Will The NBA Ever Clean Up The Mess They Made For NCAA Hoops?
One-and-done players are nothing new in college basketball. There have always been players who felt they needed just one extra year to polish their skills before going into the NBA. But when the NBA made a rule that players had to be out of high-school for at least one year before being eligible to play in the NBA, it created a whole new brand of one-and-done players. Now one-and-done players have gone from guys who want to play at the collegiate levels before turning pro, to guys who are just wasting time before they can.
I understand that the NBA wants to look out for the safety of their players, and don’t want guys to come in before they are physically ready, but when you look at the NBA draft since the NBA made their rule in 2007, 11 college freshman have been selected in the top 5, making up over 50% of the picks.
Of the guys who have played at least one season in the NBA, only Greg Oden, who has been nagged by injuries during his career, has not made a serious impact in their young careers, particularly their rookie seasons. Of the three one-and-done players selected this last draft: John wall, Derrick Favors, and DeMarcus Cousins, all of them are expected to have a serious impact on their teams.
None of these players needed an extra year before going into the NBA. All 11 guys absolutely dominated their college competition and looked NBA ready from the very beginning. Forcing players to wait a year before going pro may benefit the NBA, but it does not benefit the NCAA. Now coaches have gone from guys who are building a team over the years, to guys who have to reload every season, and if they fail their jobs are on the line.
Take for example a coach like Gary Williams at University of Maryland. Before the new one-and-done era began he was a guy who would constantly have his team contending for ACC titles, and making a trip every year to the NCAA tournament. But since the new one-and-done era began his job security has been questioned, and fan’s constantly wonder if he has what it takes to compete with other coaches.
Williams is certainly a good enough coach to keep a contending team around, but he, unlike some other coaches, does not try to just get a guy who he knows will leave for the NBA after one year, and hope for the best. He tries to build a team the old fashion way, and while it may not work like it used to, he did get his team back into the NCAA tournament that way. But that is the big problem with the NBA’s rule. coaches can no longer be loyal to guys who will stick around for four years, they have to risk everything to get a guy for one year in hopes of winning a conference championship. This has led to more recruiting violations and infractions each year because coaches are desperate to land one of the few top guys in order to keep their job.
It doesn’t seem like the NBA will fix their rule any time soon, because they aren’t exactly worried about what happens in college basketball, but you better hope that they either get ride of the rule or make it so players have to spend two years out of high school before going into the NBA.
Corey Johns
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