Every summer, parents around the country prepare their children for college.
The extra long sheets, the secured trunk, the classic shower caddy with shower shoes—by the time the family piles into the car for the trip to campus, the student has everything he or she could possibly need to get through the next phase of life.
If your student is Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, though, you just give him a good hug and say, “Mama needs a new pair of shoes! Now go get ‘em!”Going into last year's college basketball season, there was a glut of hype surrounding Oden and Durant. They were both highly sought-after high school players who eventually decided on the University of Texas (Durant) and The Ohio State University (Oden).
Both Oden and Durant were expected to be phenomenal college players, and both delivered on their potential.
And then, both declared for the NBA Draft.
Their decisions, of course, were based on the multimillion-dollar contracts awaiting them as the top overall picks. But many observers have been left wondering why the two bothered to go to college in the first place.
Why waste the scholarship that could have gone to somebody else? Why waste time learning a system that won’t benefit you in the NBA?
The answer to these questions is simple: because Oden and Durant didn't have a choice.
Under the new NBA rules, teenage phenoms are no longer eligible to turn pro straight out of high school. Many people have done their own version of the happy dance to celebrate David Stern's "commitment" to education—but those people, unfortunately, are missing the point.
Albert Einstein, genius that he was, captured the essence of the dilemma facing today's young basketball stars.
"You have to learn the rules of the game," Einstein once said. "And then you have to play better than anyone else."Every year, the NCAA adds new regulations to the encyclopedia of guidelines college athletes are expected to follow. The lords of the realm set rules ranging from where an athlete can appear in the media to who can baby-sit his kid brother and who can give his family a ride to a game.
However, the rules that need fixing don’t have anything to do with boosters or favors. Instead, they focus on an athlete's education.
Funny how the NCAA overlooked the school thing.
If you're a college athlete, you're required to maintain a 2.0 GPA in order to compete. As a freshman starter, you can party all night and skip class every day—and still maintain your eligibility.
Under the current rules, a freshmen hoopster who flunks all his classes will be on academic probation—and still playing—when March Madness rolls around. By the end of the season, he'll have fulfilled his year-in-college requirement and will officially be able to enter the NBA Draft...without having ever cracked a single book.
Bobby Knight, for one, is disgusted by the loophole.
"Now you can have a kid come to school for a year and play basketball and he doesn't even have to go to class," the coaching legend said. "He certainly doesn't have to go to class the second semester...he would not have to attend a single class the second semester to play through the whole second semester of basketball.”
Which begs the question: If academics don't matter, why doesn’t the NBA just take the kids straight out of high school? Exactly who's benefiting from the one-year rule?
Granted, NBA Commissioner David Stern has been trying to change the league's image. However, the one-year rule hasn't exactly eliminated the riffraff—not least of all because it's usually older players who find themselves in sticky situations.
The NFL, for its part, won't allow a player to enter the draft until he's two years removed from high school. That rule has a physical basis, but it also requires athletes to maintain that 2.0 GPA—which in turn means college football players have to take school at least a little seriously to be sure they can play during their sophomore seasons.
If Stern really wants to change the NBA's image, he'd do well to follow the NFL's lead and cultivate better-educated players.
And let's not forget about the interests of the athletes themselves.In 2006, the NCAA had a total of 16,571 men’s basketball players. Only 44 of those young men were drafted into the NBA.
As for the rest—according to the NCAA, only 37 percent of African-American basketball players graduate.
Where do they go from college basketball?As it stands, the NCAA and the NBA may well be hindering the growth of young players, and creating conditions ripe for the development of the “Spoiled Athlete.”
The solution, for the players and the league, is an obvious one: Make these athletes go to class—and don’t make it so easy for them to enter the draft.Tougher rules will help these young men prepare themselves for the demanding rigors of adult life, in the NBA and elsewhere. College is where you hone your skills and sharpen your discipline, whether your goal is to be an NBA star, a doctor, or an investment analyst.
It will be interesting to see what becomes of Oden and Durant. Though they went one-two in the draft, critics have their doubts about their ability to hang with the big boys.
When the season starts in October, these two phenoms will have finally made good on their childhood dreams—and will finally get a chance to face the fiercest basketball competition in the world.
No longer will they be the oversized kids on the court. In the NBA, they'll have to prove just how good they really are.
And so it is that I say this to Greg and Kevin:
“Good luck fellas. Oh—and about those shoes. I wear a 7 1/2.”
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10 months ago
Great article Thaisa! I hadn't really thought about the one year rule and how it affected the scholar-athlete. The NBA should really wise up and figure out a plan that makes sense. At least two years seems like it should be the minimum...
10 months ago
Welcome aboard! I hope this isn't the last time we hear from you.
