Buffalo

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: Buffalo

They didnt have to go to college if they just wanted to play pro ball. Are you saying college should only exsit in sports to funnel kids to the pros as fast as they can maybe many who are not ready to go yet. So you would risk 100s of kids failing out of college and skipping classes to have a shot to be the next Lebron and lose getting a free education when they could still take a stab at the pros after finishing college? So the NCAA should get rid of any policy designed to protect their self interest because only a tiny tiny fraction of guys are good enough to really make it in pros?

I just dont see why its such a bad thing for them to try to find away that would better both sides of the equation which inturn would probably benefit the most kids... But I guess you got your unions that will work to keep that from happening.

This seems like the kind of situation where it is almost impossible to find benefit for most kids without completely screwing others. Let kids declare, if they get drafted great. If not, let them come back and play. If Roy Williams is upset that he doesn't know how many kids he should recruit, I'm sure he can find a way to deal with that.

[goon]

Re: Buffalo

College is one of the best preparations to play basketball professionally and kids should have that option. Many young people DO use college basketball as a way to prepare their game for the NBA level.

I'm really not sure if you're attempting to say this, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but are you trying to say that if kids want preparation for the NBA they should go play overseas instead of going to the NCAA for 1 year?

Not even close. I am saying NCAA should work with the NBA in this case to help kids who might be good enough but work with them to test the waters, not make they go on their own. But I am saying if a kid only wants to try to make it to the pros, going through college can actually hurt that program, NCAA graduation rates progress stuff like that. So a kids best interest to go pro probably isnt college if they have no desire to be in college(which IMO happens a lot).

I am thinking the NCAA should make it safe for kids to explore their options and not punish kids if they are 1 day late pulling their name out of the said test waters, but at the same time NCAA needs to protect itself so NBA doesnt just cherry pick kids who it thinks it wants.

My lame example would be if you decide to test the waters you have 1 year to leave then, which would mostly apply to underclassman, so if your a soph and thinking you need to test the waters, you can come back for 1 year. So after your 1 year of testing the water the pros know for sure there is core of players that will be avaiable who basically would waive their final college years so they could look going forward. exceptions could be made injury etc..That way the school knows your leaving at a certain time so it can accomodate for recruiting etc. and it a way it may encourage kids to stay till their JR year before they want to "test the Waters".

Or have a system set up sort of like a combine type/pro day where kids can see the competion around them and maybe allow 48 hour window for kids and pro teams to have access no penatly so kids really can get a feel for their future if it does include the pros. Seems to me would probably benefit the kids, the NCAA and the pro teams IMO.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: Buffalo

Not even close. I am saying NCAA should work with the NBA in this case to help kids who might be good enough but work with them to test the waters, not make they go on their own. But I am saying if a kid only wants to try to make it to the pros, going through college can actually hurt that program, NCAA graduation rates progress stuff like that. So a kids best interest to go pro probably isnt college if they have no desire to be in college(which IMO happens a lot).

I am thinking the NCAA should make it safe for kids to explore their options and not punish kids if they are 1 day late pulling their name out of the said test waters, but at the same time NCAA needs to protect itself so NBA doesnt just cherry pick kids who it thinks it wants.

My lame example would be if you decide to test the waters you have 1 year to leave then, which would mostly apply to underclassman, so if your a soph and thinking you need to test the waters, you can come back for 1 year. So after your 1 year of testing the water the pros know for sure there is core of players that will be avaiable who basically would waive their final college years so they could look going forward. exceptions could be made injury etc..That way the school knows your leaving at a certain time so it can accomodate for recruiting etc. and it a way it may encourage kids to stay till their JR year before they want to "test the Waters".

Or have a system set up sort of like a combine type/pro day where kids can see the competion around them and maybe allow 48 hour window for kids and pro teams to have access no penatly so kids really can get a feel for their future if it does include the pros. things to me would probably benefit the kids, the NCAA and the pro teams IMO.

This seems pretty reasonable. Which is probably why the NCAA would never implement this type of system...

[goon]

Re: Buffalo

This seems pretty reasonable. Which is probably why the NCAA would never implement this type of system...

I like to think of it as tri winning. Good for kids so they can have a chance to move on with the NCAA not standing in the way but the NCAA has enough policy in place to allow those who dont follow the suffer its rath and the nba to get access to college kids knowing who really is serious about making the jump up soon.

[SDSUAlum08]

Re: Buffalo

I'm a little confused over where all the information is coming from that Nate would declare for the NBA draft.

You're right. The fact that people are talking about Nate declaring for the 2012 draft is basically a joke. He's a great player but he's not going anywhere this year. It's just something for people to talk about.

[HoboJack]

Re: Buffalo

He can declare for the draft and then withdraw without any expectation of being drafted. Lots and lots of people declare for the draft every year, the majority do not get drafted, and a lot of them withdraw before the draft ever happens.

He would most likely not get drafted, and come back next year. But by declaring after putting up the kind of season he has, he would be more likely to show up on those lists (or higher on those lists) next year. It could/would raise his profile for next year, so he could be a 1st round pick instead of 2nd round or 2nd round instead of not drafted.

I'm sure there are a ton of reasons why a player wouldn't want to declare. I don't think Keith Benson declared early, nor did Alex Young.

So it really isn't anything more than bulletin board babble.

I believe it was Tennessee 2 years ago who had three players declare for the NBA draft, they also had one qualify for a Medical exception, and signed around 5 recruits. When the balls stopped spinning & players backed out of the draft they had 15 signed scholorship offers. Guess who got theirs pulled? It wasn't the NBA hopefuls or the new recruits. It was the back of the rotation guys. In this case, allowing guys to 'test the waters' hurt the true student-athletes that will likely be going pro in something other than sports.

I think the NCAA had good intentions when it created the ability for players to do this. I do think in the end, though it has made the NCAA more of a minor league for Pro sports. That is not good for the majority of student athletes.