Bunch of links, an uncertain amount of news.

1. SportingNews has a great interview with Darius Miller. He seems hopeful and excited for a new season. I guess that’s to be expected, but it’s still a pleasant read.

2. Oh look, Ricky Rubio is creating even more drama for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now, his former club DKV Joventut has traded him to FC Barcelona, so he won’t be playing in the states until 2011. I’m only upset about this because I think that ultimately he’ll be one of the biggest busts of the draft and I want to see that sooner rather than later.

3. Gregg Doyel writes about the Gillispie situation. Billy G was found driving drunk in Anderson County last week. The police officier claimined Billy G has a fruity scent. Now, Billy G has pled not guilty to charges of drunk driving. I agree with Doyel – on the one hand, Billy G is incredibly lucky this didn’t happen before Pitino and Memphis, but on the other Billy G will have a really hard time finding a job ever again. Three DUIs and suing your employer just look bad.

4. Sonny Vaccaro doesn’t like the NCAA and he makes it known that college basketball is not even remotely about “college” when it comes to recruiting. The big sell – NBA potential. I’m still working out how I feel about it. I value education strongly, but I don’t think that it’s for everyone. College provides opportunities in the form of classes, jobs, extra-curriculars and internships. Being an athlete might fit in with that.

5. Rich Rodriguez spoke out against allegations that he’s overworked his players. After members of the 2008 and 2009 teams came to the local newspaper and spoke under the condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, all hell broke loose. Rodriguez doesn’t want to be painted like Gillispie – a wonder until he takes the reigns at a storied program where he drives the program into the ground and breaks the souls of the players. Michigan had a losing season and missed a bowl game for the first time in 34 years. That’s really bad news. Now with these allegations, Rodriguez has to worry about losing control of the program.

Maybe you should see him before you judge him.  We allow golfers to go early and the Williams sisters went early.  Why not Jeremy Tyler?

Jeremy Tyler signs with Maccabi Haifa

By BERNIE WILSON, AP Sports Writer Aug 13, 12:33 am EDT

SAN DIEGO (AP)—Jeremy Tyler completed his jump from high school underclassman to pro basketball player on Wednesday when he signed a one-year, $140,000 contract with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League.

Tyler, 18, is the first American-born player to leave high school early to play basketball professionally overseas. The 6-foot-11, 260-pound Tyler announced in the spring that he was skipping his senior season at San Diego High because prep basketball had become boring.

“I think I made the right decision,” Tyler told The Associated Press on Wednesday evening. “I think this team is a good fit for me and it’s the right country.”

Tyler averaged 28.7 points during his junior season.

“I feel good. I feel blessed,” he said. “I got past the easy part. Now the hard part is to perform and show the world I got a contract for a reason. Now I can play against grown men.”

Do you even know where your high school diploma is?

There always has to be a first.  Going to Europe and getting paid is a smart idea.  How many guarantees to you have in life?  He is not guaranteed a career in the NBA, no matter how much talent he has.  It’s time to maximize on your skills NOW!

No guarantee of the NBA checks coming in....get money...

Tyler’s agent, former NBA point guard B.J. Armstrong, said several offers were carefully considered.

“It’s a huge step for him and his family and the things he’s about to get into,” Armstrong said. “The basketball will be the easiest part in this equation. Now he’s got to get things adjusted off the court to what a professional does, how he lives. It’ll be a challenge. The rest will take care of itself.”

Better to learn this lesson now, when the checks are coming in, then later, when you think that you are entitled, since people in college will be catering to your every needs.

Do you think that LeBron knew him before or after college..Wait, LBJ DIDN'T GO! But, World Wide Wes has his hands in all pots...

Sonny Vaccaro, the former shoe company executive who’s been advising Tyler and his family, said Maccabi Haifa is a good fit for several reasons.

“I think it’s a very good deal for Jeremy because it’s a good team, he’ll play, they speak English and he’ll learn there,” Vaccaro said. “The reason we did one year was because it will give Jeremy time to understand how hard it is to be a professional, then he’ll do whatever he wants to do next year.”

Vaccaro said Tyler had five other offers, including one from a team for more money, “but Jeremy, his family and I decided it was more important to have a chance of playing than making a couple extra dollars. If Jeremy is who he’s supposed to be, he’ll earn a lot of money in his lifetime.”

How is he going to get better playing against this? (no offense meant to the players he is playing against, but c’mon….