10 months ago
Nice piece. Good thoughts and things for us all to consider.
I've thought long and hard about that very subject. But I couldn't have said it better. There is a hypocracy or at least a paradoxical nature to the athletic student admission to college sports programs.
Your thoughtful article weighs some of those issues.
Kudos.
T
10 months ago
Thaisa- Just to clarify... the NFL doesn't actually require a 2.0 GPA from draftees right? You're just saying that by requiring them to get through a second year, the player is forced to maintain academic eligibility for the second season? The end game is the same, I'm just curious whether the NFL actually mandates that a player be in good academic standing to be drafted... if so, I had never heard that.
If Stern and the NBA adopted the same policy as the NFL, would that be enough for you? Without the "physical basis" that you rightly point out, could the NBA push such a policy through?
from 10 months ago
Hello Trey.....
The NFL does not have a GPA requirement for draftees, as far as I know. My point was that football players have to play a minumum of two years in college, well two years removed from high school. A college football athlete would have to keep a certain GPA just to be eligible as far as NCAA rules are concerned. Therefore, a football player would have to at least attempt to attend some classes and pass a test (we all know they cheat, but they have to care enough to do that in order to play). Since he has to come back for atleast a 2nd year, he has to end his 1st year in good standing. Basketball players can slide all year right into the draft and never step foot in a classroom.
Stern could push such a policy through, the question now becomes, would he? Ultimately it is about money and they would lose money waiting on good athletes to get through a second year of college.
I'm not a commissioner, but if I was I would want players with something ticking in their brains. Intelligence can cross over into any game, when you play smart, you usually come out on top.
10 months ago
Thank you! I signed up here almost a year ago and just never got around to really posting anything. For a minute I was consumed with a sports page at SaVoy and a local newspaper here in Chicago. Then I went back and forth with ESPN, that resulted in one article making the cut.
Anyhoo, I have found that lately I have quite a bit to say and no outlet, so I found my way back here.
I say all of that to say, you will hear from me quite often!
10 months ago
Cool - Are you mostly NBA? Any other fortes?
from 10 months ago
Well Trey....
I am actually a Football fanatic, have been my entire life. However, in the off season I can certainly enjoy a good basketball game. And in both sports, I generally find I am more into college games than the professional ones. My Saturdays are spent in the house glued to the television, no shopping or gardening for me! (smile) Nevertheless, I am excited to see what the Saints do this year, how Donovan plans his comeback and if Sexy Rexy (my pet name for him) is going to blow as much as he did last year!
10 months ago
I can see how that could potentially improve things, but if we take that to it's logical conclusion then wouldn't it be in the best interest of the athletes to actually graduate? Why not require a college degree to enter the NBA draft? That to me seems like the logical conclusion to your line of thinking. That helps with the smarter athlete thing and better prepares them for life if they don't make it in the NBA. It's also very unrealistic.
Granted all it would take was another basketball league willing to develop young players and pay them decently to then get an influx of young players who aren't interested in going to school. Shoot, I'm sure the european leagues would love to have access to them. Or even the ABA or CBA here if they could get the salaries high enough.
Anyways... it's a fairly interesting scenario. I think I'm more for allowing kids to enter the draft if they are 18 and then letting the league and teams figure out the best way to mentor young players into men.
10 months ago
First of all, great article! You really point out some of the gaping loopholes in the college basketball system that allow collegiate athletes to be athletes first, and "students" by name only.
All though I think the age limit has more to do with the marginal high school student turning pro than can't miss superstars like Durant and Oden.
The reason why the age-limit was implemented was because of all the disillusioned high school students who thought they would be superstars by declaring for the NBA draft.
NBA teams know that in most circumstances, high school players are unprepared for the speed, physicality, and precision of the NBA game, and most high school players go undrafted, as the NBA doesn't have the roster spots to coddle the young players while they develop their games. I'm not even mentioning the sheer immaturity of many high school basketball players.
In fact, the only high school players who really succeed in the NBA are those with ridiculous athletic traits like Kobe and KG to name a few.
And teams became so obseesed with finding the next Garnett, that the number of high school players drafted was incredible, yet the number of impact high school players drafted was negligible. The NBA became littered with immature punks, and the quality of the NBA suffered.
Stern realized this, and to protect the league, implemented the age rule.
For the NBA's sake, it's a great rule, just because the difference in an NBA player with one year of college compared to no years of college is incredible.
The problem lies in the sheer hypocrisy of big time collegiate athletics, and all its ways to exploit a student-athlete's services while being out of touch with the "student" part of the student-athlete tag.
10 months ago
I know everyone has already said this but...truly fantastic piece Thaisa.
