LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire are just a few of the NBA players who chose to forgo college in favor of entering the Association out of high school. There may not be a bigger leap in athletics and not every player has flourished at the next level.
Even though some of these high school players haven’t panned out in the NBA, such as Kwame Brown and DaSagana Diop, they have still been able to make a living by playing basketball at the highest level in the world.
High school players could no longer go straight to the NBA when the draft entry rules changed in July of 2005. The NBA and NBA Players Association agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that required players to be at least 19 years old and at least one year removed from high school.
Since 2005, the latest trend of star recruits has been “one-and-done” players, which has been the face of John Calipari’s recruiting strategy at the University of Kentucky.
Nerlens Noel, a 6’10” center out of Tilton, N.H., was ranked No. 1 in the 2012 recruiting class by ESPN and No. 2 by Rivals.com before committing to Kentucky. The latest 2013 NBA Mock Drafts from CBS Sports, NBADraft.net and HoopsWorld.com project Noel being selected anywhere from the No. 1 overall pick to fourth.
However, that could all change after Nerlens Noel suffered a gruesome torn ACL injury in the second half of Kentucky’s game against Florida on Tuesday.
He will miss the remainder of the season and his future on the basketball court is up in the air.
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson’s MVP season last year, in which he was only nine yards shy of setting the NFL single season rushing record less than a year removed from tearing his left ACL and MCL, proved the advanced states of modern technology and medicine.
Noel will be able to rehabilitate his knee and return to the court but there is no guarantee that he will be the same player that averaged 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 4.4 blocks and 2.1 steals per game for Kentucky this season.
A potentially career ruining injury for arguably the best NBA prospect in college basketball is devastating if Noel is unable to rehabilitate his knee or return to his prior form.
The requirements to enter the NBA Draft must be re-evaluated. If Noel had been able to enter the draft after high school, he would have been paid handsomely. Even if he suffered a horrible injury in the NBA like the one that ended his college season, he still would have earned enough money to support himself and his family.
It has long been assumed that Nerlens Noel would leave for the NBA after one season at Kentucky. One year of college will help future lottery picks such as Noel mature and improve as basketball players but is it really necessary to force high schoolers to attend college for one year when it only takes one bad step or collision to ruin their futures in the NBA? One-and-done players use college as a gateway to millions of dollars and promising careers at the next level. If high school players are talented and mature enough for the NBA by the time they’re 19 years old, then why not let them enter the draft and try to profit from their talents while they’re healthy?
The NBA does not have to make any changes to the draft requirements but the league and the NBA Players Association should at least consider the possibility. Everyone—the NBA, college basketball programs, basketball fans and most importantly, the players themselves—loses if star players are injured in college and their careers are put in jeopardy.
Andy Wittry 