Tim Thomas rocking the pinstripes on Draft Day '97
As Ed noted in his Week in Review post, Michigan State's Coach, Tom Izzo, considered an offer to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers in part to escape the seediness of college recruiting caused by the NBA's 2005 "one-and-done" rule.
That rule requires players to be 19 years old and one year out of high school before they can play in the NBA." A dozen or so elite college freshmen each year, who would have gone straight to the NBA without the rule, frequently blow-off second-semester classes as freshmen because they know they’re going to leave anyway.
It seems Jay Wright is in favor of what they do in baseball. Players have an option to play professionally after high school, but if they make a commitment to a college, they should stay there for 2 or 3 years.
Wright noted,
There's two parts of that -- if they're good enough to be a pro out of high school, they should go. It gives that option. If you go to college, it's a commitment. The university is making a commitment to you to get an education, but you ought to give a commitment to the university.Even if you leave after three years, it's much easier to come back and finish college [and get a degree]. Most guys would do it eventually. When you leave after one year, it's really difficult.
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