David Stern Hates Your Kids

No matter how well they can ball, or how much money they "turned down" from boosters, your kid may have to stay in school for a tad bit longer instead of buying you a new house after getting that rookie deal fresh out of college.

It appears that NBA Commissioner David Stern and NCAA president Myles Brand are coming to terms on a new proposal that states that players will be required to stay in college for at least 2 years before declaring themselves eligible to be drafted into the NBA. The NBA Players Association has yet to approve this proposal; but there will be many more discussions and future "what's in it for us" type talks before the wheels are truly in motion.

Currently, the only standing rule regarding incumbent players in the NBA is the age limit, which is 19 years, and was placed through the standing collective bargaining agreement which is set to expire for the 2010-11 season; when it will be reevaluated but most likely adopted again due to its current favorable results. But who is this rule really for? The NBA obviously wants it because the youth movement has most recently been knocked for its lack of fundamentals, lack of basketball experience at a higher level, and the innate immaturity that comes with being a teenager/early twenty year old. The NCAA wants it because of the grand exposure that comes along with being a Kevin Durant or Greg Oden, and what that brings to your school. The kids will say that this proposal is a bad thing, and hurts their ability to save their families, or help themselves out of bad situations right away, but this proposal is for them, and it could really be the best decision they never had to make on their own.

Is anyone that comes out of college as a freshman ready to do any job, let alone be in the public limelight 24/7, and play a demanding game every day for months on end at the highest possible level it can be played? Just like any job, no manager would hire someone without relevant experience, and I think that the NBA is trying to do the same thing. They'd much rather see a consistent body of work than a flash in the pan that had a super nice year and completely fail at the next level. This gives college players the chance to play basketball at a higher level, experience the ups and downs of tournament play, which is the closest thing to NBA Playoff basketball that they'll see, and have a real opportunity to decide whether playing basketball is the career that they really want to undertake. Sure it's the sexy pick, but maybe Pat Garrity always wanted to be an ambassador to France, and he never got to because he was blinded by the flashy NBA and totally missed that chance to get his degree in political science. I totally understand where both sides are coming from, but the concern that someone will miss out on the next great player is what will keep this rule from going through.

I'm just saying NBA, there are some college freshmen that have eaten cereal with beer instead of milk. I'm just saying.