Many high school students are faced with some tough decisions after graduation, such as finding a summer job or finding the right college to attend. However, a few young athletes in the United States are faced with the decision to enter the NBA draft and bypass a free college education.
High school athletes heading straight to the NBA is a trend that has been established in recent years, and many of today’s top high school basketball sensations are following suit. In today’s society money talks and that is the reason why these young men are heading toward greener pastures. The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, the Magic’s Tracy McGrady and the Timberwolves’ Kevin Garnett all entered the draft out of high school and have became NBA all stars.
This year a record 58 college underclassmen and high school seniors have declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft on June 27 in New York City. Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Ousmane Cisse, Eddy Curry, DeSagana Diop and Tony Key are the six high school athletes who are entering the draft. All of these high school prodigies are taller than 6-feet-9 inches with muscular, mature bodies.
These high school athletes should dominate the NBA draft lottery. The only athletes that could be picked ahead of the high schoolers are Eddie Griffin from Seton Hall, Jason Richardson from Michigan State and Shane Battier from Duke. Of these three college athletes only one (Battier) is a senior.
The NBA draft is becoming more and more like the NHL and Major League Baseball drafts. The draft today is based more on potential then having a proven track record with college experience. Unfortunately, most of these high schoolers will not contribute to their respective NBA clubs until a few years from now.
Ohio State senior center Ken Johnson is one of the many basketball athletes that will be affected by these high school big men entering the NBA draft, and his assistant coach Dave Spiller said something should be done.
“All of these underclassmen entering the draft will obviously effect Kenny’s status and about five or six other big men,” Spiller said. “It is unfortunate because he has played four years, gained experience and proven himself. However teams will pick a kid that is untested, based strictly on potential.”
“Underclassmen leaving early for the draft affects recruiting and it is harder to build a program, just look at Arizona and Michigan State recently,” Spiller said. “NBA teams are looking at the high school guys more, because if they don’t take them, another team will.”
OSU Athletic Director Andy Geiger was asked if he thought that the NBA would eventually ban high school athletes from entering its draft.
“That is up to the NBA, my suspicion is that they are not going to ban high school seniors from entering the draft,” Geiger said. “I do not like the idea that college institutions are feeder programs for the NBA and NFL.”
Former OSU guard Michael Redd left school early for the draft. However, he did not see much playing time for the Milwaukee Bucks this season.
“Michael thought that he was ready at the time. However, he may have changed his mind after this season,” Spiller said. “I think that most kids today are not prepared with handling outside things like the business, time management and the instant fame.”
