The University of Kentucky announced this week that four freshman basketball players were declaring for the NBA. That folks is distributing news.
Frankly, the NCAA boasts about promoting student athletes. Well, players who leave school after one season are obviously gifted athletes, but I question whether they are students.
This NCAA rule about requiring players to go to school for one year before jumping to the pros has been cause of much debate. The rule keeps players from going directly from high school to the NBA.
I say toss the rule like a bad bounce pass.
Why not tell players they have two options. Either go to the pros directly out of high school or wait two years before leaving. Option one weeds out players who aren't probably interested in college anyway. Option two allows students to try the college experience for an extended period before deciding whether to stay or leave.
If the NCAA is really serious about promoting student athletes at its member schools, this becomes the proper course of action. Right now, its seems the NCAA is renting players for its own purposes.
Higher education is in the business of educating students. Sports are a wonderful activity, but despite the big business of collegiate athletics, it is still the second word in the student athlete concept.
What are your thoughts on the one-and-done aspect of college basketball?
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