College basketball season has just kicked off, meaning we’ve got around four months to watch teams duke it out for the top seats in March’s NCAA tournament. And for many players, one of their goals will surely be to boost their draft stock as they look forward to June 2014’s NBA draft.
Thanks to the NCAA’s “one and done” rule, one of these players is freshman Kansas guard Andrew Wiggins, who was touted as the number one pick in the draft before he even committed to the Jayhawks. The idea that this kid, just 18-years-old and straight out of high school, is immediately thrust into the spotlight of being the NBA’s top prospect without ever stepping onto a college court is ridiculous in my eyes.
My reasoning behind this is largely because the kid is nowhere near NBA-ready, let alone college-ready. Sure, he’s got buckets of talent in his reservoir, but is he physically and mentally ready to make a profession out of basketball? Talent can only take you so far. If you’re not smart about the way you go about your life — being a professional athlete is no walk in the park, both on and off the court — then your career can be cut short instantaneously.
This jump from high school kid to top NBA draft prospect isn’t even an uncommon thing, either. Just last year, Kentucky player Nerlens Noel — now with the Philadelphia 76ers — was in the same spot as Wiggins before an ACL injury in February pushed him down to the sixth overall pick. He should still be in college, rehabbing and working on getting his game in shape, not to mention getting an education. After all, these players are student athletes — emphasis on student.
In 1995, the first high-profile jump from high school to the pros came about, as Chicago-based forward Kevin Garnett was taken fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Over the next several years, big-name players like Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O’Neal, Tracy McGrady and Rashard Lewis also decided to forgo an education in favor of the NBA.
In 2003, the idea of high school players jumping straight into the NBA came into the public eye as the Wiggins-like fascination was placed upon a young man from Akron, Ohio. That young man, of course, was LeBron James, and he turned out okay. That draft also featured two college freshmen that went in the top five and have gone on to have successful careers: Carmelo Anthony from Syracuse University and Georgia Tech’s Chris Bosh. 2004’s first overall pick was current Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard, a high school star from Atlanta.
But for every Kobe or Garnett or LeBron, there’s a Kwame Brown. Brown was a high schooler taken first overall in 2001 by the Washington Wizards. But he’s been a massive flop. He’s currently with the 76ers, having played at a subpar level for a total of seven teams in his career. Or there’s Korleone Young, a second-round pick in 1998 who played one season in the NBA before stints in independent leagues as well as Russia, China
and Australia.
The one-and-done rule emerged prior to the 2006 NBA draft, when a new collective bargaining agreement was put in place. One stipulation therein was that all players must wait at least one full season after leaving high school before being eligible for the draft. The rule’s effects were immediately felt, as three of the top four picks in 2007’s draft — including the Miami Heat’s Greg Oden and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant — spent the required minimum of one year in college before turning pro.
One interesting instance of someone circumventing this rule occurred a few years ago. In 2008, Brandon Jennings was a high-rated prospect coming out of high school and had committed to attend the University of Arizona. However, before he started there, he decided that it was in his best interest to play professionally in Europe to get better and make a little money during that required year between high school and the NBA. His year in Italy yielded little in terms of stats, but he would be drafted 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2009. Now with the Detroit Pistons, Jennings has proven solid scorer, but this route — playing professionally in a foreign country instead of attending college — isn’t going to be for everyone either.
But you have to wonder: what would have become of Oden had he remained at Ohio State for as long as needed for him to complete his degree? Would he have avoided the devastating knee injuries he suffered after turning pro? For the type of NBA prospect he was — a big man liable to take a beating in the paint — a couple extra years of physically toughening himself and rounding out his game would have done wonders. Plus, getting a degree might be a nice thing to fall back on if injuries did in fact crop up and stall out his career.
The “one-and-done” rule is sort of a cop-out. It makes the student actually attend college for one year but in no way forces them to pay much care to their studies for that year — just meet the minimum requirements and get on with it. As enticing as it may be to jump straight into the money and fame of the NBA, that kind of environment isn’t suitable for all athletes. One blown ACL or emotional breakdown and you could be out of the league as quickly as you came in. And if you only spent one year in college, where does that leave you? Since they’ve decided to skip the rest of their NCAA eligibility, they can’t be given another athletic scholarship.
Getting that degree before you step into the professional world, be it in basketball or not, should always be the most important part of your college experience. The college learning experience is an invaluable asset to an athlete, as it can teach them life skills that can aid them in their careers. The NBA’s insistence that one year of college is okay makes a mockery of that.
