Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Early exodus for NBA is hurting college hoops

College basketball is as exciting as it ever has been, capped off this year with one of the most thrilling national championship games in NCAA tournament history.

The National Basketball Association’s rule that prohibits high school graduates from entering the NBA draft has, without a doubt, given a boost to the college game. Texas freshman Kevin Durant and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley, the last two national player of the year winners, would probably have been in the pros if not for the rule change. Greg Oden — the No. 1 pick of the 2007 draft — and Mike Conley led Ohio State to the championship game last season as freshmen before bolting for the NBA.

The 2008 crop of college freshmen that have entered the draft will all be sporting new suits and million-dollar contracts on draft night. Beasley, UCLA’s Kevin Love, Memphis point guard Derrick Rose, USC sensation O.J. Mayo, Indiana’s Eric Gordon and Arizona’s Jerryd Bayless all appear to be instant-impact players at the next level. Their short-lived presence on campus has helped raised the quality of play and generated a new level of interest in the college game.

But all is not well with college basketball.

The NCAA should not be the minor league of professional basketball, but because there is no legitimate training ground for young prospects, their best chance at becoming multi-millionaire athlete is to attend college.

Young men who do not have the desire or academic skills necessary to succeed as a college student find themselves relegated to supposed institutions of higher learning. In a worst-case scenario, a “student athlete” could take and pass 12 hours (four classes) of freshman-level electives in the fall semester of their first year, then completely blow off classes in the spring to focus on the conference season, the NCAA tournament and pre-draft camps.

At the same time, universities have compromised their academic integrity in order to be competitive in the highly lucrative world of major Division I athletics. Memphis University made a lot of money this year thanks to Rose, and the reality is that if Memphis had passed on Rose, knowing he would likely be one-and-done, another elite program would gladly have given him a short-term home.

The NBA had to do something. The allure of young prospects was too much for any team to resist. Let’s be honest; there’s not a general manager interested in keeping his job that would be willing to pass on the next LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett. Unfortunately, the result was too many instances (Deshawn Stevenson, Al Jefferson and Tyson Chandler come to mind) of teams investing millions in teenagers only to see them finally blossom in their mid-20s with a different franchise.

The NBA has every right to set its own eligibility requirements. If it says a player has to be out of high school for at least a year, then so be it. Clearly, there are some 18-year-olds who are capable of playing and contributing at the professional level. But many star high school players, despite what they are told by family, friends and other less reputable sources looking to profit from a young man’s skill, are not physically prepared for the 82-game grind against grown men in the world’s top professional basketball league. And all of them — even guys like James, Bryant and Garnett — would benefit from a few years of physical and mental maturity.

News surfaced during the Final Four of the NBA and NCAA working on a deal that could increase the waiting period for high school graduates to two years before being eligible for the NBA draft. On the surface, it sounds like a good plan, but in reality it only makes the problem worse.

The NBA and NCAA would be better served to focus its energy on creating a system similar to the one presented to high school baseball prospects.

If a high school player is chosen in the draft, he can turn pro, which usually means several years of developing their skills in the minor leagues. But, if a player decides to accept a college scholarship, they are not eligible to re-enter the draft until after their third year in college.

The problem for high school basketball players is the lack of a true minor league basketball system. The NBA’s developmental league has the potential to serve as a minor league if some changes are made.

A better solution might be to offer high school players an option. For example, if the NBA wants to stick with its current one-year waiting period, give those young men who don’t want to attend college a place to play — the NBDL — where they can make a modest living for a year and develop their skills 24 hours a day. For those who choose to attend college, institute a two-year minimum rule —similar to the three-year plan in baseball — that does not allow a college player to be eligible for the draft until after their second year in college.

It’s not a perfect solution, but the current rule — no matter how well its intention — is making a mockery of the college game.