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[QUOTE="reedny, post: 2321987, member: 1423"]
Obviously (this is a college forum), I don't accept (and don't care to debate) your opinion that college is a waste. Just because a few 18 year kids would rather play basketball than go to class doesn't mean the amateur model is defunct. Not only will just about all of them benefit from the college experience by building their futures after sports, I think you're forgetting that: 1) at the HS level, education is compulsory (since 1918); and 2) collegiate athletes chose to attend college in the first place. No one forced them.

Currently the NBA has a 19/one-year from HS rule. But players can still go to Europe and get paid right out of HS. If good enough, they can return to the NBA. Therefore, for players with pro talent, under both systems -- the current one and the one I suggested -- college is a choice. All I'm suggesting is that we give them the choice earlier - right out of HS. If they're talented enough for NBA, Europe, whatever, they can go. But if they choose college, there should be no shams. Stay for a couple years, develop as a player and a young man and build something for life after hoops. That may come sooner than many think. I don't give a hoot how much TV money is involved. At the college level, we're doing young men -- and our educational system -- a disservice if we turn college into the D-League. That's the UK sham and I think it's despicable. If an 18 year old wants to play for pay, BOL. If he wants to go to college, he's making a wise decision, both for his sports skills and the rest of his life. Professionalizing college sports is a short-sighted notion.
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