Method 1, (“Prep to Pro”): Get drafted out of high school à-la Lebron James. In 2005, the NBA Players’ Union outlawed Method 1. Now, a player must be 19 years or older, and at least one year removed from high school in order to enter the NBA Draft. So until another change is made, this method is out. But was this a good call by the union? Think about this for a second: the past two times the first pick in the NBA Draft has been a player coming straight out of high school was LeBron James in 2003 and Dwight Howard in 2004. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’d say they’re doing alright for themselves in the NBA.
Method 2, (“One and Done”): Declare for Draft after freshman year at college, “attend” being a relative term, as the whole “student-athlete” thing is nothing more than a travesty. I’m pretty sure Derrick Rose to a maximum of two classes during his one year at Memphis, and rumor has it Kentucky head coach John Calipari wore a mask into a testing center to take the SATs for his pride and joy, John Wall. Secondly, what’s the point of recruiting the heck out of guys like Kevin Love and OJ Mayo just so they can come to school for a year for little more than parties and basketball? Not only is it a waste of time and money on behalf of Athletic Departments, it’s also doing a disservice to these nineteen and twenty year olds who are, for the first time, away from their families. All the special treatment they receive and all the babying they get doesn’t do anything to prepare them for the NBA.
Method 3, (“Trans-Atlantic Antics”): Spend the required one year removed from high school playing basketball for a European professional team such as Panathinaikos Athens. I think these guys wanted to get a jump start on their 401K. Why go to college and play for free when you can be making serious euros playing basketball matches in Barcelona? In all serious, these international teams are getting pretty good. U.S. Basketball really got a wake-up call at the 2004 Olympics in Athens when they got beat out by both Argentina and Italy. Where do you think Milwaukee Bucks’ rookie Brandon Jennings was when he showed up late to the NBA Draft?
FINAL WORD: Play European ball. To play basketball at a big name school like USC or Ohio State is to live in a bubble where everything is handed to you, where you can breeze through your classes that you don’t even show up for, and where your coaches and Athletic Directors will cover up all your tracks. Come on, you’re not fooling anyone. While it’s not impossible to keep a strong work ethic throughout college, most freshmen getting tons of attention from the ladies, the agents, and boosters will inevitably get distracted and lose the drive that they had relied on to get to this point in their careers. I’d even say play oversees over the prep-to-pro move, had it stayed legal. Experiencing other cultures and ways of life has a lot to offer. And, sometimes, the lead from high school senior to professional baller is too much. Kwame Brown was drafted first overall in 2001 by the Washington Wizards, and has by no means lived up to the hype.
Good perspectives. Right on the money. However, it seems to me here is a fourth option that many players choose: Graduate from college. That is, go to college and work for your education by playing basketball. Then get a job in the NBA. It's an opportunity few kids get and it's an experience that a person never forgets. And it provides chance to learn something real about yourself and your world.
ReplyDeleteBut given the option to go pro or stay in college, it is more logical to enter the draft while you can. You never know when you might get some freak career-ending injury. (See: De'Sean Butler.) Better to get the money while it's available (See: Greg Oden)
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