What is wrong with this?  Nothing…He can get a high school diploma anytime.  He can get that done while he is in Israel getting paid to play basketball.  Either he will have a good season, playing against men, or not. Let’s say that he finishes his senior year in SD, dominating against other preps.  What are his options then?  Either go the route he is currently going and play overseas, or got to college and play for some school who will be making money off you, but you will only get a scholarship.

If he is lucky, he can get this is he picks USC, right Erik?

A scholarship? I know some people are up in arms about turning down a free education.  But what people fail to realize is that college isn’t for everyone.  Get paid in something that you like to do and are good at doing.  He could flunk out/get kicked out, benched or get injured.  All of those routes lead to him not making a cent.  Couple that with the knowledge that scholarships are one year renewable, a coach could kick an injured dude off scholarship to get the next flavor of the month.

Well, mostly true, except for Dexter Manley of the Redskkins back in the day...

In early May, Tyler told The AP that he was tired of facing triple-teams, being hacked and being limited to playing the middle when he felt he had much more to his game.

“I was the best player in San Diego this year and it was boring. Next year, it would be extremely boring,” Tyler said then. “I’d go into the game with no enthusiasm.”

Tyler is expected to return to the United States when he becomes eligible for the 2011 NBA draft.

“My goal is to become one of the greatest,” Tyler said Wednesday.

Tyler said he likes that Israel is a small country and that the team has young talent that can develop.

Why are you stopping brotha man from thinking big.  He thinks that he is the best and now has the chance to prove it against men.  They are not going to give up and think about banging the homecoming queen.  They have kids to feed, drug habits to pay for and vices to satiate.

I was never fortunate enough to beat up the royal box, but it looks like this guy has it made....unless that is her father, and that would be sick.

“He has a tremendous upside,” said Andrew Wilson, a spokesman for American businessman Jeffrey Rosen, who owns Maccabi Haifa. “He’s definitely got a lot of talent and is hungry, and we’re an up-and-coming team, as the team has been in the Premier League only one year, so it seems like a very nice fit for us.”

Maccabi Haifa was promoted to the Premier League after a 10-year absence and earned its first appearance in both the Israeli Premier League championship game as well as the State Cup Finals. The team has re-signed forward Davon Jefferson of Southern Cal.

Maccabi Haifa opens its season on Oct. 25.

“Tyler’s size and natural talent will present matchup problems in our favor against other teams in Israel,” coach Avi Ashkenazi said in a statement. “We know Tyler is hungry to prove himself on the court. We look forward to him developing over the course of the season and improving our team.”

Wilson said Rosen bought the North American rights to Premier League games and plans to stream Maccabi Haifa games live on www.triangleinternet.tv as a way to promote the league in the United States.

So everyone wins.  He gets paid and can show what he can do, versus put money the pockets of the NCAA….Plus, he was going to Louisville…at least he won’t have Pitino in his ear…

This is the part where I say goodbye, so here it goes…

I chose to do this project because its deals with an issue that is timely and current. The NBA changed its age limit starting with the 2006 draft. Up until 2005, players could be drafted right after high school. The new rule made it so that players had to be one year removed from their high school graduation and 19 years of age to enter the draft. In my opinion, this rule change is discriminatory and prevents 18-year-olds, who are of course legal adults, from pursuing their professional careers and earning a living.

A big part of the reason why I chose to pursue this project was the pioneering move made by Brandon Jennings last year. Jennings failed to pass the entrance exam in order to attend college, and with the NBA not an option, he chose to skip school and sign with a pro team in Italy. Jennings played there for one season, made over $1 million dollars and entered the draft this year. He was taken with the 10^th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks. I find his story very interesting and it really makes me wonder why the NBA would be willing to let talented players like Jennings start their careers overseas. I truly believe that more and more players will do what Jennings did. Case in point, a San Diego standout named Jeremy Tyler is forgoing his senior year of high school to play in Europe for two seasons before entering the draft. What’s to stop even younger players from turning pro overseas and making good money?

This project matters because it deals with class; many of these players come from impoverished backgrounds. It deals with race; many of these players are African-American. Finally, it deals with education; many of the elite high school talents don’t really want to go to college, but only do so because of the NBA’s policy. This leads to three things: it makes a mockery out of college basketball, it severely hurts academic integrity, and it dramatically increases the chances of recruiting violations.

