Now before I start, I do want to acknowledge that in a prior post I stated that college sports are better than professional sports, in my opinion. While you read this please remember and realize this rule is a NBA rule, not NCAA and that I still hold true to my opinion.
With that being said, I rise this question. Should the NBA do away with the "one and done" rule?
Since 2005, in order to enter the NBA Draft, you must play at least one year of college basketball. The alleged reasoning for the rule was to get NBA scouts and General Managers outside of high school gyms and that urban Americans were using the NBA as a shortcut in life to money and fame. We all have our opinions on how legit that reasoning truly is so ill let you judge for yourself.
Now if this rule were in place back in the 1990's Lebron James would've more than likely attended Ohio State, Kobe Bryant would have attended Duke University and believe it or not, Kevin Garnett probably would have never made it to the NBA. KG actually wanted to go to college but he simply wasn't smart enough, his high school GPA and SAT scores put him in a position to feel that his life was either basketball or bust.
While there are multiple loopholes to get around the "one and done" rule, I feel the rule isn't enough. I feel the NBA should implement the NFL's rule with a few tweaks. The NFL states that you must be out of high school for at least 3 years before entering the draft. While the rule doesn't state you must attend college for those 3 years, there hasn't been a player drafted who didn't attend college.
I feel you should have to play at least 3 years of college basketball before entering the draft and my reasoning is simple. Too many players are entering the league and getting hurt as rookies because their body hasn't fully developed.
Let's talk about Greg Oden, who only played 1 year at Ohio State, was the first overall draft pick in 2007 and has played a total of 82 games (one season) throughout his whole career due to injuries. Now lets talk about Jared Sullinger. Another Ohio State star who came out early and is now out for the season with the same back injury that nagged him throughout his college career. My mom happens to be a Buckeye fan and we both agreed that both athletes should've stayed in school to fully develop. We've both been proven correct.
Those are just 2 of my many examples to that argument. As always I could ramble forever but I'll close with this point. I dare someone to find me an NBA player who got worse after college before getting better. I mean I don't remember Michael Jordan getting a ring his rookie year in the league.
With that being said, I rise this question. Should the NBA do away with the "one and done" rule?
Since 2005, in order to enter the NBA Draft, you must play at least one year of college basketball. The alleged reasoning for the rule was to get NBA scouts and General Managers outside of high school gyms and that urban Americans were using the NBA as a shortcut in life to money and fame. We all have our opinions on how legit that reasoning truly is so ill let you judge for yourself.
Now if this rule were in place back in the 1990's Lebron James would've more than likely attended Ohio State, Kobe Bryant would have attended Duke University and believe it or not, Kevin Garnett probably would have never made it to the NBA. KG actually wanted to go to college but he simply wasn't smart enough, his high school GPA and SAT scores put him in a position to feel that his life was either basketball or bust.
While there are multiple loopholes to get around the "one and done" rule, I feel the rule isn't enough. I feel the NBA should implement the NFL's rule with a few tweaks. The NFL states that you must be out of high school for at least 3 years before entering the draft. While the rule doesn't state you must attend college for those 3 years, there hasn't been a player drafted who didn't attend college.
I feel you should have to play at least 3 years of college basketball before entering the draft and my reasoning is simple. Too many players are entering the league and getting hurt as rookies because their body hasn't fully developed.
Let's talk about Greg Oden, who only played 1 year at Ohio State, was the first overall draft pick in 2007 and has played a total of 82 games (one season) throughout his whole career due to injuries. Now lets talk about Jared Sullinger. Another Ohio State star who came out early and is now out for the season with the same back injury that nagged him throughout his college career. My mom happens to be a Buckeye fan and we both agreed that both athletes should've stayed in school to fully develop. We've both been proven correct.
Those are just 2 of my many examples to that argument. As always I could ramble forever but I'll close with this point. I dare someone to find me an NBA player who got worse after college before getting better. I mean I don't remember Michael Jordan getting a ring his rookie year in the league.
