Athletes like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett never went to college before rapid success in the NBA. Each had careers anyone would dream about. The NCAA has implemented that each college athlete, regardless of talent, enrolls for one year. Some athletes want to play in college, but others who are really good have no desire to learn but want to play college basketball before going pro.
Athletes getting paid in college might be one of the most horrible ideas known to man. When it comes to college athletics, coaches teach teamwork and discipline to prepare athletes for life or the next level. Paying athletes would not only cause athletes to potentially lose their motivation, but they would only care about the money and could lose focus. Also, college tuition is very expensive across the country. Nevertheless, allowing athletes to get paid would increase tuition and many students not getting paid would be outraged. Tuition skyrocketing could lead to budget cuts or another unnecessary disaster.
Coach John Calipari of Kentucky recruits talented five-star players and with a successful year in college tells them there is no longer a spot for the following year. Former coaches like Bob Knight believe in building a team and not abandoning the program after one year for development and maturity.
Dajuan Wagner, a Memphis player for Calipari (before Kentucky), played one year then went to the NBA. Wagner played one year on the Cleveland Cavaliers and had ulcerative colitis. Colitis causes a disease in your digestive system where someone cannot physically play a sport like basketball. After one year, Wagner’s career was over. Players need a shot in the NBA before it’s too late and should never take anything for granted.
This system is a bad system with the one-year rule. The NCAA shouldn’t be allowed to dictate someone’s future. College is known for education and receiving a degree. With these players coming just for the basketball for one year it shows they don’t care for the education. Another issue is if a talented athlete plays one year in college and gets hurt in a game, their career could be over.
The other night, within the first 35 seconds of the Duke-UNC game, Williamson slipped and fell, receiving a knee injury. There was outrage from NBA players because if he would’ve played professionally right away, he would have all the money set even after the injury. Unfortunately, now he is injured with no salary and could be back to square one.
Overall, the NCAA is interfering with young athletes and the careers they can have. This interference can cause drama and lawsuits against the NBA. With one-year athletes not really doing their part, the NCAA should collude with the NBA and allow kids out of high school who are talented to go to the NBA rapidly.