The number of “one-and-done” players hurts college basketball because it makes it very hard for programs to maintain continuity and sustain success, not to mention brings down the level of play. It also forces schools to think long and hard about the risks versus the rewards of taking on players who may attend for just one season. Academic integrity is hurt because “one-and-dones,” especially if they already know they’re declaring for the NBA, will only take their fall semester of classes seriously. The spring semester doesn’t matter because in their eyes, they’ll be in the league come summer. Even for players who leave for the NBA after their sophomore or junior seasons, very few end up making up the coursework to earn their degrees. In fact, four out of five retired NBA players (currently the average retirement age is 27) don’t have college degrees. When players don’t finish school, it hurts graduation rates among athletes and causes the loss of scholarships. Finally, perhaps the biggest drawback to players going to college who don’t really want to, are recruiting violations that can ruin a school’s program for many years. Two of the top NBA rookies from this past season, Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo, are at the center of NCAA investigations into improprieties at the schools they attended, Memphis and USC respectively. The number of violations and investigations will only rise as long as talented players are made to delay their professional careers by one year.

I hope that my project contributes to society by showing people how unfair the NBA was on changing a policy that had done just fine since 1971. That year, Spencer Haywood successfully sued the NBA for the right to play in the league without being four years removed from high school graduation, which was the policy at the time. After Haywood’s U.S. Supreme Court victory, high school players and college underclassmen were allowed to enter the NBA draft.

Clockwise are the Magic's Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard, the Cavaliers' LeBron James, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum, and the Nuggets' J.R. Smith. What do they have in common? All are key contributors on the NBA's final four teams from this past season and all entered the league directly from high school. (AP photos)

To be fair, there have been some colossal busts drafted directly out of high school. Further, some of the preps taken over the years lacked the emotional and physical maturity to truly succeed. However, the very same criticisms can be made of more experienced prospects. I would hope that my project helps people realize that if someone has the talent, they should be able to pursue whatever it is they excel at, no matter their age. If a 10-year-old is smart enough to gain admission to college, and a 90-year-old is still sharp enough to serve as the District Attorney for New York (Robert Morgenthau), then what’s the big fuss over an 18-year-old trying to play professional basketball?

The age limit should be done away with and the NBA should heed the passionate words of Sonny Vaccaro, one of my interview subjects for this project: “If the professional bodies, the pro teams themselves, don’t think these kids can do it, don’t draft them. Don’t employ them!”

***

It’s been a long and eventful summer but I’ve definitely enjoyed the ride. Here are links to the main parts of my project:

- From high school to the NBA: A photo gallery chronicling the history

- The history of high schoolers in the NBA: The impact preps have made on the league from 1946 to 2009

- The ‘godfather of basketball’: My interview and profile of Sonny Vaccaro

- Review of the last five NBA drafts: An analysis of the players selected from 2005, the last draft to allow entry to high schoolers, through to this year. Here are my findings:

• 2005 NBA draft
  
• 2006 NBA draft
  
• 2007 NBA draft
  
• 2008 NBA draft
  
• 2009 NBA draft

- Is a lawsuit on the NBA’s horizon?: Maurice Clarett challenged the NFL’s policy and lost. Will anyone take on the NBA’s age rule?

- How do other sports compare?: The entry policies for other professional leagues

- The Government vs. the NBA: Posts on lawmakers pressuring the league:

• Should it take an act of Congress?
• NBA gets defensive with Congress

- Domino No. 3: Latavious Williams seeks to follow Brandon Jennings and Jeremy Tyler as high school stars who bypass college to play overseas

- The 2009 NBA draft: I blogged the proceedings and analyzed the numbers of underclassmen taken

- Stories still to come (hopefully): Pieces of of this project that are works in progress, but if achieved, will enhance the assignment

With today being my soft deadline, the following three items are still being pursued:

1) An interview with Spencer Haywood, who made history in 1971. Haywood challenged in court the NBA’s rule that players had to be four years removed from high school. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor and he paved the way for scores of underclassmen to enter the NBA.

I have been in contact with Haywood here in the last week but our schedules have conflicted. I’m aiming to interview him and post our talk by next Friday, the hard deadline for any revisions on this project.

2) A Q&A via email with Brandon Jennings. If you’ve followed this project at all, then you know about the role Jennings has played. He became the first player to skip college to play in Europe for one season before being drafted into the NBA. Others are already following his lead.

