One and Done

                                               One and Done

               

In college sports there are many five star athletes that breakout in their first year of playing at a collegiate level.  Those athletes often leave college and pursue the pros, the reasons are infinite, but the main reason is money.  For instance, recently number one player in the country, Anthony Davis of the University of Kentucky chose to forgo his last three seasons in college and go straight to the NBA. But, don’t start thinking that this is unique, believe it or not, it is a common trend. There are many stars in the NBA who get paid millions of dollars that didn’t even go to college. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, and Lebron James had the physical skills as a high school player that allowed them to not only play in the NBA, but to excel in the NBA. The NBA commissioner David Stern has made a rule that all players in the United States must attend college for one year before going to the NBA. Stern created this rule to give players more time to mature physically, mentally, and emotionally. He also was helping the NCAA by allowing some of the best basketball talent a one year showcase. As a result of this rule, many players choose to go to school for their freshman year and then leave for the NBA. For instance, last year three freshman and two sophomores left Kentucky’s championship team for the NBA draft. This has caused outrage among true basketball fans because they miss an earlier time when the best players would graduate and stay in school for their four years. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney says, “If they want a living wage, let them go to the NBA.”  What you can pull away from all of this is that we live in a money driven world. Many of these kids want to make the big bucks, may it be for family or for their own purposes, money is the key. So, why do colleges want the one and done players if they will just leave after the first year? CBS recently paid the NCAA six billion over an eleven year span to broadcast the championship tournament , also known as March Madness. Legendary coach Rick Pitino of Louisville once stated, “People Pay to see greatness… If you don’t have marquee names, you don’t have yourself a great product.” Colleges are also interested in money and it is evident throughout all of the NCAA sports. Great players mean money, and apparently, that’s what everyone is looking for.