One and Done Basketball Players
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by user Josh22
Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Brandan Wright, Mike Conley Jr, Spencer Hawes, Javaris Crittenton, and Thaddeus Young......what have you as a collective unit really done for college basketball? All of you will more than likely be drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. My question is this: How did you help college basketball? I know Oden and Conley helped Ohio State and the Big Ten, but that was a special situation. I do not believe in this "one-and-done" college basketball player. I know the talent level of these guys is off the charts. I know they are strictly in college because the NBA now requires them to wait a year to enter the Draft. But I also know that these colleges are shaping their entire basketball seasons around an 18 year-old, unproven kid.....for one year. A one year player does not really have the time to adapt into a system. A coach almost has to change his system from year to year depending on what type of "one-and-done" player he lands. A one year player does not help college basketball because coaches are forced to play these guys in order for their "skills" to be shown. The player is in control, not the coach. College basketball, this past season, looked more like a glorified McDonald's All-American game. Whatever happened to working your way into a system? I really believe coaches like Krzyzewski, Knight, Calhoun, etc... are going to struggle. They have always believed in the upper-classman leader. That does not exist much any more. There are two possible solutions to this problem. 1. Do away with the NBA's one year rule. Make it to where NBA teams can draft the guys straight out of high school again. or 2. Go with the NFL's policy. A player must be three years removed from his high school graduation before entering his name in the draft. Make these guys mature physically and as a person before thrusting millions in their face. I personally like the second solution. I know their are exceptions (LeBron, Kobe, D-Wade, etc...) but as an overall rule, the guys that have been drafted before they turned 20 have taken at least 3 years to mature into an NBA player. Why not do that maturing at college? Help out college basketball by STAYING IN SCHOOL for at least three years. This would protect the NBA from getting a basketball version of Maurice Clarett. Had he played basketball instead of football, all of his shenanigans would have been at the expense of his team (which would have invested millions of dollars in him.) Instead, he ruins his life before-hand and no money is lost. Let's make these guys prove themselves FIRST. If they truly have the talent to play in the NBA, it won't disappear in three years of college ball. If they truly have the character to handle the money and fame of the NBA, it will be on display for everyone to see for three years. What's so bad about that?
