The NCAA wants the best players in the highest profile schools for one reason - money. They want to make money off these players for the year they have to be in school with the guise of it being better for the athlete to have one year of school. What a crock. If the NCAA thinks that a kid that knows they are only going to be in school for one year gives a rats ass about school or the possible penalties that school will have to endure after that athlete is gone for violating some antiquated rule then they all deserve to deal with this mess. They are trying to keep these gifted athletes from the same thing they are pimping them out for - money. What 18-19 year old kid is going to keep a multi million dollar lottery ticket in their pocket for a year with out wanting to cash even a little bit of it in? That is what the NCAA is wanting them to do. I know I am sure surprised when that system doesn't work - who would have thought?
Let's keep in mind that most 18-19 year olds can't even handle an allowance. So regardless of when they get their multi-million dollar payoff, be it age 18 or 22, most of them won't give a crap who it came from or how it affects their *former* school.
The kids want their money. The NCAA is going to skim off the top and play dumb about it. Let them reap the "rewards."
I will have to agree with Terrible Terry Tate, office linebacker, on this one (and props on the name and avatar) - the NCAA is more concerned with making money of these kids then their overall welfare - making them attend school for a year doesn't cut it. If you really want to send a message that these kids should be encouraged to attain a college degree and spend a few critical years "growing up", then they should make the mandatory minimum at least 2 years - hey, it is how NCAA footbal is set up! If not, make it like baseball and let them be drafted out of high school.
The NCAA's attempt to control the elite basketball players may eventually destroy college basketball.
Think about this for a moment - if the NCAA makes a rule that says that any player that signs a letter of intent must attend college for at least three years, before they can play professionally, most players will simply stop signing those letters and go the JUCO route. Think that is unlikely? Remember, the top baseball players that go on to college don't play baseball at NCAA institutions. They got to JUCO because they can move on to the professional ranks after they graduate without going to a four year school. Requiring three years would mean that elite players would opt for the two year out of JUCO and have far less stringent academic requirements.
What types of players would that eliminate from the NCAA scene? In 2007, that would have meant no Greg Oden, no Kevin Durant, definitely, as well as many of the other top freshmen, who would have figured that playing maybe two years tops would be enough. So eliminate basically every top freshman and sophomore, since most of them would go the JUCO route rather than miss another year of earning potential. With that type of exodus, any player with NBA aspirations would have to look seriously at going the JUCO route rather than the NCAA route, because the best players would create a following.
Bottom line, if Myles Brand gets his way, the way that college basketball is will be changed forever, and the NCAA may kill its golden goose. Would CBS pay millions of dollars every year to broadcast the tournament if every team was a Cinderella? What if KU didn't have Rush, Arthur, Chalmers or Collins (the four guys on that team that had NBA type aspirations from day 1)? What if Memphis didn't have Rose, Taggart, CDR and others. What if UCLA didn't have Love, Collison, Shipp (remember, once upon a time he was considered their BEST player). What if UNC had no Ellington, Lawson, Hansborough? That pulls all of those teams closer to the pack. Then you start eliminating other top players who came in with pro aspirations. No Beasley. No Mayo. No Taj Gibson. No Davon Jefferson. No Bill Walker. No Donte Green. No JJ Hickson. The list goes on and on. That changes the entire collegiate basketball landscape. At that point, if you are a mid level prospect, where would you rather play? JUCO, where you can test yourself against NBA quality players, or a watered down NCAA landscape? Myles Brand may open Pandora's box, and find the noose from which he will hang his golden goose.
Now hold on just one second here... Maybe I'm wrong but I'm pretty darn sure that the NBA institued the rule "one year" rule. The NCAA has nothing to do with this current problem. The NCAA has absolutely no control upon whether a player opts for a professional career in basketball out of high school or not, the NBA only has that control. By declaring an age rule for young players, I think the age limit to be in the NBA is 19, high school kids are forced to either sit around at home for an entire year or put their skills on display for college teams. The NCAA shouldn't be blamed here.
But then again, I probably was misinformed a while back and maybe this whole rule is in direct relationship with the NCAA.
You are right but that is kinda like an employer saying "Well I know that employee is on drugs, but I did not give them to him."
The NCAA is an enabler so they can make money off these kids. Someone on another post suggested that NCAA basketball does what baseball does and if a kid decides to go to school then they must stay three years. If the NCAA really cared about these kids and their education they would do it. But since the OJ Mayo's of the world would not agree to that the NCAA will not do it. So yes the NCAA is to blame since they could fix the problem but choose not to because of the almighty dollar.
Don't you think that the NBA has something to do with this as well? I mean serious, don't you think it's ridiculous that they are getting guys straight from high school to play in the big leagues? Football has a nice idea setting an age requirement, baseball keeps the integrity of the game by making them get through the farm systems. Charles Barkley once said that the game of basketball is being degraded because the kids are not going to college to develop their skills and learn the game. Why doesn't the NBA have an age requirement which would force most kids to get an education and the ones that don't play probably wouldn't have a career in the NBA.
Absolutly the NBA has something to do with this. The difference is that they are a business, they make money and pay their employees. If you are good enough to play then you get paid. My problem is not with the quality of play in the NBA, in fact I am not a big NBA fan. My problem is with the NCAA saying the most important thing to them is giving these kids a quality education when it is clearly set on making money. They are pimping these kids out and not giving them anything in return. Don't say they are getting an education when everyone knows they will not be there for 4 years.
