One and Done
With the end of the men's college basketball tournament, fans begin holding their breath for what has become the inevitable. Teams with star recruits with pro potential begin making statements that their young players have decided to forgo their senior, junior, or even sophomore seasons to try their luck in the NBA. While teams wait until this point to formally make the announcements, it is usually a foregone conclusion that certain players are going to be one and done.
The season's first big name player has come out and said that he will be putting his name into this year's NBA Draft. Coach K notified the public that Kyrie Irving will be leaving school early, even after he missed 26 games this season with a bum toe.
Irving was one of several star freshmen to enter the college ranks this year. Many of these would have skipped this step and entered the draft last year if current policy didn't require students to be at least 19 years old and one full year removed from high school to be draft eligible. Many believe that North Carolina SF Harrison Barnes and Kentucky's Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight will soon follow Irving to the NBA.
This trend has been taking place since the rule began. Several notable NBA players were one and done guys in college; Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, O.J. Mayo, and Michael Beasley. There are many that argue against the merit of the rule.
Some believe that this process greatly cheapens the college experience for these players and in general. The student's requirements to be eligible to play in the fall are fairly lax, and in the spring most declare for the NBA draft before their finals, making their classes virtually meaningless. I don't think you can lump all one and done players together in the category of not taking their education seriously, but this is nonetheless alarming.
Others argue that this one year in college is essentially useless to those star players that are truly ready for the NBA. While their argument may pertain to the Kevin Durant's and Derrick Rose's of the world, I do think that there is much to gain in a college setting, even if it is just for one year.
I believe the current system certainly has its flaws. It's hard to say that someone should have the power to tell 18 year old men what to do with their lives, but I personally would like to see the minimum requirement pushed back to 2 years in a college setting. I could see several problems resulting; the main being players going the Brandon Jennings's route and simply playing overseas for two years.
On the NBA's side of things, some say that this rule hurts because these young kids that declare after one year are seen simply as projects. While you do get your Kobe Bryant's and Dwight Howard's, some argue that bad teams with lottery picks have to take a risk on choosing players with 'promise' or 'potential'. They say that this results in teams continuing to be bad until they get lucky enough to have a shot at drafting a true superstar, and thus a lack of parody in the NBA.
I am hands down more of a fan of college basketball so I tend to look at things from a perspective of how it is affected. You cannot force a student to desire a college education or experience. Any rule that is put into place will not fix that. That being said, I believe players can gain so much from college, not just on the basketball court but in the classroom and even developing socially, and they benefit greatly from their time in school.
The season's first big name player has come out and said that he will be putting his name into this year's NBA Draft. Coach K notified the public that Kyrie Irving will be leaving school early, even after he missed 26 games this season with a bum toe.
Irving was one of several star freshmen to enter the college ranks this year. Many of these would have skipped this step and entered the draft last year if current policy didn't require students to be at least 19 years old and one full year removed from high school to be draft eligible. Many believe that North Carolina SF Harrison Barnes and Kentucky's Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight will soon follow Irving to the NBA.
This trend has been taking place since the rule began. Several notable NBA players were one and done guys in college; Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, O.J. Mayo, and Michael Beasley. There are many that argue against the merit of the rule.
Some believe that this process greatly cheapens the college experience for these players and in general. The student's requirements to be eligible to play in the fall are fairly lax, and in the spring most declare for the NBA draft before their finals, making their classes virtually meaningless. I don't think you can lump all one and done players together in the category of not taking their education seriously, but this is nonetheless alarming.
Others argue that this one year in college is essentially useless to those star players that are truly ready for the NBA. While their argument may pertain to the Kevin Durant's and Derrick Rose's of the world, I do think that there is much to gain in a college setting, even if it is just for one year.
I believe the current system certainly has its flaws. It's hard to say that someone should have the power to tell 18 year old men what to do with their lives, but I personally would like to see the minimum requirement pushed back to 2 years in a college setting. I could see several problems resulting; the main being players going the Brandon Jennings's route and simply playing overseas for two years.
On the NBA's side of things, some say that this rule hurts because these young kids that declare after one year are seen simply as projects. While you do get your Kobe Bryant's and Dwight Howard's, some argue that bad teams with lottery picks have to take a risk on choosing players with 'promise' or 'potential'. They say that this results in teams continuing to be bad until they get lucky enough to have a shot at drafting a true superstar, and thus a lack of parody in the NBA.
I am hands down more of a fan of college basketball so I tend to look at things from a perspective of how it is affected. You cannot force a student to desire a college education or experience. Any rule that is put into place will not fix that. That being said, I believe players can gain so much from college, not just on the basketball court but in the classroom and even developing socially, and they benefit greatly from their time in school.
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