Just five short years ago, through collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the NBA and the Player’s Association, a decree was issued that banned all high school players from making an early jump straight into the league. The new rule deemed that any player entering the draft must be at least 19 years of age by the end of the calendar year in which the draft is held and players that attended a U.S. high school are further required to be at least one year removed from his respective high school class’ graduation.
Simply put, you must play one year of college ball at minimum, or as we’ve seen with players like Brandon Jennings, a year of pro ball overseas.
Since the inception of the rule, there has been more controversy than outright acceptance, especially from prominent figures in college basketball such as Hall of Famer, coach Bob Knight. Knight believes that the one-and-done players are diminishing what the college game represents and additionally hurting many top-flight programs throughout the country by putting a mountain of pressure on the coaches to essentially get it right, and win a national championship within a tight one year window.
As recently as last week, we even received input from UCLA and Los Angeles Lakers legend, Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Kareem stated that the NBA should raise the age limit to 21, a considerable spike from 19. It is his personal belief that by the time a player’s junior collegiate season is completed, he will have attained a sufficient amount of knowledge about the game and of himself, thereby making him that much more prepared for the life of a professional athlete. Jabbar even addressed LeBron James’ enigmatic postseason exit by saying, “He would have come into the professional ranks very polished, given his innate gifts.”
If you’ve already formed an opinion, let’s see what side of this debate you end up supporting by the time we complete our due diligence in exploring this issue.
NEXT: I’m ready coach!
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Making the crucial decision to enter the NBA draft as early as possible is undoubtedly a tremendously difficult one that encompasses so many varying factors of life itself. Family, friends and slick agents all have an opinion with regards to what the young player’s best course of action may be.
Take a player like freshman sensation, John Wall from the University of Kentucky. Even before he stepped foot onto Rupp Arena, many analysts and coaches had long been touting him as an automatic lottery pick, if not the first overall pick, in this year’s NBA Draft. With the Washington Wizards having acquired the top pick, John has been tabbed as the “no-brainer” choice.
Wall had an amazing year under the tutelage of coach John Calipari, who also instructed current league stars, Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans in their respective single-season college campaigns. I watched nearly all of the Kentucky games that were televised nationally and I’ve been advocating Wall as having the potential to be a notch above Rose and Evans from day one.
It’s obvious that it is in John Wall’s best interest to go pro, but that assessment is precisely what causes the canvas to shift from landscape to abstract. From Wall’s perspective, he’s had his fun with the college game and is clearly anxious to take his game to the highest levels of basketball. If you look at it from UK’s point of view however, you’re left with nothing but a tease of a season that fell just short of a Final Four appearance, which only sparks wonders of “what if?”
Such is the current state of the relationship between the NCAA and the NBA. I was personally upset by the early departures of Kevin Love and Jrue Holiday from UCLA in the last two years. As a Bruin, I couldn’t help but feel like they walked away even before playing their best game as a collegiate athlete.
On top of his lackluster NCAA Tournament, I also did not appreciate Love shedding twenty pounds prior to the draft, after huffing and puffing with his previously gluttonous self in the Final Four against Memphis, a game in which Joey Dorsey and Shawn Taggart ran all over him up and down the court.
In this sense, I plead, why even have an age requirement? I agree with Bob Knight that the one-year college requirement is basically insulting not only the college game itself, but also what it really means to attend a university. By mandating players to attend school, the act of enrolling and experiencing college life becomes a jest of sorts – more so than if there was no age restriction at all.
Expecting a top-flight player or two to be able to shoulder the burden of lofty expectations of winning a national championship in just one year is playing with fool’s gold. As we even saw with coach Calipari’s Wildcats in this year’s NCAA tournament, freshman players, no matter how talented, are more than susceptible to succumbing to the pressure of playing on one of the grandest stages basketball has to offer.
I’d honestly rather hand out scholarships to players that want to truly experience the college game and that care about winning for the pride of the school for which they play. I’m not close to being sold on the one-and-done trend that so many young superstar players are following.
NEXT: High School Studs
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If you give it some thought, the most prominent marquee superstars of the NBA for the last decade, have ironically enough, primarily come from straight out of high school. Whether by coincidence or fate, these players have managed to sculpt tremendous professional careers, some more than others of course. Regardless, the proof is in the pudding.
