Does the One and Done Rule Need to be Fixed in College Basketball

The age limit of NBA draft entry has been a topic of discussion since the dawn of the rule change and will continue to be such until the NBA and College basketball reaches an agreement to raise the age of draft entry. Many college coaches such as John Calipari and others have supported the higher draft age not only to improve the Development of players but also both college and pro basketball as a whole. College basketball as a whole has seen a rapid decline of distribution of talent across the board because of the one and done rule. When the rule changes to two years or more in college it will distribute the talent across the board. Over the years since the one and done rule has been adopted college basketball as a whole has suffered from various downfalls. These downfalls have college basketball more like a monopoly rather than the game that Dr. James Naismith intended when he founded the game of Basketball way back in 1891.

The development of players has been drastically reduced because of the one and done rule in college basketball. It stunts the player’s readiness for the real world mentally. Evidence has shown young players are more prone to go bankrupt because of the lack of real-world training according to SI.Com.  Young players have become more illiterate when it comes to money so with an extra year of college players will become money literate with more training from coaches and others on the campus. For example in an interview with Businessinsider.com former NBA player Josh Childress said the number one thing why guys go broke is they think they have all this money but forget about all taxes, agent fees, and various other expenses. “The first mistake is, people say, ‘Okay, I’ve got $11 million,’” Childress said. “You’ve got five [million dollars after taxes] over four years. So that million-dollar house that you thought you had $11 million, that you had $10 million more, that house then becomes more expensive. Most guys buy their mother a house or a car or something. They buy themselves a car. You’ve got a 2-to-4% agent fee. You got the NBA escrow. So that check gets eaten up.” – Josh Childress

Childress also claims veteran players are to blame for taking the young players under their wings and giving them false information and bad guidance when it comes to money and how to spend it wisely. Given another year or two in college the athletes will get that extra training from coaches, tutors and many more resources made available to college basketball players. Given the extra year, players will become more mentally prepared for the pros and the real world.

Physical development of players has drastically been dropped in production since the coming of the one and done rule. We are seeing players get hurt at an alarming rate like never before once they get into the NBA. As coaches and leaders alike we are doing an injustice to these young athletes. Raising the age limit would help these kids get more physically prepared for the NBA and all the rigors that Pro basketball includes. The early draft entry has seen more career ending injuries with younger players going into the NBA. For example, Greg Oden out of Ohio State has suffered countless injuries since leaving Ohio State in 2007 after only playing one season with the Buckeyes. Oden only played in 82 out of 492 games in five years since leaving Ohio State where he led the Buckeyes to a Final Four and was an award-winning freshman. Some believe that had he gone back to Ohio State for his sophomore season he would have gotten more physically ready for the NBA rather becoming one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history.

Coaches such as John Calipari, Tom Izzo, Coach K, and Roy Williams all have publicly criticized the NBA for its lack of care of players. These coaches are often the one who suffer as well because of this rule in order to compete, these coaches have to recruit the best talent but the catch is usually those players jump ship and go straight to the NBA, leaving college behind and there coaches in an uproar. John Calipari is the biggest critic and advocates for getting the rule to change from the one and done format to one modeled after college football where a player has to at least stay two years then jump ship to the NBA. John Calipari is quoted in saying this about the One and Done rule.   “I’m good with the baseball rule”. “As long as they’re going directly to the NBA, they’re paying them what they deserve to be paid and then it’s on them to look after these kids and give them a gap year if they think they can do that in the NBA.”(Bleacherreport.com)  Coach Cal is one of the most outspoken coaches in college basketball against the one and done rule. Coach Krzyzewski along with Coach Cal had a quote or a proposal per say on the one and done rule. “They don’t play basketball their whole lives. They play for X amount of years. I’ve always been a big proponent of kids having the ability to go out of high school. But if they go to college, they would stay for two years. But that’s never gotten the traction.” – Coach K ( espn.com)

This argument has very little room for refuting the pros outweigh the cons of this argument and with the lineup of coaches and stats, it makes this argument of the draft age being higher almost impossible for the opposition. As more time goes back this rule is likely to change for the better of the NBA and for College Basketball. Many people agree that the one and done rule should be thrown out and replaced with a brand new rule that will keep each player in mind rather than filling pocketbooks of greedy franchise owners. The player’s well-being will be in the back of the mind of each owner, and coach as this rule goes toward change for the betterment of basketball both in college and pro.

The one and done rule in college basketball have been around ever since 2006 and with signs and coming to an end this argument might have seen better days. However until the day that the NBA and College basketball comes together as one and puts the student-athlete first this argument will be around and a very big story to watch over the time as basketball evolves over time. As a member of the College Basketball media, this argument is one that you can hear not only in gyms across American but also in places of worship, schools, classrooms, etc. Most people want to see this rule changed to help college players get ready for the pros.

• Mitchdavis_8