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Let's be realistic.
The NBA's "One and Done" rule is a sham, an embarrassment to the NCAA that refers to such basketball players as "student-athletes" and keeps a straight face while saying it.
But...
Would Derrick Rose have been the No. 1 choice in last month's NBA draft if he had been eligible to come out after his senior year at Simeon High School?
No.
So the one year of motivation and experience and development at Memphis made a difference, right?
Yes.
But for every rule, there is somebody who is looking for a way to run around it. And Brandon Jennings, perhaps the top-rated player in the Class of 2009, thinks he has found a way to avoid going to college for one year while still pursuing his dream of playing professional basketball.
Jennings, who had committed to Arizona, recently signed a professional contract to play basketball in Europe. The point here is he scored poorly on his first standardized test, then relented after testing officials asked him to take another test when questions were raised about his highly dubious score on his second exam. Instead, he opted for Europe.
Jennings is like many young athletes. They don't want to go to college. Education isn't a priority for them. They only want to play football or basketball. And they want to get paid for it, the sooner the better. They embraced the old rule, which allowed them to declare for the professional draft directly out of high school.
Legalities prevent the media from learning the courses that Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo and Eric Gordon and Kevin Love took during their one year of college. One can only imagine. The NCAA hasn't called a press conference to boast about it.
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Just like the establishment to jump on these kids for wanting to go to the NBA out of high school. I guess it is okay for the NCAA to pimp these athletes. It would be ideal if these kids were getting a REAL education. Most institutions are just trying to keep them eligible. And standardize testing doesn't make you smart or dumb. The NCAA gets 1 billion dollars from CBS to broadcast the NCAA Tournament. Coaches get shoe contracts to treat these kids like walking billboards. USC can sell a jersey with MAYO on the back and the kid can't get a cut. It's hypocracy at it's best. The kids can't get a cut of the TV money. OJ Mayo can't get a cut of the jersey sales. Ludicrous!!! Kids turn 18 every day and go to regular jobs and don't go to college. Kids go to Iraq and fight at 18 and get sent back home in a box. Baseball,Hockey,Golf, Soccer and Gymnastics can go pro at 14,15 years old. Most of those athletes are white. But these kids can't go to the NBA at 18. Or when they go to Europe out of high school they get blasted by media types like you Taylor for doing so. It's these kids life and they should have the choice of going to Europe or playing in the NBA. Should be able to do it without you media types criticizing them for trying to help their families. Also doing something they love. Sports are a short shelf life annd these kids should be able to go pro. If the pro leagues keep drafting these kids then it should be no problem. The one and done rule is garbage period. If these were mostly white athletes then it would not be an issue.
ALL OF THIS MAY BE TRUE, BUT AT LEAST GIVE THE YOUNGSTERS CREDIT, FIRST OF ALL THEY GRADUATE FROM HIGH
SCHOOL THEY GO TO THEIR RESPECTIVE SCHOOLS IN THE SUMMER, THEY TAKE CLASSES AND THEY TAKE MORE CLASSES IN
THE FALL AND SPRING, SOME OF THESE SCHOOLS LIKE NORTHWESTERN ARE ON TRIMESTERS, LET'S FACE FACTS THESE
YOUNG MEN HAVE BEEN STARS ALL OF THEIR LIVES, THEY JUST
DIDN'T POP OUT OF A HAT, THEY ARE SPECIALISTS IN THEIR
CRAFT, WHICH IS BASKETBALL!
NOW TO SEE THEM PLAY, YOU JUST HAVE TO PAY OR WATCH
THEM ON TELEVISION!
PERSONALLY I'M HAPPY FOR ALL OF THEM, THEY HAD A PLAN
AND IT WORKED OUT, AND NOW THE REAL HARD WORK BEGINS,
BECAUSE IN THE PROFESSIONAL RANKS WE KNOW THAT ALL OF
THEM MAY NOT BE ALLSTAR PLAYERS, WE ALSO KNOW THAT THEY
HAVE TO SUPPORT ALOT OF PEOPLE WITH THESE CONTRACTS!
AS FAR AS BRANDON JENNINGS I'M GLAD HE IS GOING OVERSEAS TO PLAY, THAT'S BETTER THAN BEING IN THE D-LEAGUE WHICH DOESN'T PAY THAT WELL, AND HE GETS A CHANCE TO GROW UP AND RETURN AND PLAY IN THE NBA!
JOSH CHILDRESS FORMALLY OF THE ATLANTA HAWKS JUST SIGNED WITH A TEAM IN GREECE FOR 20 MILLION DOLLARS FOR
3 YEARS!
GOOD LUCK TO D. ROSE, HE WAS A CHAMPION AT BEASLEY
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, CHAMPION AT SIMEON HIGH SCHOOL,
AND HE HELPED LEAD MEMPHIS TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME OF
THE NCAA, HE DESERVED TO BE THE NUMBER ONE PICK, HE HAS
BEEN A WINNER ALL OF HIS LIFE!
CONGRATS TO WILL BYNUM, HE JUST SIGNED A TWO YEAR CONTRACT WITH THE DETROIT PISTONS, AND TONY ALLEN OF
THE WORLD CHAMPION BOSTON CELTICS JUST RE-SIGNED A
TWO YEAR CONTRACT WITH THE CELTICS!
TWO FORMER CRANE TECH STARS!
IF YOU THINK EVERY YOUNGSTER CAN GO OVERSEAS AND PLAY
RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN,
JENNINGS IS THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE, HE IS A RARE
TALENT AND THAT'S WHY THAT TEAM IN ITALY GAVE HIM THAT
BIG MONEY!