Weighing In On The NBA’s 1-Year Rule

Over the weekend Rick Pitino spoke regarding allowing high school players to jump strait to the pros without attending college. Some quick excerpts from the C-J’s article:

“For some players, they were made to go to that level,” Pitino said. “The ones who in their mind think they’re those players, that’s what really hurts. They’re not Kobe, they’re not LeBron. They’re not Garnett. They’ve overblown their abilities. Those are the ones who get hurt.”

Pitino doesn’t believe heading overseas is necessarily the answer, either…..The Cardinals lost recruit Jeremy Tyler, who had committed to them for the 2010 class, after he decided to skip his senior season of high school to play professionally in Europe.

“They think sometimes it’s an easier way out,” Pitino said. “Education is really, really important. The kids that I’ve coached in college, they wouldn’t exchange the experience for anything.

“Going over to a foreign country at 17 years of age speaking a totally different language is not always the answer.”

So what is the answer???

Here are some scattered thoughts on the subject:

There should be no age limit. How can you possibly tell someone who is capable of playing at the NBA level, who a team would ‘hire’, that they can’t ‘work’ for that team until they are a year removed from high school? It is absurd thinking. Yes the NBA is the corporation, and as the employer they even have the right to say that no one can play without a college DEGREE even, as some businesses do.

Forcing these kids (Mayo, Wall, etc.) to go to college for one year does nothing but create an unfair situation for the kids, not to mention fans of college athletics. The entire landscape of college basketball has been changed, and, if you will another line in the sand has been created: Coaches who go after four-year players (i.e. Tubby) and those who go for the one-and-dones (i.e. Calipari).

ONE AND DONE, BUT WHAT A GREAT ONE IT IS

However, a college degree does not harbor any effect on kids abilities to play basketball. I understand the concern with high school kids who enter into the draft and if not drafted likely find themselves in big trouble as far as the next steps in their lives. But isn’t that a decision that should be the young adults to make?

My initial solution: If a kid enters his name in the NBA Draft, and goes undrafted, he should be allowed to return to school and have full eligibility. He then must earn his degree and GRADUATE college before being allowed to re-enter his name into the Draft.