"But onto the game..."
>> Thursday
...says Reece Davis.
As much as I like to rag on old coaches and their war stories and 1970s philosophies, I wish ESPN had given some airtime to let the Digger-General-DickieV 700 Club Roundable Hour hash out this topic. (And I'm not even ragging on ESPN.... because the sitation warranted the move-on. Hence, the tragedy of limited time.)
That topic being: the NBA rule that encourages one-and-done 6-credit-hour athletes to play NCAA ball for a year.
It's grotesque, ugly, shady, unseemly, and then some. And it undeniably undermines the modern college game--not to mention the way it undermines a libertarian philosophy of "elevate yourself and make some money doing it."
The three former coaches were in the midst of a meaningful discussion on this topic during Gameday a few minutes ago, in which they made some excellent points. But sadly, the producers gave Reece the "move on" signal. Yet this is the most important topic facing the NCAA (at least in terms of major-conference basketball) today.
The point being: let the kids take on the NBA if that's what they want. Don't make them feign school spirit and ameteur-game ideals for a year if their heart's not in it and if they never intend to join the blue-collar world.
Don't rob NBA fans of a rookie year like LeBron or Amare had for a stupid rule that--ostensibly--encourages superior athletes to give "higher" education a chance but--more accurately--intends to create a deeper 12-man NBA roster. (And I'll save the fact that LeBron strikes me as one of the short list of the most intelligent and amazing personalities in sports, despite his lack of a college education, for another post.)
Stern!: You greedy bitch: Don't turn the NCAA into a farm league even more than it is.
I love Dickie V's idea of creating a committee of NBA execs and NCAA officials to give an unbiased, non-agent-driven evaluation of gifted 18/19 year-olds to separate the corrupted from the Real Deals.
Sadly, this discussion was cut short. Which is not to say that the ESPN college hoops panel is the Mensa of the unpaid-paid sports issues dynamic, but I'm disappointed to see that this discussion couldn't get its fair due on a forum that more people will see than all the "alternative" sports media outlets combined.
Basically, Beasley, Mayo, and Rose should be millionares because it's within their abilities... and they'd be successful doing it. And college basketball--and its devotees like me--shouldn't pretend that they're one of "ours," when these studs forcibly held themselves back to set their footprint in this cult.
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3 comments:
One of the more mind-boggling compromises that I heard at one point was getting rid of the "One-and-done" Rule, and replacing it with a rule of "You can go to the NBA if you want to after high school, but if you come to play college ball, you have to stay for at least two (or three) years."
Talk about totally missing the point. This won't bring the LeBrons and Kobes into the fold on campus because they're already talented enough to compete at a pro level.
On the other side of the coin, forcing players to stay for 2-3 years in college if they're talented enough to go to the pros is tantamount to making them sign a contract to perform a service, which will enrich the school, but for which they will not see a dime. It smacks at the very least of indentured servitude, or at worst, something that rhymes with bravery. The only beneficiary in this arrangement is the guy scraping to get 5 minutes of PT in garbage time at the end of an NBA bench, who might be able to prolong his league-minimum-earning career another year.
The end result would be a weaker college game as the restriction on player movement proves a disincentive to play college ball. It would be joined by perhaps even a weaker pro game as players who could probably use a year or two of polishing in college declare for the draft after their senior prom. The draft would be more of a crapshoot and teams would still blow picks on duds.
Yeah, Dickie V actually endorsed that idea during the segment, but I don't like it either.
To begin with, I don't think there were a ton of guys pre-rule that went to school but had predetermined they would leave after exactly one year and be a lottery pick (Marbury, 'Melo, DuJuan Wagner being a few exceptions). Most guys, if they were that ambitious and talented, they'd have made the jump from high school.
My problem with that idea is that the forced year(s) put an outstanding freshman at risk for serious injury, disappointing play, or anything else that could hurt his draft stock, and ultimately, his financial well-being.
The NBA doesn't require you to go to college for a year to be eligble for the draft you just have to be 19 and one year removed from high school. While this means pretty much all the players who would be drafted out of high school go to college, you could go play in Eroupe or work at McDonalds for a year. The reason Dickie V and Bob Knight support a 2 to 3 year commitment is that currently the NCAA has little to no control over these playes who come in take ballroom dancing and basket waeaving and then leave at the end of the year, thus depriving someone who whouldn't make it in the NBA and can't afford college of a scholarship that would help provide them a much needed degree. Personally I disagree with both systems, I'ld rather see a better developed NBA farm system, similar to MLB. Let players leave whenever they want and make some money while playing basket ball.
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