Kobe Bryant:
The most imposing figure in this discussion would obviously be four-time champion, former league MVP and 12-time All-Star, Kobe Bryant. From the onset, Bryant was heavily criticized and dubbed as being “arrogant” for bypassing college basketball and taking his talent straight into the Association. However, to date, the Black Mamba has earned a reputation as the hardest working, most dedicated player since Michael Jordan and perhaps even all-time, which in itself speaks volumes about his commitment to mastering the game of basketball. He’s obviously been nothing but a winner, already having played in six NBA Finals, winning four of them and currently vying for a seventh appearance in a 14-year career. For this man at least, NCAA basketball would have essentially been a waste of his time.
Kevin Garnett:
Right behind Kobe, you’ve got NBA champion, former MVP and 13-time All-Star, Kevin Garnett, who essentially set the modern day trend of skipping college for the pros. Garnett immediately silenced all of his own critics by displaying awe-inspiring talent and playing with a brand of intensity seldom seen in the NBA, especially as a rookie. KG spent a long 12 years as the unquestioned best player and leader in Minnesota with very little in the way of a supporting cast. Granted he was able to carry his team to the Western Conference Finals just one time, but it was not until he joined the Boston Celtics that he became a defensive anchor, winning both Defensive Player of the Year honors and his first NBA title in 2008.
LeBron James:
No other high school player in the history of sports received more national coverage and hype than two-time NBA league MVP and six-time All-Star, LeBron James. Even as a junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary high school in Akron, OH, James scored an unprecedented front cover on Sports Illustrated’s legendary monthly magazine. In his first game on the road against the Sacramento Kings, LeBron filled the stat sheet with 25 points on 60% shooting, 6 boards and 4 steals. While he has yet to win an NBA championship in seven seasons, at the age of 25, you’ve got to think that his best days are still ahead of him. His talent is simply too out of this world to think otherwise.
Other Studs:
Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire, Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O’Neal, Rashard Lewis, Al Harrington, Andrew Bynum, Monta Ellis and Josh Smith are all straight out of high school as well. While Dwight and Amare definitely stand heads and shoulders above the others, players like T-Mac and Jermaine were unfortunate victims of major injuries that derailed what was looking to be long, fruitful careers as top stars in the league. Regardless, all of the aforementioned players earned multi-million dollar NBA contracts before they even graduated from high school and grew into their bodies.
While all of these players are highly-prized diamonds and gems in the NBA, we must give credence to the fact that they are just as well, needles in a haystack. You do not come by a Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett or a LeBron James every other year. Superstars who have the talent to back up a furious work ethic, the total package so to speak, only come through once or twice in an era. It’s easy to get caught up in their sensational abilities, but just because a player may be “good enough” to make the early jump right into the NBA, their success is in no form or manner preemptively guaranteed.
NEXT: One and Done
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They may not have made the jump straight from high school, whether by choice or imposition, but there are a litany of one-and-done players that have blossomed into bona fide stars as professional ballers as well.
Carmelo Anthony:
The most accomplished of these players in my opinion, is three-time All-Star, Carmelo Anthony, to whom the age requirement did not apply, but nonetheless, he opted for the NBA following his freshman season at Syracuse, during which he won a national title under coach Jim Boeheim. He’s developed into one of the elite superstar players in the league and is perhaps one piece away from truly contending for an NBA championship. I’d even go so far as to say that he’s right up there with Kobe Bryant as the best pure scorer in the game, perhaps even better. Bryant’s game is without question, far more complete, but Melo just seems to have an unreal God-given knack for scoring the ball in the hoop.
Kevin Durant:
Right on Melo’s heels, there is obviously the 2009-2010 scoring champion and All-Star, Kevin Durant, who showcased his exceptional talent and work ethic night in and night out this past season. I have no doubt in my mind that in two more years at most, he will be contending for the title of “best player in the league”. As we saw during this past season, KD finished second in the MVP race against LeBron James after an incredible year in which he scored at least 25 points in 29 straight games and led his team to a 50-32 record, a vast improvement from 23-59 in 2009. While he struggled statistically in his first ever postseason appearance going against Ron Artest, he proved that the stage is not too big for him and that he will be heard from for years to come.
