<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Four years ago, Kansas forward Wayne Simien hit the high school all-star game circuit with the likes of Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry. ?The buzz around the hotel, on the bus rides, was about who was going pro if they had good games,? Simien said. As it turned out, in the high-school-heavy draft, all but Simien opted for the NBA. Brown became the first high school player to be selected first overall. Chandler went second in the draft, and Curry was fourth. Throw in another prep player, DeSagana Diop at No. 8, and the NBA draft turned upside down. Only one college senior, Duke's Shane Battier, was selected among the first 19. If NBA commissioner David Stern gets his way, there will no longer be such bus-ride buzz. Or a rookie season like LeBron James' last year. Stern wants a more mature league ? with an age limit of 20 years old to play in the NBA. Any such change needs approval from the NBA players' union and will be an important issue for the new collective bargaining agreement set to replace the current deal on June 30 ? two days after this year's draft, in which two high school players could be selected among the top 10 picks. Sides are lining up for this controversial jump ball, with Stern playing the role of concerned papa of the pro game. ?I would love to get NBA scouts and (general managers) out of high school gymnasiums,? Stern said. ?We can field an all-star team of players coming out of high school, but they've all taken time to develop.? To which opponents cough, ?LeBron.?</div> Source
People also forget about guys like Darius Miles, Chandler and Curry, who had early impacts but are not allstar calibre. Also guys like JO who might have had early impacts if they had gotten minutes. Like I've said before, an age limit undermines the power of the GM. If a GM sees it as a good move to pick a high school/young international kid, that should be his perogative. If the front office disagrees they should fire him, there is no need for Stern's auxillary precautions.
High schoolers can perform well, but it should really be up to the GM and team ownership if they want one or not. If LeBron had been forced to go all the way through college, it would have wasted three years he could have been tearing up the NBA. Some shouldn't be picked (Diop, etc.), but some turn into superstars. Garnett was a HS pick, wasn't he?
