Josh Selby Was The Top High School Basketball Player In

With college basketball and football originating in the 1800’s, the game has had much time to adapt. Over the years, the sports have become more and more popular, gaining a bigger fan base, which has resulted in substantial profits from the sale of merchandise representing the teams and players. There is one thing that has not changed; all of the athletes are still not being paid. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, is an organization that regulates most aspects of

In the collegiate world of sports, basketball has become an increasingly recognized sport among African Americans, predominantly males. The hope of any young basketball player is that one day a scout will come and recruit them into stardom The question that presents itself as a problem to the lucky few who are chosen to go professional, is whether or not an education is more important than a million dollar shoe deal, “The NCAA's (1998) annual six-year study reported that only 33% of Black male basketball players graduated, (Chronicle of Higher Education, 1999). Individually, basketball reported the lowest graduation rate in all divisions,” (Robinson, 2004:1). Basketball players have become so idolized in the eyes of young

There are many high school basketball phenoms that are scouted by pro teams even when they are in high school. A select few in the past have gone straight to the NBA out of high school and had a lot of success, while some players go to college all four years to develop their skills at the next level. However, there are athletes that will waste one year at the college level just so they could get to the NBA. Why would you waste one year of your life when you could have already been in the NBA a year earlier? Basketball players should either go to college all four years and enhance their skills and get a solid education. If not, skip college and go straight to the NBA, rather than wasting a year of your life, and possibly a classroom seat for a person who wanted to get an education.

“It tarnishes what we’re trying to do as coaches; it tarnishes the idea that kids are here to get an education.” Tad Boyle, Colorado men’s basketball head coach from USAtoday.com. With AAU tournaments and Prep Schools getting them ready for the next level, there is much young basketball talent that is considered “NBA ready” within their first year of college. College basketball players should be required to stay in college for at least three years. With all the hype surrounding them to become young superstars, some athletes and members of NBA front offices don’t realize how important two or three more years of college could be to them. The NCAA has a rule like this set on college football players, so the rule for basketball shouldn’t be any different. These extra three years could give these players more time to develop their skills, physique, and get an education,

         Instead, Jerry Stackhouse went on to make millions of dollars at the age of 20. He played his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers. His team came in last place, and received no glory. Jerry Stackhouse doesn’t have the hype that he had when he came out of college now. Rahseed Wallace decided North Carolina and college basketball was too easy also. After his sophomore year, he went pro. He was drafted by Washington, made millions, rode the bench, was injured, then traded to Portland, and finally forgotten about, all within two years of leaving college. Jeff McInnis was basically forgotten about during the NBA draft, getting drafted by Denver at the 37th pick. He got injured in training camp, then cut a few weeks later.

Lebron James and Freddy Adu are both young athletes and with millions in their pockets with a countless number of endorsement contracts. Whether it is high school athletes skipping college and discontinuing the development of their education for millions of dollars, or teenagers signing contracts with businesses for massive amounts of money, youth sports programs are changing rapidly. However, American high school athletes are not financially, physically, or mentally prepared to tackle and endure the pressures of professional sports.

Not only do the players play hard for the school, but they also have the potential to earn money through commercial signings and endorsements by third party sponsors. The NCAA should lift the “Principle of Amateurism” and establish a newer one that resembles the one of the Olympics. The Olympics’ amateur model resembles the NCAA’s “Principle of Amateurism” except for the fact that they do not have restrictions on commercial opportunities such as

This shows these athletes would do better off with the professional help of the NBA. A major part of my action plan is to provide these athletes with the option to either attend a college or university for one year and then enter into the NBA draft or become drafted straight out of high school with the understanding that they will have to play for that specific teams developmental league for one year before joining the actually team itself. Ultimately, this plan would allow athletes to receive the financial benefits needed in the short term while still developing and preparing themselves for years in the NBA.

Even though the "one and done rule" is not a NCAA, policy it has an enormous effect on the NCAA today. Due to the "one and done rule," there are more players leaving the NCAA Basketball programs than ever before, which is directly affecting the organization's mission, goals, and objectives. Through the NBA's rule, the NCAA has no say over when a player can leave, which directly contradicts the organization's mission of creating an educated athlete that will allow for success within the future. The primary mission of the NCAA is located on page 1 of the 2011-12 Division I Manual states:

Simmons makes a valid point on how the NCAA wants "student athletes" to be good in the classroom and on the court, but they spend so much time perfecting their craft that there isn't enough time in the day, let alone a semester to get their education.

The likes of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Amare Stoudamire, and Jermaine O’Neal are setting the tone across the nation for high schoolers considering by-passing college for the NBA. Two of today’s biggest stars, Garnett and Bryant, have never attended college, but both were immediately successful and popular in the pros (Head to Head). The biggest star in the NBA right now, Garnett, is having an MVP-caliber season and is leading his team to their best record in franchise history. The teenagers with high hopes admire these professionals living their dream and hope to someday be in their shoes.

In their effort to compete with other programs, coaches push the boundaries of recruiting. This is a huge problem in college sports that desperately needs fixing. For this problem, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has set strictly enforced rules for behavior like this. It is a very complex, broad set of rules. The purpose of these rules is simple. These rules are meant to encourage fair recruiting and too discourage offering incentives to collegiate athletes.

The first reason why the one-and-done rule should be eliminated is because players who leave after one year of college do not have a secure future without a college degree. A college degree is a very important part of having a successful career, and although an NBA player already has a job, the average NBA career only lasts only 4.8 years (“Athlete”). Due to the fact that an NBA career is usually short, it is important to finish college and have a degree in case a player’s career is unexpectedly ended because of injury. An example of a player who left college after one year was Greg Oden. Oden attended Ohio State University for one year before declaring for the 2007 NBA draft. Oden was selected with the first overall pick, but his career has not turned out like many expected it to due to injury. His career is now at the lowest point it has ever been, and he is now at risk of his career being over without having earned a degree (Wallace).

It can't bring in multiple high-schoolers who will be future NBA lottery picks and send them off to the NBA after just a year in college, while still competing at college basketball's highest level season after season.

In 1995 Scotty Thurman was on top of the world. Thurman led the Arkansas Razorbacks to a NCAA basketball championship with one great performance after another. After this miracle season, Thurman made a decision that would change his fortunes. Rather than come back for his senior year and get his degree, he elected to make himself eligible for the NBA draft. With a NCAA championship under his belt, Thurman was confident he was ready for the NBA, but NBA scouts had different ideas. Thurman could only sit and watch the draft from start to finish. Today Thurman finds himself without a college education and still chasing his NBA dream in the Continental Basketball Association. With nothing left to turn back on, basketball is all Thurman has