Questions have been forwarded to Jennings’ agent and I’m hoping to hear back from him (with a little help from Sonny Vaccaro). Hopefully, I will have something by next Friday.

3) Email interviews with the athletic directors of two high-profile NCAA Division I program about how the NBA’s age limit impacts the college game. I also want to find out how their schools deal with recruiting potential “one-and-dones,” what changes they would advocate, and whether or not the feel that academic integrity is being compromised.

I am awaiting a response from one school’s A.D., while still trying to covince the other A.D. to talk to me. I’ll see what I can land by next Friday.

***

I hope to have at least some, if not all, of this material here in the next week and I want to thank everyone who read and followed my project throughout the summer!

The number of players who made the jump from high school basketball to the NBA without playing in college can be divided into four eras. Starting from Tony Kappen and Connie Simmons in 1946 through to Brandon Jennings here in 2009, prep stars have made an impact, both positive and negative, on the NBA. Let’s take a look at the history of preps-to-pros players:

PHOTO GALLERY: From High School to the NBA

1946-1962: In 1946, the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America (which became the NBA in 1949 after merging with the National Basketball League), Tony Kappen became the league’s first player without any college experience. Later that first season, Connie Simmons joined the Boston Celtics as a teammate of Kappen’s and became the second player in the BAA without college experience.

Kappen played just that one season and averaged 6.5 points per game. Simmons, however, enjoyed a 1o-year career and finished with averages of 9.8 points and 6.2 rebounds a game. He won championships with the Baltimore Bullets in 1948 and the Syracuse Nationals in 1955.

Joe Graboski was a contemporary of Kappen and Simmons and was the third NBA player without college experience. Graboski played in the league for 13 seasons and and finished with career averages of 11 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

***

PHOTO GALLERY: From High School to the NBA

1963-1994: In 1962, Reggie Harding became the first player to be drafted into the NBA directly from high school when his hometown Detroit Pistons took him in the fourth round. Harding, however, didn’t enter the league until the 1963-64 season. He averaged 9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in four NBA seasons. His career was cut short by drug addiction and off-court problems. Harding died in 1972 at the age of 30 after being shot at a Detroit intersection.

After Harding, another player didn’t go from high school to the NBA until 1976. Moses Malone signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Maryland in 1974 but changed his mind after the American Basketball Association’s Utah Stars drafted him that same year. Two years later, the ABA merged with the NBA and Malone played until 1995, enjoying a Hall-of-Fame career that resulted with one championship and three league MVP awards. He remains one of the most successful players to make the jump from high school.

Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby were two of Malone’s contemporaries, as both were taken in the 1975 NBA draft. Dawkins was the fifth overall pick and played until the 1988-89 season, but never fully lived up to expectations. He averaged 12 points per game for his career and his best remembered for being a ferocious dunker (video evidence below) who nicknamed his slams. Willoughby, the No. 19 pick in ‘75, had a journeyman career, playing for six teams in eight seasons and can probably be considered as the first prep-to-pro player to be a bust, strictly based on his high draft position. He became the last high school player drafted for the next 20 years.

No high school players were drafted from 1975 to 1995. However, there were several players who enrolled but never played in college before turning pro. Shawn Kemp was by far the most successful of this group of players. Kemp committed to the University of Kentucky in 1988 but never played for the Wildcats, leaving before the season started because of academic trouble. He enrolled at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, but arrived too late to be able to play. Kemp declared for the 1989 NBA draft and was taken by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 17th overall pick. He led the Sonics to the NBA Finals in 1996 and was a six-time All-Star during a 14-year career where he averaged 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

***

PHOTO GALLERY: From High School to the NBA

1995-2005: This decade saw the number of high school players drafted rise dramatically, which undoubtedly influenced the NBA in its decision to enforce an age limit. The era of drafting based on potential was ushered in by the Minnesota Timberwolves when they took 1995 USA TODAY national player of the year Kevin Garnett with the fifth overall pick. Garnett gradually developed into one of the NBA’s best players and turned the Timberwolves into a perennial playoff team. A 12-time All-Star, Garnett has won an MVP award and a Defensive Player of the Year award while being a regular honoree on the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams. He won his first NBA championship as a member of the Boston Celtics in 2008.

