coolhandgopher
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We're moving towards season four of college basketball hosting freshman who'd rather be in the NBA than on a college campus. What has been the impact?
Positive
*We've gotten to witness wonderful talents such as Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, Kevin Love, and a score of others bring their special talents to college basketball
*Some players who were probably not ready for the NBA discovered this while playing in college and decided to continue working on their games in college
*These student-athletes had a chance to experience college life before heading directly into the professional life from high school
Negative
* O.J. Mayo received a considerable amount of money to play at USC, either from outside associates or (as alleged) the USC head coach. Due to this allegation and issues on the football side, "lack of institutional control" is being looked into by the NCAA and currrent recruits are avoiding the cloud of the USC investigation.
* Derrick Rose, NBA Rookie of the Year and former Memphis Tiger, is accused of cheating on his SAT test to gain eligibility at Memphis, which threatens to wipe away the one season he played at Memphis, when he lead the Tigers to the national championship game.
* Brandon Jennings, whether because he didn't meet eligibility requirements or because he wanted to get paid immediately, went directly from high school to play professionally in Europe. While he's still projected as a lottery pick in this NBA draft, he struggled in his season over in Europe garnering limited minutes for his team.
* Renardo Sidney and Lance Stephenson, two top 10 recruits in the class of 2009, had or are having difficult times finding a place to play college basketball. Sidney's troubles seem to revolve about questions of his amateur status while Stephenson faces questions primarily in regards to his attitudes.
From my perspective, the negatives heavily outweigh the positives and I'm not even including the fact that many of these players who declare for the NBA draft after their freshman year are only spending one semester on campus, or the fact that the courses taken by these students are softer than Charmin (remember Greg Oden's course load during his freshman year? And Oden is a guy who could handle college course work) or the fact that many of these students can't come back even if they wanted to, because they would be ruled ineligible due to the deals cut with agents while spending their cup of coffee on campus? (I recall this being the rumor why Daequan Cook declared after his disappointing freshman season at Ohio State).
Do I love seeing talented players like Durant, Love, and Rose before they enter the NBA? Most certainly and it's been a joy seeing these talented players these past three years. Whether it's a fan enjoyment of the game, the athletic departments enjoying a boost in their coffers due to their presence, or the benefit the NBA gains from having pre-marketed stars enter their league, none of them are good enough reasons to keep this policy in place. The Derrick Rose story has quickly been overwhelmed by the John Calipari angle of the story, but really, the issue at hand is whether or not a student cheated on a standardized test to gain eligibility to college. A student who'd rather have been declaring for the NBA draft and bypassing college altogether.
From where I sit, if you're an elite prep basketball player whose life since later elementary school has been focused on getting ready for the NBA, the pitch these days (from agents/runners/handlers) goes like this-'pick a college where you can get some exposure for a few months, where we can set up a nice comfortable living situation for those few months, and then as soon as your season ends, you drop out of your classes, and we get you ready for the big payday of the NBA. Ohh, just make sure you stay eligible that first semester, but don't worry, we'll make sure your course load is light and easy.'
It seems to me to be an entire farce and sets colleges up for selling of their academic souls. A strong argument could be made that that ship has sailed eons ago, and I'd probably agree with you. But at the source of this farce are a group of young men who have absolutely no desire to attend college and are only there because they have to be. I'm not asking for any sympathy for the likes of Mayo, Rose, Oden, Cook, Jennings, Sidney, or Stephenson-they all made their beds and the choices they made were their own. But I do think it's shameful that college basketball roster spots are being held by players who would rather not be there and have no intention of remaining beyond the day after their freshman season ends.
I know there's been talk that David Stern's been enjoying how it's worked for the NBA so much that they're looking to extend the age limit to two years beyond high school graduation. While that would keep these superstar preps on campus awhile longer and for our viewing pleasure one more season, I only see more scandals blooming from this edict. I prefer Gary Parrish's idea-these players have an opportunity to declare out of high school, but if they choose not to, then they have to remain through at least their sophomore year. Weed out the guys who have no interest in college, give those spots to players developing their games, and bring back some semblance of integrity to college basketball.