I totallly agree with you that the NBA's current policy is absurd. What is the point of these kids "attending" college for a year, where they aren't going to have the chance to learn anything, let alone go to class? Meanwhile, they suck up scholarships that could be given to athletes who are more serious about their studies.
The day David Stern starts thinking about the actual consequences to his policies rather than there pubic perception will be the day that the NBA becomes a well run league.
However, I must admit: I disagree strongly with your conclusion Thaisa.
I say let the scholar athletes take the scholarships. Meanwhile, guys like Oden and Durant should just be able to play pro ball right after high school.
It's now been proven (Garnett, Kobe, McGrady, etc.) that players coming out of high school can still develop into NBA stars. I'm not saying college brings them no benefit, but I'd say it brings very little for most. These are guys who know what they want to be at the age of 10 so let them reach for the stars. And, I hate to say it, but I don't think studying Sociology or English is going to make them into better NBA players.
Meanwhile, they risk ruining their whole careers in college. The NBA is the opportunity of a lifetime for these guys, who tend to grow up in poverty stricken neighborhoods, and with an NBA contract will be able to take care of their families, their children, and their children's children. If we force them to go to college, there's always the chance for someone to blow out their knee and have no chance at an NBA salary they once did.
As much as we'd like for these guys to learn some academics, can we not agree that it surely isn't worth risking their once chance at true success?
Just my two cents would be curious to hear your rebuttal.
Thanks again for the great read Thaisa.
from 10 months ago
First let me say thank you to everyone who has posted comments about my article. I originally debated whether or not I would include a photo, because I wanted everyone to speak to me like I knew what I was talking about and not the bozos who repeatedly brush me off when I say I am this into sports.
I think I need to really clear up my stance on this issue. I do stand firmly by my opinion that college basketball players should play at least two years. They are in school sucking up money that someone else could have used. The least they could do is attend a few classes, shoot they might actually, dare I say, LEARN something. College is not for everyone, this is a fact. Some people spend their entire lives reaching for a professional sports career. And once in a blue moon we see a few players who deserve to play on the professional level straight from high school. However, it's rare. It just so happens that this year we had two (must be part of the global warming effects or lingering effects of El Nino).
I can't say I have anything against taking great players straight from high school. There have been a select few to make it majorly in the pros and not turn into convicted criminals. However, let me say this, I think we can all agree that society is a little different now, even from Bryant and Garnetts high school days. My major concern is taking these players right out of high schools in inner cities and giving them all of this money with no guidance. All sports leagues provide "rookie trainings," but that is pretty much a joke. Most professional athletes I know say it's a joke and they don't honestly learn anything. Not to mention it only lasts a short period of time. How about they get some kind of coach off of the field/court to help them seriously prepare for the pressures of money, family, groupies and rigorous schedules. There is little preperation and that's where I think college plays a role. It's not really about taking an English class here or a Psych class there, it's about learning to juggle. College athletes have practice schedules, game schedules, exam schedules, term papers, etc etc. I think that all of the juggling I did help better prepare me for the work place. That Poety class has helped me do nothing (except maybe woo a few men! Smile). But my classes on top of everything else I had going on, made me mature a great deal. When you have to take responsibilty for things, you are forced to grow up....even if just a little. So, if you are going to require them to step foot on campus, require them to grow in other areas...and not just on the court.
I agree that college players put themselves at risk of never making it to the next level, due to injuries. However, do we need more Vicks and Pacman Jones'? Athletes with too much money, who hold on to the past and find themselves on the wrong road.
Hopefully I have shed just a little more light on what I was trying to really say. If not, I'm sure I will hear about it!
10 months ago
Great article with a very interesting perspective.
I would like to point out that Greg Oden is/was a very good student.
According to http://gregoden.com
While in college at Ohio State University he was an aspiring accounting major who has a 3.6 grade-point average, including three perfect 4.0 semesters.
He is also committed to finishing college after his NBA career:
"Finishing school would mean a lot," he said. "I want to further myself in areas other than just basketball."
There are many NBA players out there who understand the importance of education. Jarrett Jack is a perfect example:
"When I left school after my junior year, I promised my mom that I would get my degree," Jack said, "Every time I see her, she reminds me of that. I need five more courses and, if possible, I'd like to get them all next summer," Jack said.
He did end up returning to Georgia Tech this summer to finish his degree.
If you couldn t tell I m a huge Blazers fan. My two cents
from 10 months ago
Don't mean to doubt you per day but wasn't Greg Oden only in college for 2 semesters?
from 10 months ago
...and didn't he take about 6 credits per semester?
from 10 months ago
Anonymous' point still stands (seriously dude, why not register for an account). The facts are clearly a little off, but Greg Oden is an example of a player who focused on his studies in college a lot more than most 19 year olds on the verge of becoming an NBA star.
