My thought on how to fix the basketball situation is this: If I were running the NCAA, I'd sit down with Silver (NBA Commish) and talk to him about the current rules. I would push for them to lift the ban on players coming out of High School, now that the Gatorade League is expanding and becoming a viable option for kids who either don't want an education or just aren't cut out for it.
Then, I'd try to show him how the situation in Baseball is going well. The NBA should come up with similar rules that state you can enter directly from HS, but if you choose college then you cannot enter the league for at least 3 years. This type of rule serves a few purposes:
1. The NCAA will no longer be perceived as taking advantage of star players. They can go pro if they wish, it's up to them.
2. Kids aren't forced into college if they have no interest in it. Star players can join the NBA immediately, lesser talent can hone their skills in a true developmental league (Gatorade League). If they can't make it in either, they can always go back to college if they want like any regular student.
3. Stops the farce that is the one and done. Unless they redshirt (rare in BB) they would be juniors before leaving. Many would choose to stay and finish their education, while only the top players would even consider leaving because of high draft status.
4. May serve to focus more of the money in the G-League, getting it away from college players. If there is an avenue for players to get paid legally, it will lessen the shady dealings going on. It will still happen of course, but not to the current degree.
5. Makes everyone happy. Even if a kid wants to go pro now, but still would like a degree, they can get it in today's world. World Campus at Penn State being one of the many options available to athletes should they want to take some online courses during and after the season. 1 class per semester during their season, a couple during off-season, would be easy to do.
Opinions? Thoughts?
I like it quite a bit. I thought the same that let the hs kids go direct to the NBA if they are good enough and the team wants them. Then a developmental league As Erie has the Bayhawks) for those not quite ready but with potential and no interest in school. Lastly, for those that would like to pursue college after or not cut out for pro, the option to enroll but not play basketball. I believe baseball has contract options that will pay their tuition after their pro days. In some cases the athlete plays a sport other than the sport they went pro and alleviate the need for the school to provide scholarship money.
It's so simple, I really have no idea why it's not already being done.
Athletes from almost EVERY OTHER sport outside football go early into their leagues. No one is worried about the education of soccer players, or ice hockey players, or tennis stars, or golfers, or many others... If they want, they can go.
Basketball seems to be under this misguided assumption that their players need protection, which IMO is basically a slap in the face... calling them stupid people who don't know what's good for them. I'm not one to pull the race card, but "one of these leagues is not like the other" when it comes to skin complexions.
