Many are lauding this year's crop of freshmen as college's best in the last 20 years. Spearheaded by Player of the Year candidate Kevin Durant and Ohio State center Greg Oden, this year's freshmen have contributed to make it an exciting season.
Many of the players who have made college basketball much more competitive would have been in the NBA by now, if not for the league's 19-year age policy. But,is it our right to establish a minimum age requirement for entry into the NBA? No, it's nothing short of moral imperialism to prevent a player from entering the NBA Draft.
The onus is on the player, not the league, to decide if he's eligible to play, and it's an issue that has been blown way out of proportion. In the last 25 years, the NBA has only drafted 46 high-schoolers. Why are they picked? Well, they include the likes of Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett.
General managers understand the principle of risk and reward. If an NBA ball club judges a player worthy of a draft selection, why shouldn't he be allowed to play? For star high school players, their future earnings are not a function of their educations.
Their future earnings are decided by their prowess on the court. By waiting longer to enter the NBA, they could jeopardize their careers through injury, while, at the very least, they have fewer big money contracts to entertain - something the owners are happy about.
It's also rather arrogant to proclaim that these young players shouldn't be allowed to collect a guaranteed contract of millions of dollars and that they must wait an additional year for the betterment of the college game and their own academic cultivation.
Young athletes have had significant impacts in many sports. Michelle Wie exploded onto the golf scene when she was just 13 years old. Jennifer Capriati was 14 years old when she reached the semi-finals of the French Open. Imagine what the NBA could be missing by discriminating against younger players. The prom-to-the-pros method worked for Lebron James as he met and exceeded lofty expectations by averaging over 20 points per game.
Proponents of the NBA policy parlay academics into their argument by saying the long-term benefits of education are significant. Let's be real: for NBA prospects that plan on staying in college for just a year, are academics really going to be a priority? If that is the NBA's goal, then they should increase the draft age to 22.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight have publicly opposed the age requirement. Knight contends the policy has a detrimental effect on the integrity of the student-athlete. After basketball season is over, there's no incentive for the player to study, let alone go to class.
In short, the NBA doesn't need to be a high-schooler's parent. Pro basketball isn't so much a game as it is a business. Let the players declare if they feel they are ready, and let the general managers draft the players that will help their teams win, which will thus put fans in the stands.
