Posted by Nalod:
I think a lot of the reason the kids don't graduate is it would be a total farse if they did.
I really believe as you do Playa that many kids don't belong in college but get remedial help and are better for the experience than not.
A kid can come in, get some experience at many levels and leave after a year if they so choose. It does not kill their earning capacity. Marbury did it and if anything his stock rose by proving he can bring it at the NCAA level and dominate. If a kid can handle a year in college, he is a better investment. Kwame Brown did not know how to get better food and ate bad fast food every night, bought new clothes because he did not know how to get his clothes cleaned, etc. This is not on court issues but lends itself to being able to grow as a person and athlete.
Duke has programs to get degrees for kids in three years and like I said, even if they don't get the degree, they can always return, or at least got more education than just going to a minor league.
The other thing your not considering is what happens to a kid that goes into the minors and blossoms into a star? His value is pegged and he won't be free to get the juice as would be a top 3 lotto pick could.
In baseball the players are not free for 5 years after they hit the majors.
I think the NBDL is limiting to some extent. A kid could get buried there were he might have shined in the NCAA's!
NCAA might be a plantation but the crop is the players. In the developent league teams would own the kid for years!!!!!
NOT REALLY here's an example.
Stephen Jackson prepped at Lincoln High School in Port Arthur, Texas before transferring to Oak Hill Academy (Virginia) where he earned All-America honors in 1996. Following a commitment to join the University of Arizona, Jackson was ruled academically ineligible.
Jackson was selected 43rd overall in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns, yet did not receive an opportunity to perform, as he was waived by the team on October 30. Following this development, Jackson then saw action in six games with the La Crosse Bobcats in the CBA, in which he averaged 2.7 points in 12.7 minutes per game. Additionally, Jackson had a brief stint with the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League. Continuing his basketball journey, Jackson played professionally in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
Jackson never made a dollar for any university and he now earned a 6 year, $38.3 million contract.
JAMES DOLAN on Isiah : He's a good friend of mine and of the organization and I will continue to solicit his views. He will always have strong ties to me and the team.
