The recent decision of top point guard recruit Brandon Jennings to back out of his commitment to the University of Arizona has sparked yet another debate regarding the entry rules for the NBA draft. 

Jennings, who has yet to meet the NCAA requirements for standardized test scores, has signed with the Italian League team Pallacanestro Virtus Roma.

Jennings will forgo his NCAA eligibility and presumably throw his name into the 2009 NBA Draft's hat, where he is currently projected as a high-lottery selection. 

While terms of the contract remained undisclosed, one can assume that Jennings will receive a paycheck that will safely launch his money-making career.   

The move by Jennings was surprising to some.  Why would a Southern California-born player with legitimate NBA talent miss out on the opportunity to star at a Top 25 program and lead his team to March Madness?  To others, the move was only surprising because many expected a move like this to happen much earlier.  

Since the NBA installed a provision to their draft that required players to be one player year removed from high school graduation, the "one and done" phenomenon has risen to unparalleled heights. 

The past two drafts have led to epic debates over "Oden vs. Durant" and "Rose vs. Beasley."  Experts, executives, fans and analysts nitpicked every aspect of the debate, and ultimately four freshmen basketball players have completely redesigned the landscape of the NBA draft.    

Why even bother going to college one would ask?  If a player's commitment to a university is predicated upon the possibility of starring for one year and raising their draft status, why not do the same while earning a six figure salary overseas? 

Europe offers a variety of highly competitive leagues that feature former NBA and NCAA players, and fans pour in to stadiums to watch the very best teams.  Brandon Jennings will presumably up his draft status by refining his skills, while also driving an enormous amount of press and marketing opportunities for him to capitalize upon.    

The prospect of playing overseas with a language barrier is daunting to say the least, but the promise of a $300,000 contract and exposure to playing a sport professionally is at least equally as enticing.  Shockingly no prospect of significant notoriety has made this move in recent years.    

The fear for college basketball fans is that this will evolve from an exception to a trend.  

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