High schoolers initially suffer in NBA - NCAA

Dick Vitale
SPECIAL TO ESPN.COM


June 28, 2004

As I sat and watched the NBA draft last week, I kept hearing names of high
school players being picked early in the first round. There were eight high
schoolers chosen in the top 19 and college Player of the Year Jameer Nelson
went after all of them.

I fault the system, not these young men, for the influx of high schoolers
in the NBA. These guys are not ready for the rigors of an 82-game schedule
or the pressure of the pro lifestyle. They have not had enough time to
mature and they are missing out on enjoying the great time of college life.
Instead of being the big men on campus, they are often riding the pine in
the NBA, not getting much of a chance to improve their game.

I learned first hand as a coach in the NBA that it's very different in
terms of practice time to work on aspects of the game with these young
men. Due to travel and the long schedule, the pros have more shootarounds
and less time to actually work on improving.

I have said for a while now, and NBA commissioner David Stern, a man I
have a lot of respect for, agrees that there is a need for a 20-year old
age limit. I have heard the argument of LeBron James, but he was the
exception to the rule. Look at high schoolers like Kendrick Perkins,
Ndudi Ebi and Travis Outlaw. Yes, injuries played a small part too,
but none of these guys averaged five minutes a game or played as many
as 20 games in the NBA last season. Imagine if Perkins was at Memphis
learning from John Calipari, or Ebi at Arizona gaining knowledge from
Lute Olson. Outlaw could have worked every day with Lawrence Roberts at
Mississippi State.

Instead these high school kids rode the pine and did not get as much time
to improve. At least they were lucky enough to go in the first round. Think
about some of these names: D' Angelo Collins, Lenny Cooke and Korleone Young,
to name a few. They did not go in the first round, and in the case of Collins
and Cooke, they went undrafted and really became basketball vagabonds.

The draft is all about potential, and down the line in three years these
kids may prove to be valuable. Jermaine O'Neal averaged under five points
per game as a rookie and eventually matured.

For now, the NBA has very few impact players from the draft. At least one
thing, despite the loss of all of these high school stars, the college
ranks are very strong when you judge the returning talent. College
basketball is very healthy, thank you.


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