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 of a guy 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 swallow 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.