Good column on the 1-and-done by John Feinstein


I've felt this way for some time.
 

I liked Feinstein's comment about the 1-year mercenaries, the ones that mostly (lately) get stockpiled at Kentucky, Duke, etc.

"The one-and-dones don’t go to college, they represent a college."

That is so true. It's like a 6-month business trip for the truly elite players like Okafor/Parker/Davis/Wiggins, etc. All they have to do is remain eligible in their first semester (roughly 3 months of the easiest classes their academic counselors can find), and then it's simply biding their time until they no longer "have to" go to class during the 2nd semester (sometime shortly before March Madness).

It's the dirty little secret in college basketball we all know about, but no one really wants to tackle it. At least with the baseball rule, the guys that choose college we could "reasonably" expect they'd have to be able to handle a real college curriculum for 3 years.
 

This thought has been held by all sensible people for a long time. Nothing new here.

One would think, based on the way the NBA, the NBA Players Association and the NCAA react every time the issue comes up, that they were being asked to solve the problems of the Middle East.

Why the shot at the NCAA? They have no control over this, nor does Feinstein even address it in his article.
 

The monetary value of basketball is wholly dependent upon basketball PLAYERS- the NBA, Adam Silver, the NCAA bureaucracy, do not exist without players- so I am a firm believer that rules and regulations should always be oriented to reflect what is in the players best interests. High school athletes that have a realistic opportunity to jump straight to the NBA should absolutely be given that opportunity without being hamstringed by NCAA/NBA bureaucracy if it is in their's and their family's best interests to do so- because who's interests does it really serve to ostracize a 17/18 year old from a college experience for exploring their opportunity to move directly to the NBA? (not the 17/18 year old's).

What disappoints me about the article is that Feinstein then immediately backs down and takes the MLB approach- again, why are we hamstringing athletes that if they have the talent- should have every right to choose of their own volition to be employed by the NBA- whether that be 1, 2, or 3 years after they graduate from high school? Owners should have the ability to evaluate them and select them, and the kids shouldn't be denied those opportunities based on voodoo rules the NCAA/NBA invent based on self interests. Just my 2 cents
 


The monetary value of basketball is wholly dependent upon basketball PLAYERS- the NBA, Adam Silver, the NCAA bureaucracy, do not exist without players- so I am a firm believer rules and regulations should always be oriented to reflect what is in the players best interests. High school athletes that have a realistic opportunity to jump straight to the NBA should absolutely be given that opportunity without being hamstringed by NCAA/NBA bureaucracy if it is in their's and their family's best interests to do so- because who's interests does it really serve to ostracize a 17/18 year old from a college experience for exploring their opportunity to move directly to the NBA? (not the 17/18 year old's). What disappoints me about the article is that Feinstein then immediately backs down and takes the MLB approach- again, why are we hamstringing athletes that if they have the talent- should have every right to choose of their own volition to be employed by the NBA? Owners should have the ability to evaluate them and select them, and the kids shouldn't be denied those opportunities based on voodoo rules the NCAA/NBA invent based on self interests. Just my 2 cents

Agree 110%.
 

Owners should have the ability to evaluate them and select them, and the kids shouldn't be denied those opportunities based on voodoo rules the NCAA/NBA invent based on self interests. Just my 2 cents

The NBA has every right to restrict players of a certain age from entering their league. You may not like the One & Done rule (I hate it too), but let's not sit here and act this is some great injustice to the kids involved.

Personally, I'd like see them move to either the MLB system (allow entry out of high school/after 3 years of college) or tweak it to mandate 2 years in college (or 2 years spend overseas/D-League if the kid so chooses).
 

The monetary value of basketball is wholly dependent upon basketball PLAYERS- the NBA, Adam Silver, the NCAA bureaucracy, do not exist without players- so I am a firm believer that rules and regulations should always be oriented to reflect what is in the players best interests. High school athletes that have a realistic opportunity to jump straight to the NBA should absolutely be given that opportunity without being hamstringed by NCAA/NBA bureaucracy if it is in their's and their family's best interests to do so- because who's interests does it really serve to ostracize a 17/18 year old from a college experience for exploring their opportunity to move directly to the NBA? (not the 17/18 year old's).