Derrick Rose:
NBA All-Star, Derrick Rose, is without an ounce of doubt, a big game performer and one of the top talents in the game. In the 2007 NCAA Final Four, he single-handedly picked apart the UCLA Bruins to the tune of 25 points and 9 rebounds. Then, in his first ever NBA playoffs as a rookie last season, Derrick dropped 36 points with 11 assists and led the Chicago Bulls to a shocking Game 1 victory over the defending champion Boston Celtics. He also earned his first All-Star selection this past season in his sophomore year as a pro. Rose is not mentioned in the same breath as a Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo, Steve Nash or Chris Paul as of yet, but at a mere 21 years old, he still has a chance to surpass all of those players and stand tall as the best point guard in the NBA.
Honorable Mention:
We also cannot fail to highlight big names such as O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley, Brandon Jennings (overseas), Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday, Jerryd Bayless and Demar Derozan. Most of these one-and-done players have made instant impacts on their respective teams, contributing significant minutes during their very young careers.
With these one-year wonder players, we can only wonder what the true difference would have been if they had been able to dive right into the league from high school. John Wall recently stated, “I needed the maturity to go to college. The one year of experience, listening to the coaches and playing in the Elite Eight helped” (ESPN). He also commented on how, had he not attended UK even for the one year that he did, there is no way he would have been prepared for the mental rigors of playing in the NBA.
I would never question the sincerity of such comments because Wall did even finish his last semester with a strong 3.5 GPA, which shows how seriously he took his one year of college life, but I do wonder if he truly believes that he was not ready for the league. How did Durant and Rose feel? Are they able to contribute so quickly because of the singular runs they had in the NCAA or are they just that good anyways? It’s incredibly difficult to discern.
Before we all get too excited however, I’d be remiss if I did not mention the absolute busts who decided to take their “talent” straight into the NBA.
NEXT: FAIL
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The most notorious of these players is undoubtedly former first overall pick, Kwame Brown, otherwise known as Michael Jordan’s worst player evaluation to date. The way I see it, if Michael says to your face, “You’ve got no heart,” you pretty much suck at the game of life and you definitely stink it up as a basketball player.
Brown is the supreme example of a high school standout who did not possess the appropriate or even necessary work ethic to go along with his raw talent. Succeeding in the NBA is much more about a player’s mental fortitude rather than his physical abilities. Kwame, as clearly indicted by MJ, did not have what it took to develop into the superstar that everyone expected him to be.
I wonder what it is with centers because there’s also guys like Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry who were so highly regarded coming out of Dominguez High School and Thornwood High School, respectively, but have failed miserably to live up to the billing. Is it the pressure? Lack of motivation? Insufficient guidance?
Obviously we could highlight Greg Oden, but I am honestly sympathetic to his situation. I’m sure all Laker fans can relate, given that Bynum has been plagued by multiple knee injuries in his still very young career as well. You never want to see a young player fail to reach his potential because he can’t stay healthy.
While there are the superstars who have forged very successful and remarkable careers for themselves upon entering the NBA draft early, it’s evident that there are also a tremendous amount of failures. Although I’ve only highlighted a handful, there are undoubtedly tons more that we will never hear or know about because they could not even get far enough for us to learn their names.
Failing to make an NBA roster has nothing to do with attending college for a full four years, one year or none at all. We can’t mistake the success of the players who have made it as being a total representation of everyone who has ever tried.
That is not to say however, that we can overlook the poise and composure that players who have played a lot of college basketball come into the league with. The readiness with which these men begin their NBA careers with is something that should not be taken for granted. They have carved out their own niche as well and additionally have one thing that many early draft entrants, if any, can brag about owning.
NEXT: NBA Ready
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Is there anything bad about attending four years of college and obtaining your degree? Absolutely not. That is precisely the “thing” that college basketball players who play a full four years can say that they have over those who either left early or did not attend at all.
Basketball is and will always be, at its purest form, just a game. There are no promises of glory whatsoever for any hopeful professional in the sport. With the twist of a knee or shattering of an ankle, one’s NBA career could be over before it even sees the light of day. An undergraduate degree however, especially one obtained for free through an athletic scholarship, is something that no one can ever take away from a player. There is also no question about the maturity and preparedness that a long college career instills within an NBA hopeful.
Dwyane Wade:
If you want to talk about being prepared to play in the Association, look no further than D-Wade. As a third year player, he delivered what is arguably the greatest single performance in NBA Finals history, obliterating the Dallas Mavericks after an 0-2 start. In that historic series, Flash averaged 34.7 points per game and snagged 7.8 boards per contest. You can say what you want, but that championship was basically all Dwyane Wade. Michael Jordan did not win his first title until age 27 and Kobe Bryant won his “first” ring (without Shaq) at age 31. Wade did it in his third season as pro.
