@drgnslayr - thanks for the headline cite.
I fall squarely in the camp that a kid should be able to turn pro immediately after coming out of high school. And really, I think a kids should be able to turn pro anytime.
@wissoxfan83 's reference to the baseball rule is excellent. It is really the perfect rule. You can go if you’re ready. But if you commit to college, then three years is commitment. But that is the perfect rule for the college basketball fan.
There has to be some give and take. That gives, and takes.
Make no mistake, the transition to 20 years old is solely and completely for the NBA’s benefit. The NBA GMs would much rather harvest players from a free minor league system, closer to a finished product. It is NBA driven because they hold all the power. The NCAA should readily accept because it helps their product.
Theoretically, I would much rather see it go the other way – they could leave anytime they want. As a fan, I want them to stay and play college hoops.
I do, however, completely disagree with the conclusion of @jaybate 's comment – " … and it increases the complexity and duration of decision making in which players are exposed to parasitic exploitation without compensation."
The use of the term “parasitic exploitation” ignores the concept of human choice. It is common for those opposed to the NCAA, such as Jay Bilas, to create a narrative that is akin to slavery (I am not saying @jaybate has done this directly, but indirectly by the choice of wording). It is the ultimate victim card to play. It is the easiest way to engender sympathy.
That narrative conveniently ignores choice. Actually, in a few back and forths with Bilas on twitter, he just ignores those facts that don’t fit his narrative.
The letter of intent is a contract. It is a written agreement that has specific terms. Either you accept those terms, or you don’t.
And you can walk away. If you really, really want to work while going to school, you can. If you feel that you are being exploited, then don’t do it. There are thousands upon thousands of young ladies, I would presume, that were in difficult financial situations but did not resort to prostitution. Ultimately, it is a choice.
That choice destroys the counter-argument. Thus the Bilas crew like to argue that some kids really don’t have a choice. That, of course, is silly. The vast majority of impoverished young men and women don’t resort to a life of crime. Athletes are not “forced” to accept the terms of the contract. They could, ultimately, do whatever they want to do.
In fact – and we know this to be a fact – the terms of a full ride scholarship is very favorable to the athlete. Why? Because a very, very high percentage couldn’t get paid coming out of high school for doing what has brought to them the scholarship in the first place. Brannen Greene couldn’t have earned any real sort of living playing basketball. So he has taken an otherwise unmarketable skill and turned it into a pretty nice payday.
To receive free food, clothes, living arrangements, tutoring, books, tuition, etc. – for playing basketball – is an exquisite deal. Not to mention the opportunity to earn a degree.
If one cries “parasitic exploitation”, then I wonder if the alternative of said basketball player filling out an application for the local McDonald’s, earning $8 an hour, for a multi-billion dollar company, might be a tad bit worse on the “exploitation” scale?
But he is free, of course, to make that choice.
