Who really believes most of these players are actually putting deep meaningful thought into the draft. I mean does it matter whether or not you have a fully paid scholarship at a school of higher learning. The opportunity to train your mind for a "lifetime". If there were any deep thoughts then it's an easy choice. Except for the few extreme hardship cases the simple decision is - stay in school. The $$ will be there if you are a "VALID" 1st round pick. Coaches and recruiters/scouts (both college and pro), agents, team GMs and marketing big wigs (all EDUCATED individuals) all to often toy with and use the street smart but uneducated athletes who have had limited life exposure. Advantage, the system - whether college or pro - much to the detriment of the athlete. Why doesn't ESPN, CBS Sports, ABC Sports, NBC Sports, NBA TV etc. do stories about those who entered any draft early (and there are many storeis). Answer: Not good TV/exposure. TOO MANY FAILURES. Now how about the 100s of thousands of athletes who completed their degrees and succeeded in life! Hey, but what do I know, I just shoot a few hoops, play in some flag football, hit a few baseballs, just for the fun of it.
and really, how many people come out of college thinking they have "trained [their] mind for a 'lifetime'"?? i sure as hell didnt.
a talented basketball player should go to the nba as soon as he is ready, and THAT is the smart move. and as soon as you feel you are ready, its an easy choice to go. and that is what the deep thought should be about: whether or not they are ready to jump up.
you learn in life from experience, not from textbooks, and college doesnt teach experience. obviously some kids make mistakesgoing out too early. sucks for them. and it doesnt mean they would have done any better if theyd graduated from college. hell, half of them are too dumb to graduate, and half of the ones who do are too dumb to make it in a good job.
what makes you think that graduating from college automatically means success in life? it surely does not.
many players who dont become first rounders still make plenty of money. and players who dont even make an nba team and end up playing overseas, are their lives failures?
as you said, you do it for the fun of it. you probably dont know what its like to have your future and potentially millions of dollars riding on basketball. THAT is their job, dont get it twisted.
the reason why espn dosnt make stories about kids leaving ealy is in my opinon is sabastion telfair i mean look they mad this whoooole big movie-> Through The Fire dont get me wrong it was a good movie and he caused alot of hype but i think the movie was to get him exposer which it did and now look at him now hes good but not as good as the movie said he would be. i think that if another movie came out i would make sure it would be on a player who is a guarenteed top 5 pick. would of liked to see a TV special on Durant or this year on mayo
This is a great recap to the remaining tough decisions to be made by each player. There perhaps should be a 4th catageory, "those capable of returning and completing the academics to finish college". This group regardless should return if they have no true guarantees and has the ability to complete requirements to secure a degree. Otherwise, might as well take the chance and perhaps get a head start by going late first to early second round. The alternative would be returning to school dropping out and not having any chance at this much income opportunity in the future. So for all the those players in the above catageory take a moment for self reflection and decide if you have the "right stuff" to return to college v. NBA!
CMSBALL that is an excellent point because a large percentage of players coming out early who will not make it in the classroom and thus will not finish college. Unfortunately for them pro ball is their best shot at success.
For every Kevin Garnett there are a multitude of Korleone Young, Scotty Thurman, and Ronnie Fields.
It should be pointed out that if they do catch on to a team, liek many major corporations, the NBA will pay for them to go to school to finish their degree, so getting a degree is not the primary reason to come back. It's all about maximizing your starting salary (or draft position), and you have to come out when the time is right.
That said, I remember the generally excepted rule was that you didn't come out early unless you were a lottery pick. hopefully with next years class being down, if the 2010 class is as well, maybe it will build some depth back in college basketball to where the norm is being in school for two to three years for star players, and four years for everyone else.
4th catageory, "those capable of returning and completing the academics to finish college". Unfortunately, a tremendous number of players don't finish college in the traditional sense. They may finish five years (count the redshirt year) of athletic eligibility, but what are the graduation rates of D1 players? It's sad, because there are so many good arguments that support a player returning to finish his/her degree, but then there's the reality that shows so many of them never take advantage of that opportunity.
