| Posted: June-16-2009 at 2:20am | IP Logged
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Hey Bobby, I'd read about Bryce Harper and the situation with him. The deal with him being 16 years old and quitting school, that's a bad decision (I think.). Not just Harper, but for anybody to quit school is a dumb decision. I don't know the rules regarding a GED, but how can a minor (under age 18), quit school and obtain a GED? I guess I just figured you had to at least be 18 years old to get a GED? So I don't know how the kid's going to be able to get a GED and then enroll in a community college. What I don't understand about the situation is, high school baseball players can be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, unlike in the NFL or NBA. Heck, look at some of those teenage Dominican Republic baseball players who get drafted.
When high school basketball players were eligible to go straight into the NBA, over the years you've had several do that.
Being we're similar in age and I was in high school the same time-frame (I graduated high school in 1976), I followed the jump into the NBA back in 1974 by Petersburg (Va.) High School phenom Moses Malone. Malone played his first couple of years pro basketball if I'm not mistaken with the ABA's Utah Stars (I loved those red-white-blue basketballs). He moved over to the NBA and enjoyed individual and team success with the Philadelphia 76ers, winning an NBA championship and he was also named NBA Most Valuable Player, I'm thinking three times. I was fortunate enough to get to see Malone and Dr. J (Julius Erving) play on two occasions, each time against the Atlanta Hawks. This while the Hawks had "The Human Highlight Reel" Dominique Wilkins. It just so happened when me and some buddies were down in Atlanta for the fall NASCAR races we'd always attend for many years, the Hawks had home basketball games. And we got to see Dr. J play two times. Dr. J is another player who was in the ABA, with the New Jersey Nets before he switched to the NBA and with the 76ers.
You've also had Kevin Garnett jump straight from high school into the NBA and be a successful player. Look at Andrew Bynum with the Los Angeles Lakers, he went from high school to the NBA and he's contributed to the Lakers' success and he's now got a championship ring.
But there have been several high school basketball players enter the NBA and be huge flops. The first that comes to my mind is Kwame Brown. I believe he played high school ball in Savannah, Ga., or somewhere in Georgia. When Michael Jordan was with the Washington Wizards (To me they'll always be the Bullets. I really liked the Bullets when I was growing up. Wes Unseld was a heck of a good player. Earl "The Pearl" Monroe even was a Bullet before being traded to the NY Knicks), Jordan's the reason the Wizards selected Brown. Something you can say about Brown though, he's the only high school basketball player to "ever" be the first pick in the NBA Draft. After a few unproductive seasons in Washington, where Brown fussed and argued with teammates, was booed by the crowd constantly, and he even was "ready to get it on" and fight Gilbert Arenas, the Wizards traded Brown to the Lakers. And he's not done well in Los Angeles, either. Andrew Bynum replaced Brown as the team's starting center.
And another high school player who entered the NBA with a big buildup and hasn't lived up to his billing is Sebastian Telfair. I believe he graduated high school in like 2004 or '05. I remember watching a documentary on Telfair when he was in high school, and how he lived in a housing project where many killings took place, etc. His older brothers looked out for Sebastian, because they saw his talent and knew he could be their ticket out of the project with a mulitimillion dollar contract in the NBA. Telfair was picked by the Portland Trail Blazers, and in a couple of seasons he just really never fit in and was traded to the Boston Celtics. He didn't last long in Beantown, and I believe he's now with Toronto, maybe Minnesota.
But I guess probably the most shocking deal I've ever heard about is Jeremy Tyler, the high school junior in San Diego, Calif., who plans to drop out of school and go overseas and play professional basketball. Reports are he's 6-foot-11 and a very good basketball player. I know Louisville coach Rick Pitino isn't pleased with the situation, as Tyler had indicated to Pitino he would become a Cardinal once he graduated high school. Tyler was projected to be the best big-man college recruit in next year's class. Is Tyler ready to play pro basketball? I find it hard to believe he is.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the Brandon Jennings kid who played his prep basketball in Southwest Virginia at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson. I saw a piece just last week on TV about Jennings, who's from Los Angeles and last years he became the first high school graduate to skip college and play pro ball in Europe. What I saw on TV said Jennings is projected as a high pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. He's a point guard.
There are many other situations of high school basketball players not being able to make it in the NBA. I don't really know what the answer is. If it was left up to me, though, I'd make the rule that no athlete would be eligible to turn pro in any sport until following their senior year in college. Oh, you hear athletes saying they're wanting to turn pro to get the money to help their family. That's great, for those who get selected high enough to get contracts rich enough so that they will be set for life. But take basketball, for example. Look at how many NBA teams there are, and look at all the college basketball players in the country. Look at the very small percentage of college players who will actually be drafted. Unlike the NFL and MLB drafts, in the NBA you only have two rounds ... that's it.
I don't think it's right for high school athletes (basketball players), to sign with a college and play one year and then turn pro. The college's have made investments in the kids, giving them the opportunity to get an EDUCATION while playing a sport. But then you've got those who say that colleges are only exploiting their athletes to help the institutions make a lot of money. You hear talk all the time about college athletes receiving some kind of payment from the schools to help them with daily living expenses. Personally, I think that should happen. I'm not talking about giving the kids a lot of money. Say give each athlete $50 a week. That's nothing when you look at all the millions college athletics produces. Just look in Knoxville at the University of Tennessee football program, with 100,000-plus attending games. Look at the revenue seven home games a year produces. Look what successfull college basketball programs generate in revenue.
Something I don't agree with is, college coaches and all the money they earn. Sure, if they produce good results in turn that brings in a lot of dollars. But are schools in the athletic business or are they institutions of higher learning? Should a football or basketball coach earn more money than the president of the university? Or earn more than professors?
I'll leave with this: "BugMan," what about the situation regarding your fellow hometown (Huntington, W.Va.) athlete ... O.J. Mayo, leaving Southern Cal after just one season to enter the NBA. Look at what's unfolded in Los Angeles regarding Mayo, reportedly receiving illegal compensation during his one season as a USC Trojan. Now Coach Tim Floyd has resigned. So that sure doesn't look good for the basketball program. It definitely appears something illegal has occured.
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