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[QUOTE="cuse522, post: 2086496, member: 1149"]
It's in the NCAA's best interest to have players stick around at least two years, and it's in the NCAA's long-term best interest to allow teams to give players a stipend (aka salary) of some sort. The NCAA probably has a little more power here than people realize, and should be looking for creative solutions rather than ignoring the problem. I'm just spitballing here, but here's a random creative idea:

1. All players who commit on scholarship must stay out of the NBA Draft for two years or pay a hefty exit penalty.

2. From the end of a player's first year onward, schools will provide a stipend for offseason training/coaching/nutrition to all players who request it. Nobody employed by an NCAA school could be the trainer/coach/nutritionist, though, to avoid schools running their own offseason programs. The idea here is to close the gap between how much a player can improve in college and as a pro.

3. Players who come back for a third, fourth or fifth year can receive a stipend that is equal to 100%, 150% and 200% of the NBA D-League's maximum salary, as long as they remain in good academic standing. (That'd currently be 25K, 37.5K, 50K).

4. All players receive X% of money made directly off their likeness (jerseys, t-shirts, memorabilia, autographs, etc).

5. Players may use their own likeness to profit during the offseason (autographs, appearances, etc), or through approved vendors year-round.

Basically, you get more of a commitment from the players to start, enhance the benefits they get, and try to make the risk/reward relationship for leaving vs. staying a little different.
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