assignment 16: Luke Taylor

In 2006, the NBA altered the draft requirements that changed the age of eligibility from 18 to 19 creating the “one and done rule” that has drastically shaken up the landscape of basketball ever since.

The One and done rule takes away the next generation of basketball stars’ choice to go straight to the NBA from high school, forcing them to choose between three options: Option 1. Play professionally in another country outside the United States but no one would actually do this because there isn’t a lot of publicity overseas making it difficult to boost a prospect draft stock. Option 2. Train by themselves for a year, which doesn’t make a lot of sense because the top athletes want to play against elite competition. Finally, option 3. Play college basketball, which is the most logical because it offers good competition and enough exposure to boost one’s drafts stock. This is one of those situations where someone gives you different options just for the sake of choice, but only gives you one logical option.

The one and done rule was created because the NBA was afraid of drafting the wrong people that could possibly waste expensive contracts. Before the one and done rule, high school basketball was not as publicized as it is now, so it was difficult for NBA teams to evaluate players because they weren’t playing elite competition that would challenge them. So, the NBA wanted these high school athletes to go to a place where they can compete on a national stage with good competition so they can evaluate them properly (I.E. college).

The second purpose of the one and done rule was to allow high school athletes the chance to develop mentally and physically. Going from a broke, relatively unknown high school student to becoming a millionaire, star in the NBA is a huge transition to make, so the NBA wanted those athletes to go to college and develop into adults capable of handling the heavy load of the NBA. The solution, however, the one and done rule, solves none of these problems.

The one and done rule has lost its effectiveness over time as the game of basketball has changed at the high school level. High school basketball is now receiving more media attention than ever from the hype around Ball family to the dunks and crossovers that go viral all over social media, people now are starting to pay more and more attention.

Another factor into the publicity of high schoolers, is the AAU circuit. AAU basketball is made up of independent groups across the United States that form teams and participate in tournaments all around under the control of the AAU, or the amateur athletic union. This is now how high school athletes get exposure. The top teams with the top prospects get invited to tournaments all around, allowing athletes playing against the top competition from everywhere. This platform allows scouts to properly asses the skills of athletes from all around.

Now to address how the high school athletes of today are more mature and are ready for the mental aspects of the NBA. The top players of high school have more opportunities available to prepare themselves for the life of a NBA player. Most of the top players now opt out of regular high school and go to prep-schools. Prep-schools are private boarding schools that provide athletes a college-like setting in high school that prepares them to be more independent in a competitive basketball environment.

 For example, Montverde Academy in Florida is a high-profile school that the top high school athletes pursue. The likes of D’Angelo Russel, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid all of whom after graduating Montverde went on and became one and done players. Embiid missed a chunk of his college season and was selected 3^rd overall in the 2014, Ben Simmons was the 1^st pick overall in the 2016 draft and many scouts said he was “bored and college” and was ready to be a pro. For these players and many more, the college experience was not essential to their development.

So, these athletes who have been dreaming of the day they get drafted have little to no interest in getting a college degree and they only decide to go to college because of the one and done rule. The NCAA only requires a 1.8 GPA for academic eligibility for those athletes. This takes the student out of student athlete; any person could just waltz into a college class and breathe to get a 1.8 GPA and stay eligible. Ben Simmons got a 1.8 in the first semester and didn’t even bother showing up to the second semester classes because he didn’t need them and they were a waste of his time. Simmons had no time to study with all the work outs, practices, and games; frankly, he wasn’t interested because he was focused on being drafted by an NBA team.

This all benefits the schools that these athletes attend because the top-rated recruits allow institutions to gain publicity and national exposure, which can in turn lead to more cash through merchandise and ticket sales. This harms the lesser name student athletes who would actually use those scholarships because they want to earn a degree in college but still want to play basketball at a high division 1 level.

The top recruits that are one and done material are put at risk because a lot can happen in a year to negatively affect their NBA opportunities.  Players have a chance of being injured and jeopardizing their NBA careers, and the sad thing about it is a lot of the players come from dirt poor homes so this is how they plan on taking care of their families. Consider the case of Inky Johnson who for his whole life was working toward being a player in the National Football league.  He saw how his mom had to work extra shifts and pick him up 1 to 2 hours late every night after his football practices and made up in his mind that he was going to use that time to work extra hard then and make it to the pros so he wouldn’t have to see his mother work like that anymore. Time passes and now he is playing at the university of Tennessee and he’s become one of the top prospects in the country, his dream of playing in the NFL is almost a reality when he gets hit too hard and a blood vessel in his arm is popped causing it to be paralyzed which caused him to quit football forever. The athletes who are forced into college are missing out on the cash they get when they get drafted.

The players aren’t getting enough out of the one and done situation, because these athletes aren’t getting paid. While people say the athletes are getting paid with the scholarship, the money there is not nearly as much as the money they could be earning in the NBA. The last pick in the 1^st round gets around a 3 million dollar contact while the first can make up to 15 million. If these athletes really wanted an education they could pay for it themselves so they can always go back to college and get a degree.

I think the situation could be fixed in two different ways. The first is to extend the requirement to two years in college because in a lot of cases, one year doesn’t really allow athletes to mature and develop in the way that NBA scouts want. For example, University of Kentucky Center Demarcus Cousins was drafted 5^th overall in the 2010 draft. However, He was completely out of control during his first couple years, seeming like he would fight anyone on the court that looked at him the wrong way. He needed an extra year in college to get his act together to save the League from embarrassment.

The second way to fix the problem is to get rid of the one and done rule all together and just let the high school athletes go straight to the pros, but have them take a class in the summer about time management and how to properly budget their money. I think this will be the best solution because it gives the kids more freedom and more choice.