Kentucky Fans can't mask their excitement
Did your March Madness brackets play out as planned?
No? Well here’s another March Madness you can count on getting right… The march of “student” athletes off the court without graduating… strait to a Pro contract.
This includes the newly minted national champion…
The starting five for the champion Kentucky Wildcats — a mix of freshmen and sophomores — are expected to enter the N.B.A. draft, and never again play for the college they ever so briefly attended.
College basketball has become a farm system for former high-school stars to showcase their talents for a year, than leave their loyal fans in pursuit of fame and fortune.
These players, who are known as “One-and-Done” Freshman, make it very hard for March Madness fans to build loyalty with a college team.
Mark Emmert, the president of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association, had already expressed regret that the N.B.A.’s so-called “one-and-done” rule allows universities to recruit athletes who show little interest in getting an education.
The rule was set up by the NBA to prevent young players from going straight from High School to the professional ranks. Instead these stars-in-waiting have to wait 12 months before entering the NBA draft. Naturally, these kids want to play hoops in the interim and some colleges (no doubt aware of the temporary nature of the relationship) are happy to have these young guns join their institutions of (ahem) higher learning.
Who can blame the athletes? The lure of big money in professional sports cannot be denied. But some who object to the “one and done” aspect of college sports, are firmly blaming the NCAA for its emphasis on big profits.
David Ridpath, an assistant professor of sport administration at Ohio University says it clearly:
“The one and done is not about an education,”
Recently, the extremely talented freshman point-guard Austin Rivers from Duke and Washington guard Tony Wroten recently announced that they would be entering the draft after their first year.
For basketball fans, there will still be the enjoyment of watching these former college stars achieve at the highest level.
Many previous One-and-Done freshmen have excelled in the NBA. Perhaps you’ve heard of them.. Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, Chris Bosh and many others.
It’s unlikely that the NCAA will ever instate a rule forcing players to go through two years or more of college before entering the draft. From a college fans standpoint, March Madness would be a little more fun if they did.
