One and done should be one and done
There has been all kinds of talk about the NBA’s one and done rule. The rule states a player must go to college for at least one year to be eligible for the draft.
College coaches and several analysts have problems with the one and done. Oklahoma’s Head Coach Jeff Capel said it was a bad rule because it makes a mockery out of the education system. A “student-athlete” attends college to be the athlete not the student. Dick Vitale said the players not participating in their education, whether skipping classes or not getting good grades, hurts the education system at the universities. Vitale said players should not be made to go to school if they are not going to go anyway.
Others say special talents like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James or Kevin Garnett shouldn’t have to waste their time going to college when they are already a NBA star before they sign a contract.
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The one and done rule should be left alone. This should be the one age requirement stipulation the NBA ever has.
The draft entrance law does hurt the college game. There is no doubt about it. Players leaving after one year hurts a team’s roster and team chemistry. The star player gets all the shine while the rest of the players and the school itself are forgotten. I know who John Wall is but couldn’t list one of his Kentucky teammates.
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This is a problem for the NCAA, not the NBA. The NBA is a big money business not a psychiatrist dealing with everyone’s situations and dilemmas.
If a school has a problem with a player leaving after one year, then don’t recruit the athlete. Instead of Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo or Kevin Durant, go after Tyler Hansbrough.
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One and done gives the NBA and the players a showcase, practice and a scale to place talent. There are millions of college hoops fans turning on their television sets to watch a big game or Sports Center for highlights.
The stud player is showcased to the world. The fans hearing how good he is at the college level will more than likely pay attention to him at the next level. Carmelo Anthony helped Syracuse win a championship in his one year. Anthony did his one year before the rule was a rule. Denver drafted him and their ticket sales went up along with media coverage of the Nuggets. The NCAA showcased his talent for the world to see and the NBA cashed in on it.
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Remember a guy named Kwame Brown. Brown was drafted straight out of high school by the Washington Wizards in 2001 with the number one overall pick. He is one of the biggest busts in NBA history. In 2003, his best statistical year, he only averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds. This may not be completely accurate, but if he would have played a year in college, the Wizards may have noticed weaknesses. Brown may have needed the year to further develop. He might have decided to stay longer to develop skills if he couldn’t be a big time performer in the college level.
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College hoops is a perfect scale to view levels of talent. Most college athletes want to earn money for playing a sport they have played a long time. The NBA wants to put find the best players and put them on the court in attempts to win championships or sell tickets. The players get to see where they rate against all the other competition in that particular game and eventually, in the NBA draft. The higher the pick, the more money they make.
The NBA scouts get to see the same thing. Denver saw Melo’s scoring ability, Memphis saw Mayo’s shooter’s touch and Oklahoma City saw a stud in Durant. The scouts had an opportunity to see what these guys could do against other players who would be in the league as well. In high school, most rosters have truck drivers, machine operators or McDonald’s cashiers, not professional basketball players. One year of college helps both sides know the level of play an individual is capable of.
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The one and done deal may not be the best solution ever but it is the best now. University’s get one year of excitement and the NBA gets to cash in off of the marketing the NCAA does for the players. I think it is a great system and should stay in place. If the NCAA wants students to stay longer or participate, they have to do something.
College hoops is like an internship to the NBA. Corporations need substance to a resume and so does the association. The one and done rule gives the students a chance for both an education and basketball. The NBA is giving the players a job opportunity, no one is forced to go or not go to college. The student athlete needs to decide which part of the term, he/she wants to be, not the NBA.
Other matters like salary caps and arguments between the players union and the league should be addressed, not a rule that helps the NBA.
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[...] this often from anyone not named David Stern, but Brandon LaChance of BullsHome.com says that the NBA should keep its age-limit rule because it allows the NBA to get a better look at prospects. Let’s go point-by-point: The [...]
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[...] A few months ago, I wrote a post about the One and Done rule. At first, the rule was meant to be a year in college. Players have found a way to get around enrollment, but still play the game they know is their career in attempts to make an NBA roster. [...]
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Oklahoma City did not “see a stud in Kevin Durant.” Seattle did.
True, the city of Oklahoma didn’t see Durant. Seattle’s management and scouts did, and they are now in Oklahoma City.
I too liked the idea of making a kid go to one year of school, even after such incidents as Sean Livingston suffering a severe career ending injury at such a young age. However, this new fad of going and playing two games in Europe and coming back and now being eligible negates everything. A kid out of high school just has to sign a contract with a European team, not even play in a game. Then he can be drafted. More loop holes will continue to evolve.
I do agree with you on the European contracts. The Brandon Jennings experiment will influence more players to do this. It is bad for the fans, because we don’t get to see the players. On the other hand, NBA scouts are in Europe. We might have to wait another year or a month to see them play but the scouts will know if they can play or not. The NBA will still find the talent.
yeah, they are forgetting something here….I’m the taxpayer who pays for the scholarships for athletes. If they get a scholarship they should stay four years. Otherwise, they can pay tuition to play ball.
If the one and done rule continues, it will only encourage the 99.9% of high schoolers who can’t play NBA ball to leave high school early and then be helpless, dependant, losers on the streets.
Oh, and, your premise is wrong about the NBA….we could care less. Our college stars go on to the NBA and we never watch them again. I’ll forget John Wall’s name in a year.
Thank you for being a tax payer, me too!!! The scholarship given to the one and done student isn’t really wasted, it does get passed to the next player who gets a scholarship. The tax payers are helping the one and dones make a ton of money when they sign their NBA contracts. Probably more money then themselves, but that is how the sports world works.
I disagree with your last comment. There are plenty of people, my self included, who watch the NBA more than the NCAA. The talent is bigger, faster, stronger. There are college players who are never seen until they enter the NBA. Who in the Midwest or the East Coast knew who Taj Gibson was? Not many. They do now though.
I don’t think there is any validity in requiring athletes to attend one year of college, or it’s equivalent, before playing pro basketball. The argument that somehow attending school for a year will remodel unruly (insert the word Black) youth into model NBA participants simply does not hold water. Neither does the argument that one year of college basketball will somehow make these raw talents into a better athletes. The truth is that there are just as many screw ups in pro basketball with degrees as there are without. I also think that the pro game is so radically different than the college game there is no guarantee that a successful college player will be successful in the pros. Ultimately it will always come down to the quality of the athletes, personally. There is no substitute for home training.
Thanks for joining us Harvey. I agree, there are screw ups who have degrees. This isn’t only the NBA, it’s in every occupation in any industry. The NBA isn’t invisible to life. There are no guaranties in anything. There are no guaranties a wife/ husband will not cheat. There are no guaranties for a job after receiving college degrees. There is a chance though. Why not take a year and see where they rate on the college level before they jump to the league with the best players in the world. Everyone thinks they are the best at everything. The truth is, there is usually someone better.
Home training is beneficial of course. But street ball is not organized ball. Remember And 1. They all had home training. One person, Rafer “Skip to my Lou” Alston, is the only one to get an NBA contract.
Harvey, your right, it does come down to the quality of athletes. Again, why not see the individual’s product against others who will be in the same draft in the same league they will both ultimately play in.