By. Jonathan Sawyer
“One and done” is a term that is frequently used nowadays in college basketball. 2004 was the last year high school basketball players were allowed to enter the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft. Ever since 2004, players started using college as a trampoline to the pros: only going one year and leaving.
In the past few years, a lot of athletes, such as center for the Philadelphia 76ers, Jahlil Okafor, announced he would enter the draft in the fall before his 2014- 2015 freshman year at Duke University. It doesn’t even take these players until the end of the season to make their big decisions. They are making it known that they are done after the season. The biggest question that arises is, are they ready? Many ‘one and done’ players have not succeeded after college or it took them a few years to develop their games.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to develop their games in college with Hall of Fame coaches? Most players are worried about injury, and that plays a huge role in any sport, but with all the medical attention these players get, the chances of them coming back from any injury is very likely. Injuries happen in sports. Players also worry about their draft stock. In the NBA, there are only two rounds of drafting, and the chance of all these college basketball players getting picked up to a team is a very slim chance. The thought here is that when players enter the draft they have a slim chance of making it to a team on draft day. From there the players have to go through the process of battling in the summer league to even get a chance to play in the pre-season and from there, the NBA teams choose whether they will get a chance to sign a contract. The whole thing about this is that, if a player is going to declare after one year of playing college basketball, they need to consider all of these factors.
‘One and done’ players have shifted the game of college basketball. A lot of coaches had to adjust to coaching new players every year. Not only did it hurt the coaches, but it hurt the fans who love and watch the game. Fans used to love seeing players for four years battle out big games against the player that wasn’t liked on the other team. These rivalries include Syracuse vs. Georgetown, Duke vs. North Carolina, Louisville vs Kentucky, Iowa vs Iowa State, and the list goes on and on. When the NBA decided to allow players to play one year at a college institution, it transformed the game to a more selfish game. Who can be the best that year and get picked up early out of the draft? Over this past year, the NBA has allowed players to enter the draft but are able to withdraw from it as long as they haven’t signed with an agent.
When players stay longer in college, they have a tendency to be more mature and ready to play the pro game. The NBA should instill the rule that forced the players to stay three years and make the decision to leave or stay their senior season, or they should just allow players to enter after high school again. Staying three years is a way for players to develop, learn and become better basketball players. Most of the big name schools have Hall of Fame coaches who have coached NBA athletes and know what it takes to play at that level. When players enter the college game, it is a time for them to learn from the best and develop their games to go on and play professional basketball.
Jonathan Sawyer is the Sports Assignment Editor at The BV. His email is
sawyerjp15@bonaventure.edu
