http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ....bag/index.htmlThis week's question: What is your opinion of the NBA age-minimum rule's effect so far on college basketball -- both on and off the court? If you could make revisions to the rule, what would you change?The 'Bag responds:There's no question the NBA age-minimum rule has been beneficial on the court for college basketball. The arrival of Kevin Durant, Greg Oden, Brandan Wright and a host of other remarkable freshmen has increased the game's talent level while bringing a welcome buzz to the regular season. What's more, it's fascinating to see the contrast in maturity levels when freshman-laden teams (such as Ohio State) take on more experienced outfits (like Florida).Off the court the results are a bit more mixed. The good: It's great that the rule prevents high-school stars from making bad decisions that could kill their careers. Quite a few freshmen who were supposed to be studs now realize that they'll be better off spending two or more years in college. The bad: The rare high-school players who had NBA-ready bodies and mentalities (LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Amar? Stoudemire) are now prevented from making the jump for a year.Additionally, Bob Knight has gone on a one-man jihad against the rule, saying it compromises what remains of the college game's academic integrity. Yet I wonder if Knight is directing his wrath just as much toward old nemesis Myles Brand (the NCAA president who fired him at Indiana) as he is toward the rule itself. Knight has a point when he says that a one-and-done player can still compete despite doing little or no schoolwork in the second semester and withdrawing from classes at the end of the season (before the school year ends). But the fact is that the schools have an incentive to keep early-departure players eligible for the entire school year, since they'll lose an APR point if an athlete leaves for the pros without his eligibility intact. (Low APR scores can lead to reduced scholarships.) Durant, for one, vowed to me that he'd go to classes for the entire second semester and leave Texas with his eligibility intact even if he decides to go pro after his freshman season. A pretty interesting read.
The first one I noticed is the age rule. Durant, Oden, and Wright wouldn't be on their teams and Ohio State's and Texas's records would be down.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Camby23Land @ Feb 3 2007, 06:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The first one I noticed is the age rule. Durant, Oden, and Wright wouldn't be on their teams and Ohio State's and Texas's records would be down.</div>That, but also NBA teams now look for more players who can play defense because you don't find that much in the NBA anymore.
