College Basketball Draft Rule

Hey! I was watching PTI (Pardon The Interruption) on ESPN, a great formatted show, where the hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon were discussing their opinion on the rule for college basketball players entering into the NBA Draft.

~I would propose a rule similar to that of baseball. The MLB Draft eligibility for baseball players according to http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/draftday/rules.jsp is:

• High school players, if they have graduated from high school and have not yet attended college or junior college;
• College players, from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or are at least 21 years old; and
• Junior college players, regardless of how many years of school they have completed

~I believe the rule for eligibility in regards to basketball players should be the same. Either you forgo college and go to the NBA straight from high school OR go to college and play at a minimum 3 seasons. The loophole in the equation is junior colleges, but any player worth his stuff would not go to the route of JUCO to face competition comparable to single-A Baseball.
~This rule would eliminate the "one and done" players like Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo who have no stake in the university nor reason to follow the rules ("gifts"). Players of those caliber are going NBA with or without a year of college experience. The temptation to overlook NCAA regulations is too high for coaches who search for any way to improve their name, to in return improve their location, job security, and/or pay grade.
~It will also have an effect on regular season games and especially march madness. The Regular Season wont be so dominated in record and polls by teams who are typically led by these "one and done" players. In regards to March Madness it shrinks the gap between 1st tier and 2nd tier reams. Creating a higher rate of Cinderella teams and as result (possibly more important) helps to increase the percentage of a chalk March Madness never happening again.

I believe the rule in its current state is not adequate enough. Just as the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) system is not an adequate way of determining the National Champion for College Football.

That's it for me on this subject. Tell me your opinion by leaving a comment (no account needed).