One and Done: College Basketball's Silent Killer
Background
A one and done in college basketball is defined as a college basketball player who withdraws from school to enter the NBA draft after only one year of collegiate play. While there have been great players who have been successful going the one and done path for example, Kevin Durant. There have also been many one and done players who were and are out of the league by age 21 for example Josh Shelby, Rodney White, Joe Alexander. The One and done rule is ruining the greatness of college basketball it’s sucking the life out of traditional basketball powerhouses who attract the top high school players in the country and, its ultimately ruining the lives of those players who don’t make it. There are many dangers and stories that even true hoop-fanatics don’t know about.
Effect on NCAA Tournament
Initially one of the worst effects of the one and done on college basketball is the effect that it’s having on college basketball. Every year since the NBA changed its required age limit to enter the draft to nineteen, we have begun to see more NCAA tournament upsets every year. According to Courtney Taylor of About Stastistics.com says “It reached an all time frantic in 2012 when 15 seed’s Lehigh University and, Norfolk State two little known schools, who were probably just happy to be in the tournament pulled off upsets against powerhouses Duke and Missouri” (Taylor pg. 1). Normally a college basketball fan would love a good upset like those but statistics show that since 1990 only seven fifteen seeds have beaten a two seed and three of them have happened since the age change in the NBA draft back in 2005. (2014 pg. 1)
Now how this relates to the one and done rule...
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17 year-old Rashim Lancit was the standard senior at LaSalle High School. His best friends were Andrew and Colin. They played together for their high school basketball team. However, Rashim loved the game of basketball more than his friends and dreamed to go to the NBA. He thought there was no way that he would make it there. However, that all changed one Friday night at the LaSalle basketball game.
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Although many youngsters fail in the NBA, there are a few high school players who have had, or do have a successful career in the NBA. Some of these are, Moses Malone, Kobe Bryant, Tracey McGrady, and this year’s most valu...
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The ones who believe that the jump from high school to the NBA should not be allowed have various reasons for there belief. The first being, that the players are not physically or emotionally ready for that drastic jump. The players could be hassled nonstop and catch a lot of criticism for how they play or what they have done wrong while playing. Physically they are not ready because, the other players are much bigger, stronger, and faster, this could lead to an early injury or end a career, also the long road trips and back to back game night in and night out. They are not emotionally ready because, they might not be able to handle the pressure on or off the court, they may become frightened and fall into a slump and never make it out. A way to deal with all of these problems is to not draft out of high school just draft players out of college. Players with college experience are ready for the NBA they know what’s its going to be like and have learned valuable skills to help the cope with the new life. Most people feel that the players will become ...
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College basketball has gone from amateur competition to multi-million dollar tournaments and will continue to get larger and larger. The student-athlete is no longer a student and has become more and more of an athlete. Admissions are loosened and deals are made in order to get the best basketball players in the land. Athletes who are not students are criticized when they leave for the pros even though they are probably doing the right thing by not perpetuating the myth of academics and athletics. College basketball has become a multi-million dollar industry whether schools will admit it or not and the student athlete is the one getting played.
The early age entry rule, has been blamed for taking away the talent that made NCAA basketball popular over the last 40 years (Hughes, 2013). Recently many of the most talented basketball players have entered the NCAA with no intention of playing a second, third, or fourth year. The NBA permits players to be drafted at an age that many have considered is too young to live the lavish lifestyle of a professional player. This has been cause for the big debate of should the NBA change the eligibility to 20 years of age and two years removed from high school.
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Too many college athletes are given the chance to go into a professional draft that doesn't require the athlete to complete all four years of college and earn a degree. This is a problem because athletes lack the college experience that will get them ready for real life situations as they carry out their sports career. In college they will learn skills and have extra time to be better prepared. Without staying in college for fours athletes won’t see that theres more options for them besides sports. It will be hard for them to see if they have other interests besides sports.
First, college basketball has paid off by losing its most talented players to the NBA as many as three years early. This has resulted in not only an overall lessening of the game, but in certain circumstances caused the downfall of once great basketball programs. This is how it happens, as colleges recruit players based on what their needs are or what they will need shortly in the future. So let us say that one school has a great core of sophomore and junior players for the upcoming season. The coaches do not have the need or the room for many new top-notch players.
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