David Stern's "Non Problem"

I always thought a college education was to get a better job. NBA players already have great jobs. I don’t think they should be wasting valuable career years in college at all. They can always go later or in the summer.

The current system is a shrewd way to have colleges do part of the selection process on behalf of the NBA.

in my view, players could still showcase their talents in college, but players shouldn’t necessarily have to carry on the student charade unless they wanted to.

Better to have a good farm system or go off to Europe.

Dick Vitale is a homer who doesn’t acknowledge the problems.
Jay Bilas was on later in the show and dismissed Vitale’s homeristic ranting.

It’s the NCAA’s fault that guys don’t go to class in the second semester, it’s the NCAA’s fault that it’s a broken system that encourages kids who can make it in professional sports to leave early. It’s the NCAA’s fault that it’s academic requirements are for kids to bareliy pass class so they can play….

This isn’t an NBA problem…where was dick vitale crying when there was no age limit?

This is an NCAA problem and one loud mouthed idiot who should have been put out to pasture long ago who starts to believe his own hype.

I think Bobby Knight also said, basically, that VItale is wrong.

This is an NCAA problem, it’s not the NBA’s responsibility to fix the NCAA"s problem any more than the NFL should fix college footballs issues…the age limit in the NFL was negotiated between the players and the league (and upheld by the US SUpreme Court as fair since it was part of a labor negotiation)

Someone mentioned something interesting on the radio this morning – I forget who – but they said the NBA Players Union is agent driven – and thus they will fight any more age restrictions tooth and nail, lower age limite, new players in the league sooner, more caish for the agents.

I"m always fascinated that the number of high school kids who skip college and go into the MLB draft (the majority of whom never pan out) is completely ignored…just reinforces my theory that it’s really all about money – cause really – most schools the baseball program income is paltry compared to D1 football or basketball.

I just wish Dick Vitale would shut up – he’s embarrassing to himself, the NCAA and ESPN

This has always been an interesting topic…

I think that more organized playing experience before pro-ball will benefit a player, be it in college for a few years or overseas. That makes sense.

But I look at it like this – Since 1962 we’ve seen ONLY 44 players drafted out of high school and appx. 2700 players drafted out of college or elsewhere. Of the 44 drafted from high school I personally would say (and this isn’t going out on a limb) that 22 of those high school players (so 50%) have had impressive careers… that includes the likes of Moses Malone, Shawn Kemp, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O’Neil, Tracy McGrady, Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard, Lebron James, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith… and a few others. I can’t say that 50% of the 2700 college draftees have had impressive careers.

So just looking at a field of NBA draftees over the last 45 or so years, the percentage of high school draftees is only about 1.6% (44/2700= 1.6%) – That’s not a huge percentage, and I really don’t understand why this is an issue unless it is only an issue because of someone’s personal opinion about getting a college education or something to that effect.

I agree with ZonaFlash that the purpose of a college education is to jump start yourself into a better career with a better earning potential – heck, in today’s economy and whatnot a college education is overrated in many instances, people who never go to college work in careers that make twice as much as graduates, and graduates don’t make nearly as much as they used to ( or as much as they should… like teachers for one). I think if you have a talent that can benefit you financially – why delay the profit potential? Basketball and the NBA is still an entertainment venue right? Should the music/film industry impose regulations on young talented artists and force them to complete irrelevant studies before they hit the big screens or billboard charts? Take a look at Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus or Michael Jackson for that matter, should they have been required to go to college before they began their careers in entertainment?

On another note – lets say they do institute some regulation to force kids to go to college and whatnot… HONESTLY – how many so called “student-athletes” actually participate in classes and retain or learn anything? It’s a very small percentage. And in many cases teachers and schools provide “student-athletes” special leeway with regards to how stringent their grading criteria is…