all different ages but it’s never the same after you move past those fantabolous years of late teens to early 20’s.
By the time you reach this portion of the blog the obvious statement your saying to yourself and would more than likely present to me if I was in front of you right now is this: “Cordell they have to get the money while they can, you can hurt yourself in college and never get the chance”! And to that I say my obvious: “You can hurt yourself in the NBA too, and then what, NBA money doesn’t last forever”. College players as well as professionals can get insurance policies taken out on their bodies, just in case a permanent injury happens while playing, so that money argument is a weak one in my opinion. There are a lot of NBA players who made a lot of money while playing but after leaving the NBA fell on hard times—didn’t manage their money efficiently-and are now doing just enough to make ‘the ends meet’….ever heard o####uy named Daryl Dawkins? If you don’t believe the ‘risk’ factor look no further than current player Shaun Livingston of the Los Angeles Clippers, on February 26th during a routine fast break against the Charlotte Bobcats, Shaun went up for a lay-up and came down awkwardly on his left knee tearing all 3 major ligaments (acl/pcl/mcl) while also suffering a dislocation of the tibia. His chances of returning to the court and being any where near effective as before are very slim and this is for a guy who’s only been in the league 2 years and never played collegiate ball. Hard pill to #### for Shaun and players like him who have no college education to fall back on and now their agent is discussing retirement at the tender age of 21.
So as the only voice to speak out against popular opinion I say to all high school basketball prospects thinking of the fame and riches of the NBA, go to college first and do the fun-silly-stupid things your suppose to do before you have to go get a real job.
One thing people are failing to realize is that playing in the NBA and watching the NBA is a privilage. Unfortunately too many of you don't realize that. So what a kid may not be ready if he can't keep up or compete than that is on him. There is no law that says you have to hire them. Yes I said hire them because thats what you are doing. People say sign and draft but you are hiring them to work for you. This choice is made everyday in the work world. An age limit does not cure the problem of what these athletes go through. Many players who have four years of college go through what Dawkins went through. Some of these players have no ambition to further their education so why make them waste the time of the college institutions and risk the lively hood of those who want to be on a campus. I went to college and was given the chance to be around athletes on their free time and it was sad to see how some of them forced their short comings on others. Let those who don't want to go to college go try to be professionals and if they fail so be it. There are worse things in society than failed NBA players.
jokerpace,
you pretty much hit it on the head, this is something I have been saying for years.
These kids need something to fall back on if their NBA career falls through.
They come to the NBA and blow their money on big houses and fast cars but don't think about the future.
A few years of colledge (business courses perhaps?) would do them good.
One final point, if they are that good in high school, how much better would they be after playing a few years of collegiate ball?
Last edited by ThaBullDawg on October 17th at 12:06 PM.
Most of the time the players that come out of highschool and go into the NBA were not good students in the first place. If they were not good students in high school, I think they would fail the colleges courses that they would have to take playing for a college team. If you can't make the grade in college you can't play in college; unless the teachers give them good grades since they are players. So if they can't play because they are failing their classes, how are they ever going to get into the nba? They will not, unless the teachers just pass them because they play ball for the school. If that is the case then the players are not going to learn anything at all because they know the teacher is going to pass them if they go to class or not.
I think if the player could make it and a team is willing to take the risk on him then that is their decision.
If Lebron, Garnett, and Kobe had not come out of highschool they may not be in the nba today, because they might not have been able to succeed in college.
It is kind of hard for me to write how I feel on the subject because I am not the best writer, but I understand what you are saying and agree with some of it.
This is the most ridiculous blog I have ever read. You referenced to Shaun Livingston, but did you ever think that he could have done the same thing to himself at Duke? At which point he wouldn't even have his Rookie Salary to fall back on. So stopping these kids from going to the NBA is not fair or AMERICAN in anyway. We give people the opportunity to prove themselves no matter what. Now if an inidvidual fails to meet expectation, then that is just how the chips fell. Many college grads have NOT made it in the league, so I don't think that gives them an advantage in any way. Look at Wayne Simeon and Drew Gooden. They stayed in college for your recommended time table and haven't accomplished much in the league. So staying in college isn't going to be the deciding factor for a LOT of kids. I think you seriously need to rethink your whole reasoning for wanting kids to go to school. Last time I check a rookie contract of a couple million can buy me a pretty good degree from Joe Blow U.
Last edited by Tripp45 on October 17th at 1:39 PM.
I don't agree with your article. I think the majority of young underclassmen coming out are highly likely to go in the first round. Take the money and run!!! If you get hurt, you have millions to fall back on after your rookie contract ends. Most college graduates wont make 50k in their first year out of school. Not a doubt in my mind to leave college early if you are an elite athlete.