What disappoints me about the article is that Feinstein then immediately backs down and takes the MLB approach- again, why are we hamstringing athletes that if they have the talent- should have every right to choose of their own volition to be employed by the NBA- whether that be 1, 2, or 3 years after they graduate from high school? Owners should have the ability to evaluate them and select them, and the kids shouldn't be denied those opportunities based on voodoo rules the NCAA/NBA invent based on self interests. Just my 2 cents

Hard to argue against but then how does the NFL and MLB get away with establishing parameters like they have? I'm assuming your outrage would be directed towards the parameters in place for those entities but we never hear about those situations publicly? Why? Because in my opinion, it works much better for everybody involved.

Although my head agrees at least partially with your sentiment, my heart is completely behind Feinstein. Should Kentucky run the table this year with the "mercenary" approach cited, it would really trivialize the rest of the college season for me (unfortunately). I want the change he advocates and I believe the college game, players, and NBA would be much better for it.
 

Agree 100%. I think this could help the pay the players question in the NCAA too. Guys like Okafor would be making millions of dollars right now if they are allowed to go to the NBA right out of high school. But instead, they don't have much of a choice besides going to college for a year and risking injury/hurting draft status. If you open up the option to go straight to the NBA, then they actually have choices.

And yes, I know you can go to Europe or overseas and get paid to play. But is that really a realistic option for most of these guys?
 



Hard to argue against but then how does the NFL and MLB get away with establishing parameters like they have? I'm assuming your outrage would be directed towards the parameters in place for those entities but we never hear about those situations publicly? Why? Because in my opinion, it works much better for everybody involved.

Although my head agrees at least partially with your sentiment, my heart is completely behind Feinstein. Should Kentucky run the table this year with the "mercenary" approach cited, it would really trivialize the rest of the college season for me (unfortunately). I want the change he advocates and I believe the college game, players, and NBA would be much better for it.

Collective bargaining.

Just like plumbers & electrician unions.
 

Instead of college, one-and-donners should be allowed one season with the Washington Generals. This would go a long way toward establishing a measure of parity with the Globetrotters.
 

Agree 100%. I think this could help the pay the players question in the NCAA too. Guys like Okafor would be making millions of dollars right now if they are allowed to go to the NBA right out of high school. But instead, they don't have much of a choice besides going to college for a year and risking injury/hurting draft status. If you open up the option to go straight to the NBA, then they actually have choices.

And yes, I know you can go to Europe or overseas and get paid to play. But is that really a realistic option for most of these guys?

As Station 19 pointed out, the NCAA has no control, authority, or really ability to impact in any way the NFL or NBA's eligibility rules. What the NCAA wants to do with regards to professional/amateur status should not be affected at all one way or the other by entities which it has no affiliation with or control over.
 

Why does the public at large care so much about trivial things like this? Whether somebody can start making millions at 18, or have to wait until 19, is not some major tragedy. The NBA is a private organization that can set whatever membership requirements it desires. When is the massive public outcry going to occur insisting that physicians don't need MDs? If my son is good enough to surgeon it up at 18, he should be allowed to do so!
 



If this were to happen (I don't think it will) it will have a negative, unintended consequence on programs like Minnesota, and will have a very negative impact on recruiting. There will be a good 15-20 guys a year (maybe more) that throw their hat in the ring (really no reason not to), which will force many players ranked 25-75 that want to play at a Duke/UK/KU, etc. to hold off on committing until after the June NBA Draft. So instead of us getting a top 60 kid, said kid now waits to sign until after the Draft to see which blue blood now has an opening. It will create a frenzy of late recruiting and will have a domino effect thereafter.

Go Gophers!!
 

Why does the public at large care so much about trivial things like this? Whether somebody can start making millions at 18, or have to wait until 19, is not some major tragedy. The NBA is a private organization that can set whatever membership requirements it desires. When is the massive public outcry going to occur insisting that physicians don't need MDs? If my son is good enough to surgeon it up at 18, he should be allowed to do so!

+1

Sorry but I don't really feel sorry if a kid is forced to go to college without pay for one or three years. You guys may think i'm selfish but I would be ecstatic if the NBA imposed a 3 year NFL or at least two year rule as it would create the most polarity and excitement for college basketball which is all I really care about.
 




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