Young ball players should value ‘college, not cash’

The NBA: The National Babysitter's Association

Next week the annual NBA Draft is going to take place.

Fifty-six underclassmen have declared themselves eligible for the draft. That means that these 56 kids are either leaving college early or deciding to skip college all together.

This disturbs me.

When did receiving a college education become less important for athletes? Well, I recognize that it's not an overnight problem. The number of ship-jumpers and college skippers is seemingly increasing every year.

Now I'm not saying that college is for everyone. Many people have had successful and fulfilling lives without a diploma. But, with the vast increase in problems that accompany sports (assaults, drug abuse and even murder) sending kids into the "real world" unprepared is a mistake. Sure, violence in professional sports isn't exclusive to those who don't have a college degree. Nor is the college athletics world free of guilt in misbehaving. But when kids find themselves in a position where they can afford anything they want and get anything they need, problems arise.

Why not go to the NBA if you are good enough? Big cars, large houses, music deals, gold chains and all the fame you can handle at your disposal before you're old enough to purchase alcohol can be devilishly tempting.

It's unfortunate that an education and the knowledge and power that accompanies it are as appealing. It's a shame that college has turned into a place where talented basketball players feel they can go for a couple of years to sharpen their skills until they can get that big pay day in mid-June. Why do you think they call it the NBA Draft Lottery?

This problem isn't exclusive to basketball. Any sport where there is a desire to turn professional and collect enough money to buy your mother a new house has this issue. The NBA, however, always seems to lure young student athletes a little more, whether the league means to or not.

Of this year's 56 underclassmen, there are six that are trying to be the next high school sensations. Ten declared themselves eligible after only one year of college (did they unpack?). Seventeen declared after two years at an institution for higher education. But, almost more disturbing than the high school boys who are attempting the near impossible is the 23 college juniors who opted to depart empty handed (though some of them likely won't be empty handed for long). These 23 college kids needed only one more year of school to graduate. Stick it out.

Some of them may finish their college degrees, ala Shaquille O'Neal, who left LSU early, but graduated earlier this summer. Maybe even some of the high schoolers (if any get drafted) may earn a degree one day, like Kevin Garnett of Minnesota did despite being drafted after high school. This, however, is less likely.

We may all be to blame in this. I saw a McDonald's commercial last week that said something to the effect of, "thank you, Kobe Bryant, for being an inspiration to all of us," as he was walking and playing with a group of children. What? Bryant, despite being a very intelligent guy who speaks at least one foreign language fluently, opted for the Glam of the big time by passing up the college experience.

Well, he may be the best player in the NBA. He may be the next Michael Jordan. But that doesn't mean we should call him an "inspiration" to children. If we must idolize someone, try Dikembe Mutombo, who gives a large portion of his money and almost all of his spare time to the less fortunate (he speaks several languages).

I can assure you that not all six of the prep stars will be the next Bryant or Garnett. What then? See ya in school, I hope.

Amateur athletics and professional sports need a firm agreement that promotes college, not cash. Education, not endorsements. Diplomas, not dollars. Instead, some of these guys are going from Big Wheels to big deals.

One only needs to look at cnnsi.com's draft list of underclassmen for a summary. There, it lists a Texas Christian University junior who declared himself as one of the 56 eligible for the draft. His name? Edwin "Greedy" Daniels.

Keith Thomas is a senior in the School of Liberal Arts. He can be e-mailed at editor@purdueexponent.org

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