I mean, give the guy a little credit fellas...who cares how many credits he took per semester. No one's saying he's a Rhodes Scholar but at least he went to class and did his homework!
from 10 months ago
In an attempt to help "Anonymous," I believe he meant to say quarters. Ohio State is on quarters, therefore Oden would have completed 3 QUARTERS.
Just wanted to share that.
10 months ago
The NBA needs to do what other professions do and require a college degree.
from 10 months ago
Why on earth? Why can't these guys decide for themselves what's best for them?
10 months ago
For a long time, I wondered when the women of the Bleacher Report were gonna come out and fire back. I'm impressed with your work...and that's a huge compliment coming from one of the most outspoken writers in this business. Good job on the article. I look forward to enjoying more of these from you. See you in September. But be ready, cause the gloves will be off. I hope you'll be ready. By the way: Welcome to the New Bleacher Report!
10 months ago
Thaisa,
I definitely agree with you that the things you learn in college help you become a more well rounded person, even if you don't end up directly applying that knowledge to your career.
I consider college one of the most fascinating times in my life because I had the opportunity (amongst other things) to learn about a wide array of subjects, often times for no reason other than general curiosity about the world. It's an amazing experience and I think a lot of times people don't know what they're missing out on what they pass on the opportunity to go.
And for what it's worth, I took a poetry class the second semester of my junior year and I feel the same way about it as you do =)
That being said, to me it simply comes down both to principles of individual liberty and social utility.
Let's address liberty first: I believe strongly that we we being either the fans, the NBA, or American society at large should allow these young men and their families to decide for themselves what's best for them.
I don't think anybody in America should be forced to go to college that completelyflies in the face of the spirit of a free country. You wouldn't force someone who wants to be a coal miner, or a police officer, or a steel worker to go to college, so why a future NBA player? Just because they grew up on the streets? Or because they might become wealthy beyond belief at 18 years of age?
Just like a coal miner or a steel worker, being an NBA star doesn't require a college degree or any college experience. A college degree may put a better head on a coal miner's shoulders, or offer him an opportunity to learn management skills so he could run a steel mill perhaps, instead of just working for one. But there are plenty of steel workers who are excellent at their profession and never went to college and I doubt there is anyone in America who would try to pass a law, let alone anybody in the Steel Workers Union who would make it a mandatory policy, to require 2 years of college before someone could be put to work.
The NBA really isn't any different. Going to college can help make you a mature person and a leader on the court just ask Tim Duncan. But it's not as if you can't succeed without having attended college in the NBA. Just ask Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, or Kobe Bryant.
If these guys want to make the jump straight from HS for a chance at fulfilling their dreams, who are we to stop them? Life is all about choices, and, young and naive or not, these guys deserve to have the same range of choices as anyone else in a free market system.
Now, getting to social utility: I think you should consider less what people like you and I got out of college, and more what the average talent who's going there because he's forced to is going to get out of it.
I agree with you on the point that we DON'T want anymore Pacman Jones' or Michael Vick's. But Thaisa Michael Vick ATTENDED COLLEGE, and so did Pacman. Pacman in fact went to school for three years before entering the draft.
Can you honestly say that one more year of school would have set Michael straight? That sanctioning the torture of animals would have been stamped out of his mind if he took another year of classes? Would Pacman's senior year at West Virginia finally have enlightened him to the principles of gender equality, to the point where grabbing a woman by the hair and slamming her head against a table seemed like a bad idea?
Let's just be realistic here: Pacman Jones and Michael Vick aren't the punks they are because they didn't go to class while in college. Or because they needed to stick around school for an extra year. They clearly have issues that run a lot deeper than that, things that should have been addressed when they were 5 or 10, not when they were 18 or 20.
I'm not saying you don't have a legitimate point Thaisa. Your passion about the importance of college is jumping through my computer screen, and personally I feel the same way as you do. I wish these guys could see what a unique opportunity college is, and sign up for courses that interest them and get their butts to class.
But the fact is: a lot of these guys just don't see things that way. They see the NBA as their shot to make their mark in life and forcing them to attend college for two years isn't going to change that.
Meanwhile, as you pointed out, they are sucking up the scholarships for the athletes who do want to learn in addition to shoot, pass, and dunk. It doesn't seem therefore that the answer therefore should be to force everyone to learn. Instead, we should give the athletes who do want to learn every opportunity to do so while allowing the athletes who think learning is for the birds and feel strongly that they have what it takes to make it in the NBA to try their hand.
10 months ago
Great points Alex
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