At the tender age of 18, I was in the Kuwati desert performing Military Policeman duties. I "swept" the desert for land mines, slept outside, showered once a month. Shot at and killed others, watched my freinds die and be injured, and balanced a checkbook and organized my life. It is almost criminal to say that 18 and 19 year-olds are not mature enough physically and mentally to handle the rigors of 82 games and NBA life and money, while there are hundreds of thousands of us serving and thousands of us dying. Today. To hide the obvious jealousy and contempt that you may have for young men (most often very young, very minority men) making a ton of money behind the false pretense of helping THEM is shameful. Why is there never any outrage or blogs about baseball teams drafting 15 and 16 year -old latin players? Or even 18-year-old Americans? Why does no one care about Hockey players' college education and maturity level? Why is there less outrage over Milicic and Tskitishvili being top two and top five busts respectively, as opposed to end of the first round busts like Leon Smith and late lottery/mid first rounders like Telfair? I hate to point out the obvious, but only one of the aforementioned groups is predominantly African-American, and a lot of "Americans" still have a problem with seeing African American men being paid what they may feel they don't deserve. All one needs to do is look at Team USA, and ask yourself how many of those players played college ball? Remember, the list of college busts will always be longer than the list of high school busts. Get
THIS BLOG IS WAY OFF!
Jklmm-Great post! My thoughts exactly. I will also point out that there AREN'T thousands of H.S. busts for every Kobe, Lebron.... It is a lie!
The point that Beavert made is right on. There are more college busts than High School busts. I wish people would stop acting like they CARE for NBA players. Let them make their own decisions and fall or rise with the results. That is part of life. Our society is so thin skinned that we have to protect everyone from everything. So stupid.
Markszc-What makes you think just cause they skipped college that they wouldn't have made it? Kobe would have definately made the grades. He had a great upbringing and knows Italian and is very intelligent. Don't assume just cause they didn't want to make a university millions of dollars that they are stupid(actully that is a smart move).
This blog is about jealousy. "I hate to see atheletes make millions."
Livingston better be happy he skipped college. If he would have done this at Duke, he would be screwed. Now, he can pay his way when he goes back to college. No need for scholarship. Stupid to think he should have went to school. Wow!
WOW1 I'm feeling a lot of what u guys had to say about my post and for the most part I agree with some of what u had to say but it still comes down to preparation and when it comes to a high schooler entering the NBA after high school they are not prepared like they need to be and it can ruin their life not to mention it has ruined the overall quality of basketball the past 10 to 15 years. U got guys in the league who can't even dribble with their opposite hand and there making millions. Now there was mention that somehow I'm jealous of these young guys, 'you got to be kidding me', there's nothing envious about playing in the NBA as far as I see it, unless your talking about dating a cheerleader--now that I would like!
But lets be real about this whole situation...yes 18 year olds are going to war and yes teenagers are playing baseball and tennis and golf but those sports rely on individual efforts more than basketball and theirs a lot of one-on-one training that goes on and it rely's on that particular young person on how they do only. Basketball is a different demon and it needs to be treated with unity and slow growth that's why ALL high schoolers need to to go to college and learn how to play the game right before they enter the NBA
People are forever mentioning how great of a decision it was for Kobe and Garnett to skip college because look how good they are now but just think if they had went to college and learned what they ended up learning 3 or 4 years into their professional career how good they would be...they would of been great earlier in their NBA career
i was going to jump right in and agree with you, but after reading some of the comments i think i'll just say....ah heck, i agree with you.
to say it's only fair to let 18-19 year olds play in the nba because other 18-19 year olds are dying for our country is not the right way to put it.
what you should be saying is....18-19 is too young to be given the responsibilities of fighting for, and possibly dying for your country.....AND 18-19 is too young for the vast majority of basketball players to be ready (physically, mentally, emotionally) for the demands of not only an nba schedule, but also the celebrity status. not to mention the unbelievable amount of money now at their disposal, which they basically made overnight. and by that i mean, most high school and college athletes that make it to the pros had very little money up to that point, and they dont know how to handle it.
i can only speak for myself when i say this....this is not about jealousy that these kids are making alot of money and are international celebrities. it's about how many of them dont know how to handle the pressures of being a pro athlete. it's not enough in my mind to say they need X amount of years of college to prepare them for the pro life. what they do need is someone to mentor them who has been through it, to help them deal with overnight success, and the potential for failure.
i agree, why??? because i think an education is very important.... first of all i think in high school or college or any school for that matter, the sports, or any other after school activity is a previledge why?? well easy if you werent enrolled at the school you wouldnt be eligable to participate in it!!!! i still think luke ridenour ex university of oregon basketball player should of stayed one more year and graduated before going pro!!! your taking a chance plus i think by staying in , you increase your selling point at the pros!!!!
example of why i agree!!! now at UCLA!! kevin love an oregonian ok!! going to UCLA to play Bball ok and all ive heard about is how GREAT A BASKETBALL player HE IS!!! hey and im not saying he isnt!! and im not crying because the kid isnt attending the U OF O or OSU!!! he has a right to go anywhere he chooses!!! free country!!!! BUT AND THIS IS A BIGG BUT!!! greg oden (ohio state) one year of college??? BINGO NOW IN THE PROS!!!!!!
Last edited by kellyscott on October 24th at 10:05 AM.
Joker: I'm coming in late on this discussion, but I agree w/yuo here. What lots of people aren't discussing here is the fact that the quality of play in the NBA now is a joke due to all the young "phenoms" coming into the league. Hell, they can't even make foul shots. I don't watch MBA anymore because it's not entertaining to see a team lose a game because some kid can't hit a free throw with the game on the lime. It happens all the time...
