It seems as though NBA Commissioner David Stern and NCAA President Myles Brand have made up their mind, to change the minimum number of college seasons for players entering the NBA from one to two.
The current age restriction is 19, which essentially means that high school kids can go to college for one season and then declare themselves draft ready. While many fans have disagreed with this rule since its inception, they may be getting their wish.
The one obstacle is to get this approved by the NBA players association. The first year the rule can be if full effect is the 2011-2012 season.
So what is the real reason the NBA is so willing to make this change? Is it that they just care so much about their image which relies so heavily on the young player? Is the NBA using the NCAA as their very own minor league system...doing what they want to control it?
From the players' perspective, what happens if they get hurt while having to stay another year? Many feel as though maybe an insurance policy could be taken out for team's top players. This would certainly make up for what a player would've potentially lost financially.
And let's not forget that a kid goes to college to one day get a high paying job, should it matter that the high paying job comes sooner rather then later? What about non athletes that left school early? Bill Gates, millionaire businessman, he left early to pursue his career...no one seems to care about that.
Of course some will compare this to other sports like Baseball, Tennis and Golf. These sports let their kids turn pro at an early age. No one is banging down the door of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig or PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem to get the rule changed.
It feels like schools just want to make their sport more and more money...which essentially means keeping the kids in school a little longer. So should college players get paid something for being in school?
My point is, in an era where there's no loyalty to the players and coaches why should kids care about staying longer? They can always go back and get their education...the millions in the pros may not always be there.
7 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Marcus Hagness about 1 year ago
I like what you're saying here but I would like to see the age limit raised to 20. Everyone knows that players like Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, or Eric Gordon really aren't going to get that much better with one more year in college. I do however think one extra year in college will help them mature and become more responsible and NBA-ready mentally.
There are some players this year that will come out who probably should take an extra year in college to develop. Often times you see players leave after one year because they know they'll be lottery picks and once they get that money they are satisfied.
Look at someone like Kris Humphries. He went to Minnesota for one year, dominated, went to the NBA as a lottery pick and now he's playing under 15 minutes a game for the Raptors in his fourth year. Had he stayed at Minnesota all four years this year would've been his rookie season. The Gophers also would've been on the map nationally because Humphries ripped the Big Ten apart his freshmen year.
I think two years in college isn't that much to ask. The argument of the possibility of an injury is weak in my mind. Sure, they COULD get injured in another college season. However, college seasons run about 35-40 games depending on how deep your team goes. The NBA regular season is 82 games and the games are 8 minutes longer then college games. There is a much higher chance of them doing the same thing in their rookie NBA season as there is in a second college season. If they do get injured in college at least they are still in school so they can finish their degree and try to rehab their injury to get back on the court again.
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Michael Whittenberg about 1 year ago
I agree with Marcus. These guys should play at least 2 years of college ball before they are eligible.
I would have loved to see Greg Oden and Kevin Durant play another season in the NCAA Tourney.
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Dallin Page about 1 year ago
Yea but we all know that those players are going to leave anyway and waste that scholarship. Why not give it to someone who is going to use it to get an education?
And would it be fair to have players like Lebron, Dwight Howard, and Amare Stoudemire play in college? They made it fine out of high school.
Take the limit back down
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raphael ginsberg about 1 year ago
there's no justification for the limit. Yes, college basketball would have more talent and would be more fun to watch- but if they can do the job now (be NBA players) than no one should be able to stop them for no identifiable reason.
Besides football, there is no other profession in the United States in which people are perfectly qualified to do a job yet are prohibited from doing it for age reasons.
The NBA and NCAA make a lot of money off of these players. Durant is much more marketable now than he would have been straight out of high school. The players get premier coaching while they're in college, improving while NBA teams do not have to pay them. Obviously the NCAA would be even more profitable if Beasley, Durant, etc. stuck around longer.
It's all about the money.
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Chris Le about 1 year ago
I'm of the mold that thinks players should either stay for a minimum of two years in college or be eligible right out of high school.
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Paul Peszko about 1 year ago
Personally, I think such a rule is unconstitutional. If an 18 year-old wants to work for a company, and a company wants to hire him, the governing body, in this case the NBA, should not be allowed to prevent the hiring.
The only problem here is that some h.s. player and his family will have to take it to court to get the judgment process rolling. Until then, the 2 year limit must be amended to allow for justifiable hardship cases.
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Montell Scott about 1 year ago
I think players should be able to go to the league directly after highschool, who's to say they aren't ready, look at Kobe, T-Mac, K.G, Amare, Dwight Howard and a few others I failed to mention... if you are that good to be considered as a prospect in the NBA and make the cut, what you do with your career after that is only up to you, NBA teams are equipped with the necessary staff to get players where they need to be physically, the players just need to learn how to be mentally focused, that's not something you learn in two years of college.
So when people say players need to be able to mature in college I think its bull. I feel like you are faced with more temptation in high school and college than you are in the league itself... as far as some kids coming from poverty stricken homes or poor households you constantly have people "showering you with gifts" or things you didn't ask for, and we all know that players take them... King James is a prime example. But that can be cut to a minimum if players are allowed to go to the league and provide for themselves as well as their families... they just need mentors... I feel like once a rookie enters the league that the veterans on those teams should be assigned as their mentor, because no one can show them about that lifestyle better than someone that has lived the life.
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