This has got to stop

Firrman - So Hank Gathers should have went pro and collapsed in his rookie season in the NBA?  Either way he's dead and it doesn't matter how many million $ he had.  I wasn't sure I understood the logic.  I could understand you using an example of someone who got injured and couldn't ever play again, but was financially secure though.

Natch801 - Yeah, I agree lots of jobs have requirements like certain levels of education, etc. but it usually has something to do with the responsibilities of the work assignment.  I would like engineers designing the building I'm in or the bridge I'm driving on to have a degree in engineering.  I would like the doctor that is operating on me to have plenty of education and experience.  And the list goes on and on, but pro basketball player doesn't really belong on the list.  I mean you don't need any schooling in a college classroom to throw down a dunk on someone or play man defense.  I say this, but at the same time I like the system that requires you to be one year past high school.  This I think should be a requirement for NBA'ers so that teams can really evaluate your skills at a level beyond high school ball.

Someone else wrote that coaches are passing up one and done types.  What coach will pass up on the elite talented players that are one and done?  You really think if coaches can get a guy like Oden, Durant, Beasley, Rose, etc. that they would pass on them because of a chance of them leaving early?  I don't believe that for one second.  maybe I'm wrong, but it just seems unbelievable to me.

They should extend it, or get rid of it all together, because it belittles the college game and the idea of going to college not as a basketball player but a STUDENT ATHLETE. STUDENT comes first, and should be the priority. By going to school for one year and bailing says that they are not STUDENT athletes.

With the exception of Rose and Beasley, none of these guys leaving early are really ready to compete in the NBA.

Let's be honest, if during college some corporation had promised one of us to leave school for guaranteed $1 million, we wouldn't even blink.  It's ridiculous to tell these kids that "they should wait" because they are not ready yet.  That's a load of hooey! 

Truth of the matter is that most of hoops fans want to see them stay so we can continue to see our favorite teams dominate.  We are not really concerned about their educations.  If we were, then we would have blog entries wondering if its a good idea for athletes to take all of the easy courses during the season, and take the harder ones during spring and summer semester.

Of course, the wise thing to do is to get an education so you have something to fall back on if the NBA never works out.  But why couldn't they simply finish their education after their playing days are over and they have bankrolled the money.

As a KU fan, I would love to see Rush, Arthur, and Chalmers stay--but not because I am worried about their education.  It's purely because I want KU to win.  Given that, I hope they chase their dreams, succeed wildly, and make a ton of money in the process.