Is Kentucky's recent run done?

[GatorLurker]

I think that any person that can get drafted by the NBA at any age should be allowed to do so. If you are good enough, then go for it. If you aren't but some owner/gm is dumb enough to give you essentially a winning Lottery ticket, that is also awesome.

Now for my thinking about college "students" that are only in school to get ready for pro sports.

In my early days as an academic I railed against the commercialism of collegiate football in particular as well as men's basketball. The whole enterprise seemed at be at odds with the primary mission of the University: scholarship and education.

Now I have a radically different position.

If I were Emperor I would institute a new college of Athletic Performance where a student can go to get training in athletic performance. Ordinary entrance requirements (HS GPA and SAT) are waived, but a portfolio is proffered instead. This parallels the entrance to Fine Arts.

And when performing they get compensated.

And a large part of the curriculum would be learning how to coach because the vast majority of the students will end up there instead of getting paid to perform after college. The same is true for Fine Arts majors where you replace "coach" with "instructor" or "teacher".

And the truly gifted Fine Arts performers are not forbidden from being employed until after Freshman year.

[UFLAW81]

My larger thought is the NBA will now fear the emergence of a new league which will poach high schools for talent.
I do think the one and done is done. That it happened on our court is a story that will endure.

[InstiGATOR1]

Originally Posted by GatorLurker

And the truly gifted Fine Arts performers are not forbidden from being employed until after Freshman year.

I agree that the fine arts model is one to keep in mind as athletes are not the only students seeking to learn a college while maybe not seekng a credential. Many writing students at the finest colleges in the county would like nothing better than to publish their first best seller and not worry about degree requirements.

As it turns out truly gifted basketball players are not prohibited from employment in that field ever. They most certainly can enroll in college and play basketball for money. Of course, not for the college. Just as the fine arts student can be enrolled while selling creations to the private market not the university, basketball players can too.

The basketball player might have to go overseas. They might have to enroll in a college in their D-leauge season for a year. It might be redundant as your practice time and coaching might be better in pro ball than college ball, but you can go to college and play professional basketball if you wish. The school is not buying the book or artwork from the fine arts student nor is the school buying the basketball performance from the athlete. Now maybe fine arts students can get work study opportunities or assistantships and I think that would be good for athlete, but that is another issue.

The only thing the basketball player can not do that the fine arts student can do is compete at the highest level in their area. That is solely because of a union contract. Some fine arts areas do not have unions and in others like acting they have not chosen to try to keep out younger actors and actresses.

[tilly]

Originally Posted by bakaduin

I don't understand how the whole age restriction isn't illegal.

Take Noel for instance and a load of hypotheticals. He is likely the number 2 pick in the NBA last year (after Davis and number 1 if for this model we assume Davis would have been the year before.) Lets say this injury costs him 15 spots and around 6 million dollars over the three year contract all because of an arbitrary rule prevents him from going straight to the NBA? I know the NFL's rule was tried in court and upheld but it just seems wrong on so many levels.

But an employer has rights as well. They can organize and set rules that they feel are in the best interest of their business. Similar to a company requiring a college degree. Often times there are MORE qualified applicants who may not have one...It will at times be at the expense of a more qualified applicant, but the rule and requirement are legal.

[InstiGATOR1]

Originally Posted by tilly

But an employer has rights as well. They can organize and set rules that they feel are in the best interest of their business. Similar to a company requiring a college degree. Often times there are MORE qualified applicants who may not have one...It will at times be at the expense of a more qualified applicant, but the rule and requirement are legal.

Bit the NBA is NOT an employer in what we are discussing. The individual teams are. The individual teams can not conspire together to restain trade. However in the contrext of a labor agreement with a union, the law is different.

[REM08]

Originally Posted by j7

It's not well thought out but how about this -

NBA teams can draft the rights to a player out of HS but the player still goes to college for a time. When the pplayer is done with their college time, they go to the NBA assigned to that NBA team. As part of the NBA team drafting their rights to the player, they are to take out an injury insurance policy for that player based on where they took them in the draft. At certain intervals, the policy would be reavaluated based on how the player is progressing (i.e. player is drafted 40th out of HS so the policy is for 40th pick money but during the player's time in college, the player's draft position potentional could rise to say 4th pick meaning the insurance policy would have to be revised to cover 4th pick money.)

The problem comes in when NBA teams start influencing what college their property goes to. Kids would get funneled and I can't see the team being hands off with the player while he was in college.

[tommyuf21]

Originally Posted by REM08

The problem comes in when NBA teams start influencing what college their property goes to. Kids would get funneled and I can't see the team being hands off with the player while he was in college.

Agree with you on this, although I think agents presently have way too much control over the college picking process as is stands.

The more influence the money grabbers have (whether it be agents, NBA scouts, etc), the worse it is for the college game.

[BEH]

Originally Posted by 99gator

no. they'll just sign the top guys who aren't going into the nba immediately.

i think people misread calipari a little bit. he has a strategy based on current rules. he believes the best talent, regardless of age, will win. and maybe, just maybe (like this year's team) you have guys who won't be one and done. when you add those guys to next year's one and dones, then you are really loaded.

however, if they do away with one and done, he'll operate under a different philosophy. i think people underestimate his ability to win if the rules were to change, especially at a place like kentucky.

Exactly. Thanks 99gator you understand the deal.

[Osiris_DPM]

Originally Posted by 99gator

the problem with players coming out of high school (for the nba) is that bad teams stay bad.

if you draft inferior talent, the rich get richer. if you draft the superior talent, you are competing with boys against men only to watch those boys grow up, become men, and sign with another squad in free agency.

. . .

The new collective bargaining agreement changes that. Previously, a player was a free agent after the expiration of his first contract and the exact scenario you described frequently happened. Now there are restrictions, so teams that draft a player have rights to that player for 7 years (if I remember the time period correctly). The contract amounts are locked in under the collective bargaining agreement during that period, based on draft position, so teams are not subjected to a bidding war over a top player, and have the exclusive rights to pick up that contract after the expiration of the first. If they pass and a player signs elsewhere to become an All Star, that is on the team's management, not the system.

[danky1313]

Originally Posted by Osiris_DPM

That isn't going to happen, as European teams have caps on non-citizens per team. There is little chance that European teams are going to recklessly spend precious roster slots on players that have not even faced a day of college level competition, unless these are can't miss prospects. Even then, I'd venture a guess that many of those kids will still opt for 2 years of college rather than taking risks with European teams that have long histories of not paying their players. Sure, a few may take that route, but it would not be a widespread mass exodus of HS talent like some suggest. I would note that several of the high profile college players to depart early for Europe had dual citizenship, and some have had a hard time finding their way to the NBA after doing so.

I don't think US players will go to Europe either but not because of teams not paying their players or restrictions in the Euro leagues.

I just don't see many 17-18-19 year old American kids wanting to go an Ocean away from their friends and families to a foreign land with a language and culture barrier to avoid college and make money right away.

It may sound like an awesome idea to us now to get to go live in Europe as a young man and have an influx of cash but when it comes to athletes a lot of which come from
inner cities or underprivileged backgrounds that's a BIG jump to make IMHO and I just don't see it happening. Sure a handful will do it but not enough to have any impact.