From Boys to Men: More Kids Eye NBA
by Arthur Staple
Staff Correspondent

Teaneck, N.J. - Lenny Cooke guessed at the number of people
- reporters, Web site operators, fans - who asked the
19-year-old Brooklyn native whether he is going to turn pro
after his upcoming senior year of high school. "A hundred,
at least," he said. "Probably more."


Rest of the story is here, worth lookng at...

http://www.newsday.com/coverage/curr...day/nd3243.htm

Oh well....
 

Good read, Sparky.

I'm guessing that it is better for universities to have their top recruits turn pro right away, as opposed to taking a full ride and then leaving after a year, thereby, eliminating a scholarship for the university.

We go to college to make ourselves employable but some of those lads already have the skills, yo?

Is there a better life than life in college? Not in most cases, but clearly in some lives college just doesn't work.

mick

Re: Oh well....
 

Especially when in cases where it isn't even tried. :(

To each his own.

You can gab on and on about right to work laws and keeping someone from earning a living, but it has to stop somewhere.

You can not tell me a 17 year old High School Junior, can go 82 games against MEN. I don't care how big or how "skilled" they are, they will get chucked around for years. You don't think Malone or Shaq will "welcome" him to the league?

I like the idea I heard on ESPN the other day. Free agency occurs 7 years after you graduate HS. If you want to come out early, great, but your stuck for 7 years. Play college ball, and then you get to leave earlier. This way some team isn't stuck with the bill while a kid matures into a star for another team.

Yeah but...
 

My only argument there is that the team that drafts the kid knows that he'll become a free agent in 3 years, yet they draft them anyway. The two players that have most recently come directly out of high school and had an impact, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, are still with the same team that drafted them.

Re: Oh well....
 

That's pretty much what I get out of the article. There
are obviously *kids* out there who will be succesful,
even if succesful means getting picked in the first round
and sitting on the bench for 3 years with your guaranteed
contract & bonus money. It's kind of hard to tell a 17
year old that he's better off playing in college for free
when there's all this money being thrown at him today.
When the sh*t will hit the fan, IMO, is when some HS junior
gets drafted. Doesn't seem likely, but 10 years ago
did you ever think you would see the top 5 draft picks
dominated by HS seniors? The sad part is that instead
of kids gambling their *college* degree on big time sports,
they are now gambling their *HS* degree. We all know what
the odds are of making it, but each kid out there with a
dream thinks they will be the one.