Dwyane himself will be the first to tell anyone what impact the experience of growing and maturing as a person during his four years at Marquette had on his NBA career. He came into the league with the mentality of a team leader right off the bat and his game was already polished and strong enough to dominate his competition.
Brandon Roy:
Although not as accomplished as Wade, Brandon Roy is another superstar that comes to mind when thinking of college stars who have made a seamless transition into the NBA. I remember reading a story about how as a rookie, Brandon was the only one bold enough to call out then Trail Blazer, Zach Randolph, for pointing fingers at everyone else but himself. That was the moment B-Roy instantly earned the respect of his teammates and they bought into him as a leader figure. Garnering Rookie of the Year Honors surely did not hurt his cause either.
It’s really tough to legitimately disseminate any negatives with regards to playing a full career at the NCAA level. Even this year, we’ve seen rookies such as Darren Collison of UCLA and Taj Gibson of USC who both ended up as starters, albeit by default. But to their credit, they did nothing to forfeit that privilege and played hard and effectively every single minute they were on the floor. By experiencing the life of a student athlete and graduating with a degree in their hand really does appear to have nothing but a positive effect while transitioning into the life of a professional.
I do realize that we’re arguing from a small sample here, but unfortunately, I can’t think of any big-time star that played even up to three years of college basketball as Kareem Abdul Jabaar recommends. Most U.S. players who shine in the spotlight play two years of NCAA ball at most. The truth of the matter is that in the game of basketball, if a player is an outstanding talent that is clearly ahead of the pack, they are far more eager to go play in the NBA than finish out school and obtain their degree. Honestly, can you blame them? Many of us would do close to anything to have that luxury in life of playing basketball and earning millions of dollars to do so.
If you’re more confused than ever, do not be weary, I’m just as lost as you. Nonetheless, we must choose because there is no such thing as living in the middle ground.
NEXT: And the winner is…
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After much deliberation and discussion, I myself have personally arrived at the conclusion that if a player wants to go directly from high school to the NBA draft, they should be afforded the opportunity to do so, no strings attached. Ultimately, it is solely their decision and should be left as such. Whether the individual fails or succeeds is for the most part, up to the player. If they feel ready to make the leap, then who are we to tell them that they aren’t?
Having no minimum age requirement would also prevent college basketball from morphing into more of a circus than it already has. We are glorifying young 17, 18-year old kids into some kind of scholarship sweepstakes, tracking their every move as it relates to what school they are going to choose to play one year of NCAA basketball for. I’m not a super fan of the college game, but I do agree that the one-and-done trend is hurting it. On that same note , I also do not believe in forcing anyone to do anything that he or she may not want to do.
As one final piece of support to my conclusion, I’d like to touch on Jeremy Tyler, a young 6’11 phenom, who actually chose to skip his senior year of high school altogether and opted to sign with the professional Israeli team, Maccabi Haifa instead, in 2008. To play professionally for one year overseas instead of playing at a U.S. college as did Brandon Jennings is one thing, but to not even graduate high school and prematurely make that jump in itself is a decision that is simply baffling.
Now, while I obviously do not have anything in the way of concrete insight, my speculation is that Tyler was so anxious to be done with school that, instead of having to play another two years of basketball as a student athlete (senior year and one year of NCAA), he figured that he would cut that out completely and bide his time as an international pro player until he was eligible for the NBA Draft. Would he have made the questionable decision to drop out of high school if there was no age-requirement that prohibited him from turning pro following his senior year, which would have been just one more year of school? I have to believe that he would not have been so hasty and impulsive.
I must politely disagree with Kareem’s suggested age of 21 for a minimum requisite. While there is hard evidence that exhibits the clear benefits of not only playing a lot at the collegiate level, but also attending school and perhaps even earning your degree, how much a player matures and prepares himself for the NBA is really all relative. And do bear in mind that we are speaking strictly from a basketball standpoint, not life as a whole.
If it means that much to the individual to become a well-respected and successful professional player, they will do whatever they have to do, sacrifice whatever they have to sacrifice and work however hard they must to accomplish that goal. If they are hoping to get into the NBA for all the wrong reasons or simply do not have what it takes to make the cut, it will show regardless of whether they’re an early entry or not.
The decision has been, is and always will be the player’s to make – not ours.