Basketball players throughout this continent and the rest of the world long to set foot on an NBA court. For the love of the game, for the love of money, for the love of admiring fans, whatever the reason, a few of those players do get to set foot on NBA ground. The problem is that, for some of these few, the time does not last long.
College fans and analysts rank a number of college players that have hid their weaknesses within a successful game plan from the coaches. Meanwhile, high school fans and analysts project the future dominance of high school players playing their pro positions against someone more than half a foot shorter than them. Even junior high players get ranked these days, as some of them are guarded by players a whole foot shorter than them.
Commissioner David Stern took some heat for enacting the 'one year older' rule on both American players and their international colleagues. Unfortunately, high school players that are NBA-star-talent-ready like Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, or LeBron James were over the past decade have to wait an extra year to become an NBA prodigy. However, anyone that has heard names like Robert Swift or Jonathan Bender knows that the 'easy road to the NBA' lifestyle exists for a very, very small portion of an already exclusive population. While looking above average for his age level in the McDonald's High School All-American game, Robert Swift was actually spoken about quite positively by the game's announcers. But, as his Sonics fell into their hopefully saving grace #2 pick tonight, the youngster Swift struggled early on and eventually lost this past season to a torn ACL. Meanwhile, Jonathan Bender found himself with a veteran, NBA Finals-bound Pacers team to start his career. There, he could gradually develop and be groomed into one of the league's stars. Yet, chronic leg pain and other nagging injuries kept him on the bench, eventually leading to Bender's retirement from the league.
Other players' floundering has supported the installation of Stern's age requirement. Sebastian Telfair may slowly be letting go of a successful career that he actually can have, letting his questionable conduct serve as a roadblock. He left the so-called "JailBlazer" franchise, only to embarrass his already rejected Celtics (a team that is now being rejected by players in the league). Even DeSagana Diop, the Shaq-like stud in high school, needed big money Mark Cuban to help keep his dream from drowning underneath his subpar career.
While the rule will hopefully force maturity into some of the really young'uns, it cannot stop them all. Daequan Cook risks becoming like Omar Cook or William Avery before him. As his play steadily declined as a freshman, he still managed to keep sight on the pros. While not looking ready to make a real mark in the NBA, he has fallen way behind his 'poor man's Tony Parker' (in comparison to the rookie version of Tony Parker) teammate, Mike Conley Jr., who also is still very raw. It must be noted that neither Omar Cook nor William Avery, who were up-and-coming college players, is on an NBA roster at this time. While O. Cook was already thinking about turning pro after high school, Avery got caught up in the Elton Brand/Corey Maggette Duke draft express, leaving as an unprepared sophomore.
Yes, the young players could risk seeing top-10-pick money disappear due to injury or leveled-out development as an upperclassman on campus. For example, Jason Kapono dropped from being lottery-ready as a sophomore to ho-hum early second round status after deciding to stay at UCLA and finishing his final two seasons of eligibility. However, despite missing out on guaranteed millions of dollars by dropping in draft status, Kapono already has won one NBA Championship ring and may also see a decent contract this offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Therefore, being drafted later is not necessarily a bad thing.
The NBA is not like Major League Baseball. In the NBA, the NBDL--the league to develop young players--is still being developed. There is no gigantic Minor League system that can keep players on track for years before cracking into a big league lineup while also giving them roster spots that the NBA/NBDL cannot provide. At the same time, the NBA is not the NFL. Unlike the NFL, players do not have to wait until being out of high school for three years before earning NBA draft eligibility. Basically, Stern is trying to give players options. Sure, they cannot always leave school as early as they would like. Still, players can leave when they are ready, rather than declaring eligibility because they are sick of mundane life and an agent promises them much more. As preparation is as much a crucial aspect to basketball as it is to the rest of life, rushing to turn pro underprepared, in most cases, is rushing to bust, whether that busting occurs first on-the-court or off-the-court.
College fans and analysts rank a number of college players that have hid their weaknesses within a successful game plan from the coaches. Meanwhile, high school fans and analysts project the future dominance of high school players playing their pro positions against someone more than half a foot shorter than them. Even junior high players get ranked these days, as some of them are guarded by players a whole foot shorter than them.
Commissioner David Stern took some heat for enacting the 'one year older' rule on both American players and their international colleagues. Unfortunately, high school players that are NBA-star-talent-ready like Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, or LeBron James were over the past decade have to wait an extra year to become an NBA prodigy. However, anyone that has heard names like Robert Swift or Jonathan Bender knows that the 'easy road to the NBA' lifestyle exists for a very, very small portion of an already exclusive population. While looking above average for his age level in the McDonald's High School All-American game, Robert Swift was actually spoken about quite positively by the game's announcers. But, as his Sonics fell into their hopefully saving grace #2 pick tonight, the youngster Swift struggled early on and eventually lost this past season to a torn ACL. Meanwhile, Jonathan Bender found himself with a veteran, NBA Finals-bound Pacers team to start his career. There, he could gradually develop and be groomed into one of the league's stars. Yet, chronic leg pain and other nagging injuries kept him on the bench, eventually leading to Bender's retirement from the league.
Other players' floundering has supported the installation of Stern's age requirement. Sebastian Telfair may slowly be letting go of a successful career that he actually can have, letting his questionable conduct serve as a roadblock. He left the so-called "JailBlazer" franchise, only to embarrass his already rejected Celtics (a team that is now being rejected by players in the league). Even DeSagana Diop, the Shaq-like stud in high school, needed big money Mark Cuban to help keep his dream from drowning underneath his subpar career.
While the rule will hopefully force maturity into some of the really young'uns, it cannot stop them all. Daequan Cook risks becoming like Omar Cook or William Avery before him. As his play steadily declined as a freshman, he still managed to keep sight on the pros. While not looking ready to make a real mark in the NBA, he has fallen way behind his 'poor man's Tony Parker' (in comparison to the rookie version of Tony Parker) teammate, Mike Conley Jr., who also is still very raw. It must be noted that neither Omar Cook nor William Avery, who were up-and-coming college players, is on an NBA roster at this time. While O. Cook was already thinking about turning pro after high school, Avery got caught up in the Elton Brand/Corey Maggette Duke draft express, leaving as an unprepared sophomore.
Yes, the young players could risk seeing top-10-pick money disappear due to injury or leveled-out development as an upperclassman on campus. For example, Jason Kapono dropped from being lottery-ready as a sophomore to ho-hum early second round status after deciding to stay at UCLA and finishing his final two seasons of eligibility. However, despite missing out on guaranteed millions of dollars by dropping in draft status, Kapono already has won one NBA Championship ring and may also see a decent contract this offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Therefore, being drafted later is not necessarily a bad thing.
The NBA is not like Major League Baseball. In the NBA, the NBDL--the league to develop young players--is still being developed. There is no gigantic Minor League system that can keep players on track for years before cracking into a big league lineup while also giving them roster spots that the NBA/NBDL cannot provide. At the same time, the NBA is not the NFL. Unlike the NFL, players do not have to wait until being out of high school for three years before earning NBA draft eligibility. Basically, Stern is trying to give players options. Sure, they cannot always leave school as early as they would like. Still, players can leave when they are ready, rather than declaring eligibility because they are sick of mundane life and an agent promises them much more. As preparation is as much a crucial aspect to basketball as it is to the rest of life, rushing to turn pro underprepared, in most cases, is rushing to bust, whether that busting occurs first on-the-court or off-the-court.