NBA Players Don't Need College

March 21 - The issue of an age limitation for potential NBA stars entered mainstream discussions again, after a recent Time magazine interview with commissioner David Stern in which he indicated his preference for raising the minimum age from 19 to 20.

For some reason, this has been a hot topic for quite some time in hoop circles, with passionate stands taken on both sides. Other sports, such as baseball, tennis, golf, etc. seem to have no problem with their young stars turning professional as soon as they reach the age of legal consent, and some earlier. I don't recall there being any hue and cry about any of them "ruining" their young stars.

ESPN writer Henry Abbott examines this phenomenon in his article, NBA Players Need College? Prove It, that presents very compelling evidence that allowing high school players to jump directly to the pros has had no negative impacts on either the players or the NBA. Some youngsters have not been able to make the leap, but so it is with every endeavor in life - some make it and some don't. Its elucidating to note that the leading candidates for MVP this year, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, all came to the league directly from high school.

Abbott postulates about a possible financial reason for the age ban, which sounds completely within the realm of possibility:

So why would the NBA want to ban these players who have done so well? My best guess is that the NBA is more profitable if they do not have to pay these players while they are still developing. The rookie scale keeps players cheap for their first three or four years in the NBA. If you can start that clock at age 19 or 20, instead of 17 or 18, then you are getting a year or two of at the end of those contracts when players like Dwyane Wade are superstars, winning you titles and the like, while still on cheap contracts. That's a great bargain for owners.

This point has been argued ad nauseam on many hoop message boards, and no clear consensus has emerged. In fact, the stronger argument seems to be that the age limit is a clear violation of young players' rights, as they should be allowed to apply to ply their chosen trade at the age of responsibility. It just makes very little sense for the best of them to have to be forced to play a year or two in college.

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