Be Cool; Stay in School

This year’s NBA Draft seemed to prove the worth of the new rule outlawing high school players from entering the NBA. Though some thought that the rule would unfairly hurt the NBA teams, the players and the NCAA, it seems as though, at least in a few ways, having players get a year of college ball under their belts has made them more valuable as NBA Lottery picks.

Although Greg Oden and Kevin Durant might have both made the lottery last year as high school seniors, there is now way you can deny that Oden taking the Buckeyes to the national title game or Durant having a season that he did at Texas didn’t help to seal their spots at the top. Furthermore, upperclassmen seem to have benefited the most from getting more exposure in the NCAA. As junior Nick Young of USC recently said, “I just felt like GMs and scouts aren’t seeing seniors as a risk; they’re seeing them as a sure thing.”

Of course, there are others, like Bobby Knight, who don’t like the fact that players like Oden and Durant are now forced to use the NCAA for a year, and the phoniness of knowing that a player isn’t in college to get an education, but to play basketball. Still, thanks to the rule, you will get to see players you otherwise wouldn’t have when you get NCAA basketball tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on July 5, 2007 - Post a comment