Positive
*We've gotten to witness wonderful talents such as Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, Kevin Love, and a score of others bring their special talents to college basketball
*Some players who were probably not ready for the NBA discovered this while playing in college and decided to continue working on their games in college
*These student-athletes had a chance to experience college life before heading directly into the professional life from high school
Negative
* O.J. Mayo received a considerable amount of money to play at USC, either from outside associates or (as alleged) the USC head coach. Due to this allegation and issues on the football side, "lack of institutional control" is being looked into by the NCAA and currrent recruits are avoiding the cloud of the USC investigation.
* Derrick Rose, NBA Rookie of the Year and former Memphis Tiger, is accused of cheating on his SAT test to gain eligibility at Memphis, which threatens to wipe away the one season he played at Memphis, when he lead the Tigers to the national championship game.
* Brandon Jennings, whether because he didn't meet eligibility requirements or because he wanted to get paid immediately, went directly from high school to play professionally in Europe. While he's still projected as a lottery pick in this NBA draft, he struggled in his season over in Europe garnering limited minutes for his team.
* Renardo Sidney and Lance Stephenson, two top 10 recruits in the class of 2009, had or are having difficult times finding a place to play college basketball. Sidney's troubles seem to revolve about questions of his amateur status while Stephenson faces questions primarily in regards to his attitudes.
From my perspective, the negatives heavily outweigh the positives and I'm not even including the fact that many of these players who declare for the NBA draft after their freshman year are only spending one semester on campus, or the fact that the courses taken by these students are softer than Charmin (remember Greg Oden's course load during his freshman year? And Oden is a guy who could handle college course work) or the fact that many of these students can't come back even if they wanted to, because they would be ruled ineligible due to the deals cut with agents while spending their cup of coffee on campus? (I recall this being the rumor why Daequan Cook declared after his disappointing freshman season at Ohio State).
Do I love seeing talented players like Durant, Love, and Rose before they enter the NBA? Most certainly and it's been a joy seeing these talented players these past three years. Whether it's a fan enjoyment of the game, the athletic departments enjoying a boost in their coffers due to their presence, or the benefit the NBA gains from having pre-marketed stars enter their league, none of them are good enough reasons to keep this policy in place. The Derrick Rose story has quickly been overwhelmed by the John Calipari angle of the story, but really, the issue at hand is whether or not a student cheated on a standardized test to gain eligibility to college. A student who'd rather have been declaring for the NBA draft and bypassing college altogether.
From where I sit, if you're an elite prep basketball player whose life since later elementary school has been focused on getting ready for the NBA, the pitch these days (from agents/runners/handlers) goes like this-'pick a college where you can get some exposure for a few months, where we can set up a nice comfortable living situation for those few months, and then as soon as your season ends, you drop out of your classes, and we get you ready for the big payday of the NBA. Ohh, just make sure you stay eligible that first semester, but don't worry, we'll make sure your course load is light and easy.'
It seems to me to be an entire farce and sets colleges up for selling of their academic souls. A strong argument could be made that that ship has sailed eons ago, and I'd probably agree with you. But at the source of this farce are a group of young men who have absolutely no desire to attend college and are only there because they have to be. I'm not asking for any sympathy for the likes of Mayo, Rose, Oden, Cook, Jennings, Sidney, or Stephenson-they all made their beds and the choices they made were their own. But I do think it's shameful that college basketball roster spots are being held by players who would rather not be there and have no intention of remaining beyond the day after their freshman season ends.
I know there's been talk that David Stern's been enjoying how it's worked for the NBA so much that they're looking to extend the age limit to two years beyond high school graduation. While that would keep these superstar preps on campus awhile longer and for our viewing pleasure one more season, I only see more scandals blooming from this edict. I prefer Gary Parrish's idea-these players have an opportunity to declare out of high school, but if they choose not to, then they have to remain through at least their sophomore year. Weed out the guys who have no interest in college, give those spots to players developing their games, and bring back some semblance of integrity to college basketball.
