All college basketball fans know the pain of watching the future of their team, their star freshman, go professional after one promising year. Every NBA team has wasted a draft pick on a freshman, drafting purely off potential, only to see that all they had drafted was a young kid with an overwhelming likelihood to bust. And each year, everyone can point to a freshman who obviously wasn’t ready for the NBA but chose to go pro because they knew that with one turn of the knee their huge signing bonus, and maybe their chances of going pro altogether, could disappear.
This is the sad reality of the current college basketball system. The system benefits an extremely select few, the once-in-a-decade type of player, but hurts everyone else — players, pro teams and fans alike.
The present system encourages freshmen to leave before they are ready, which is a major flaw. Freshman who are good college players and who everyone knows if given another year or two to mature and develop could be great, feel that it is in their best financial interest to go pro. However, it is the job of the NCAA to do what is in the best interest of the student athletes. The ability to go pro after just one year should not even be permitted. The NCAA should see how many freshmen prematurely leave, chasing a signing bonus and a dream, only to realize that they weren’t quite ready when they get sent to the D-League in short order.
Forcing freshmen to stay another year would also raise the level of college basketball to the appreciation of all fans. It would allow for more familiarity with the stars, instead of the constant turnover of names of elite players that never seem to stay for more than one year. A two-year requirement would allow for more players to go down in the book of college greats, while giving programs the chance to build on top of great recruiting classes instead of just collapsing them; it would provide for a more competitive and entertaining college game as a whole.
The rules for when a college basketball player can go to the NBA need careful revision. Just as the rule change that banned players from going straight from high school to the NBA was beneficial to almost everyone, a rule requiring a player stayed through their sophomore year would be beneficial as well. While the Ben Simmons of the college basketball world might complain, the James Youngs, Tyus Jones and Kevon Looneys of the world would be thankful for one more year in the spotlight rather than taking a paid journey to the D-League.