End in sight…
USA Today announced last week that the NBA has formally proposed changing the draft-eligible age requirement from 19 to 18 to the National Basketball Players Association. The players union is expected to sign off on the deal which will effectively allow players to enter the NBA after high school and stick a stake in the heart of “one and done” system.
I suspect that the “man child” Zion Williamson may have motivated the NBA to take another look at the “one and done” issue. This guy is the second coming of Lebron and the NBA has realized that there may be other Zion’s in the pipeline. The NBA is also suffering from bad publicity. The NBA has become complicit in the Adidas scandal that has involved a number of “one and done” players over the past several years. In either case, the NBA may be yelling uncle and giving up on its putrid “one and done” minor league scheme.
While I am a devoted believer in the value of a college education, asking teen-aged boys to simply hang out at colleges for a couple semesters as they wait for the NBA draft serves no purpose. I also realize that the move may water down the college game by taking away prime talent; it will also level the playing field. Blue blood programs like Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina and Kansas will no longer have their pick of the “one and done” litter.
While I am not going to hold my breath, I really do believe that there is real hope that it may happen this time. The latest scourge of college sports may be on life support. I love college sports and I despise those who seek to destroy any part of it. This move could go a long way in restoring dignity to college basketball.
Stay tuned…