College Basketball has
always been a very interesting sport to me. Some of the best young-talent has
the chance to showcase just how good they are while still getting a college
education.
However, there were some
of those players that didn't need college and surpassed college and went
straight to the NBA.
Well just five years ago
David Stern, the NBA commissioner, changed the rule and said you had to be
at least 19 years of age, or played one-year of college basketball.
That was
most definitely great for the college game. Not only could we see
some of the best talent, but we could possibly see it going to our favorite
schools.
But five-years removed
from the rule change I don't think anybody would have envisioned it to be this
popular.
There has been a nucleus
of one-and-done players over the last three years.
In fact, the last three
out of four NBA drafts, a freshman was selected with the number one overall
pick.
2009 was the only year
that the top-five picks in the NBA draft only included one freshman.
In every other draft it
was either all freshmen, or the majority of them.
So let's ask ourselves;
does this rule really benefit college basketball like we thought?
Since the rule has
been initiated, we have suffered hard from the one-and-done players. This
year alone was about six-to-ten players of that caliber.
There were four
one-and-done players from Kentucky, but you also had Derrick Favors, Hassan
Whiteside, Xavier Henry, Avery Bradley, Lance Stephenson and more.
So how does this rule
really affect college basketball? In my opinion, I think players have found a
way around the blocked high school jump.
Most superstars like
players don't really go to the programs like UNC, Kansas, or Duke because of
the commitment. They're mostly all focused on John Calipari coached teams
because he produced countless NBA superstars.
If you asked me I would
say take down the rule. As a college basketball junkie, I dislike one-and-done
players. I would rather see players that show commitment to the team they
choose.
If they're good enough
to go into the league straight from high school, I believe you should allow
them. But forcing high school players to college programs ends up two ways:
Betrayal and violations.
So what do you think? Is
college basketball worst now that they have one-and-done players? Or is this
good that we at least get to see them on the court for that one year? Tell me
what you think, hit me up at CollegiateHoops@gmail.com or simply reply below.
Written by DeAnte
Mitchell
