<div align="center">The High School Age Limit, Good or Bad?</div> Over the past year, David Stern set a new rule that would effect all graduating High School basketball players. The NBA Age limit would be changed -- you must be one year removed from your previous High School. In my opinion the change in this rule would becaue of players like DeSagana Diop, Lenny Cooke, Lester Earl, Jonathon Bender, and former number one pick, Kwame Brown. Although there are players that have come out of high school, and successfuly made it in the NBA the majority of the guys dont last. Dwight Howard, LeBron James, and Kevin Garnett are the big 3 that really had great rookie years. Jermaine O'Neil's first 5 seasons in the NBA, he averaged 5.6 ppg. Now O'Neil is a legit All-Star every single year. Still Jermaine could've used 2-3 years in college to mature as a player. Money is probobly the reason why most of these players declare for the NBA, but I dont blame them, I would do it too. After all, for every LeBron James there is a Korleone Young, who many forget was drafted in the first round by the Detroit Pistons and played a total of 15 minutes after joining the team in 1998. Let's also not forget players like Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, and Darius Miles who never lived up to expectations. In High School Jonathon Bender was compared to a 7 foot, Michael Jordan. That certainly didnt happen, he recently retired because of constant injuries. I could go on for hours about players that made the jump and didnt live up to their expectations. The NBA age limit is a good idea, and no Jermaine O'Neil, it is not racist! Imagine if Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady played college ball. The TV ratings would have gone through the roof, because of the excitment. Truthfuly the only player that would not have benefited college, is LeBron James. They would have made an instant impact on the NBA and would have matured as a person in college. Sometimes magazines, such as the cover of slam magazine showen below, influence players so much that they take the hard road to the NBA and skip college. I could also make an argument that, it is the players desicion whether he wants to waste his talent on declaring for the NBA staright out of HS. But this rule will imply that players get the education needed to succeed in life and mature as a player physically and mentally. Both of those charicteristics are more importent than just letting a player screw up his life. Chris Paul and Allen Iverson are two great examples of two guys who were GREAT players in High School, but both attended college. Both of those players made a huge impact there first years in the league. David Stern made the correct desicion creating this rule.
