Cliff Alexander Going Undrafted Becomes Cautionary Tale for Top Recruits

Cliff Alexander arrived on the Kansas Jayhawks in 2014 as a top recruit with an extraordinary amount of raw talent and no shortage of hype. Now his road to basketball stardom is an uphill battle littered with hurdles after going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft Thursday night.

Alexander's story is one every player ranked inside the top 50 should be forced to learn about before playing his first college game. It's a tale of talent being able to carry an athlete only so far in the competitive world of sports.

There are a couple of key factors that likely played important roles in landing Alexander in his current place of uncertainty.

The first is the concept of recruiting rankings. The 247Sports composite rankings rated the Illinois native as the No. 4 prospect in the 2014 class and the top power forward available. It's virtually impossible for a high school player to ignore that type of attention.

Unfortunately, being praised so heavily can cloud a player's self perception. Being the fourth-best high school player in the nation is a long way from making an impact in the NBA.

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports pointed out that the Kansas product wasn't the only one to learn that lesson the hard way on draft night:

Perhaps in an earlier era, when staying in school was commonplace—as opposed to today's popular one-and-done path—Alexander would have been allowed to develop across three or four years, giving him a better chance he's living up to that top-five billing.

That leads into the second key factor, which is the current system in place between the NBA and NCAA when it comes to early entrants.

Forcing players to wait one year before they have the option of entering the pro ranks has changed athletes' mindsets. Some top recruits view college as a burden—something that they must endure to reach their main goals, rather than a chance to learn and grow as players.

Then, when they do receive the option to make the jump, they find out too late that NBA front offices might not view them as highly as expected.

Alexander is a slightly different case because of an NCAA investigation that would have complicated matters, had he decided to remain in college. That said, it never felt like the power forward was planning an extended stay with the Jayhawks, which is typical for most high-end recruits.

So the question becomes how to fix the system to make it better for everybody involved.

It would be a surprise if the NBA ever allowed direct entry from high school again. For every LeBron James, there are dozens of players who aren't ready and ruin their long-term outlooks by opting for the bright lights of pro ball.

The best thing both sides can do is allow players to stay in school after being drafted. They could still become eligible after one year in college, but there wouldn't necessarily be a rush to bring them up.

Obviously, there's some risk involved for teams by having their assets play for squads that aren't under their control. Yet it would make for better development, compared to sitting on the bench and getting limited minutes, and teams could be honest with the young players about where they stand while still taking chances on their upside by drafting them early.

It's hard to say whether the institutions can reach a compromise to create that type of system. Any time you bring the NCAA and money together, it gets tricky, and one of the main reasons players feel the need to make the quick jump is for the paycheck to help their families.

Between the lure of NBA money and people telling players how awesome they are earlier and earlier, it's tough to remain grounded. Alexander wasn't ready after averaging 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for Kansas, but felt the need to declare anyway.

His intriguing potential still exists, but learning and developing the craft are hard to do while fighting for minutes at the next level. He should catch on with a team and attempt to prove himself in NBA Summer League action, but there's a lot of work to do.

At least he's showcasing the right attitude:

Alexander can still make it, but it's going to take an enormous amount of consistent effort. He's probably going to need some stints in the D-League or overseas to get the experience. If everything works out, maybe he's an impact member of an NBA rotation in a couple of years.

Looking ahead, every top recruit should see the situation Alexander is going through and make an honest assessment of his own ability before going pro.

If a player doesn't live up to expectations as a freshman, he should strongly consider going back to college, even if it wasn't the plan from the outset.

Unless the system changes or players start getting and heeding better advice, stories like Alexander's will continue to pop up.