In the years following Garnett, the list of preps-to-pros drafted has its fair share of stars:

1996
- Kobe Bryant (No. 13)
- Jermaine O’Neal (No. 17)

Analysis: Bryant is arguably the NBA’s best player and has won four championships, two scoring titles, and one MVP award. He is an 11-time All-Star and a regular member of the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams. Though his career started slowly because he was on a talent-laden Trail Blazers team, O’Neal hasn’t been too shabby himself. He is a six-time All-Star and has a career scoring average of 14.3.

Class rating: The only preps taken in ‘96, both Bryant and O’Neal were well-worth their draft positions. Both have had embarrassing moments (Bryant with his sexual assault case and O’Neal for the role he played in the infamous 2004 brawl with fans in Detroit) but they’ve enjoyed a great amount of success. Two-for-two gives this class a 100% rate of success.

1997
- Tracy McGrady (No. 9)
- Stephen Jackson (No. 43)

Analysis: McGrady is a seven-time All-Star, has been named to seven All-NBA teams, has two scoring titles, and was named the league’s most improved player in 2001. Jackson averaged a career-high 20.7 points per game this past season and is a career 15.4 scorer.

Class rating: The biggest knock on McGrady has been his inability to win playoff series. In recent years he has also had to contend with injury problems. Jackson wasn’t ready when the Suns took him in ‘97 and didn’t make his NBA debut until 2000 with the Nets. He has stuck around and prospered despite seeing trouble away from the court. He was suspended 30 games by the NBA for his role in the same brawl with Pistons fans that O’Neal was involved in (see video below). That incident was followed in 2006 with Jackson being charged in a shooting after a fight broke out at an Indianapolis strip club. Since we’re not judging character here, but only what a player brings to the table, 1997 also gets a 100% rate of success.

1998
- Al Harrington (No. 25)
- Rashard Lewis (No. 32)

Analysis: Harrington has been solid with a career average of 13.8 points per game, including a career-high 20.7 with the Knicks last season. Lewis, though, has been the most successful of the three preps taken in ‘98. He is a two-time All-Star and averages 17 points a game for his career. The third prep taken that year was Korleone Young, at No. 40 overall by the Pistons.

Class rating: Harrington and Lewis are solid pros, if not borderline stars in the NBA. Young on the other hand, appeared in just three NBA games and if not for his lower draft position, would easily be considered one of the biggest busts among preps who tried to turn pro. Two out of three gives this class a 66.7% rate of success.

1999-2001

Analysis: Of the nine preps taken during this dry three-year stretch, none can really be considered to be among the upper echelon of NBA players. In 1999 we saw Jonathan Bender (No. 5) and Leon Smith (No. 29). In 2000 there was Darius Miles (No. 3) and DeShawn Stevenson (No. 23). Finally, in 2001, the five preps taken were Kwame Brown (the first prep to go No. 1), Tyson Chandler (No. 2), Eddy Curry (No. 4), DeSagana Diop (No. 8), and Ousmane Cisse (No. 46).

Class ratings: Bender never played a full 82-game season in an injury-plagued seven-year career, thus making him one of the biggest prep-to-pro busts. Smith didn’t actually play in the NBA until 2001, and even then only saw action in 15 games for the two seasons he was in the league. Behavioral and personal issues cut Smith’s career short. Miles has been OK, averaging 10.1 points per game for his career. He hasn’t played a full season since 2001-02 because of injuries and inconsistency, in addition to a variety of off-court problems. Stevenson has been a role player his entire career and has also seen his name on the police blotter. Brown remains the poster boy for high school players who were busts. Already with his fourth NBA team, his career average is just 7 points per game. Perhaps no other prep player was more unprepared for the NBA than Brown, as evidenced in this Washington Post piece. Chandler has carved a niche in the league as a rebounder and defender but hasn’t lived up to such a high draft position. The same can be said of Curry, who at 13.4 points per game is a solid scorer, but has struggled with conditioning and for someone who is 6-11, 285 lbs., he averages a paltry 5.3 rebounds per contest. Diop is a massive disappointment with a career average of just 2.1 points. Cisse never appeared in an NBA game.

This three-year stretch of bad draft picks caused heartache for many NBA owners and general managers. A lot of money was spent and very little was received in return. Perhaps nothing had a bigger influence on the NBA changing its policy than the disappointing return from these three years. Only because Chandler and Curry are serviceable starters, this three-draft class is two-for-nine for a 22.2% rate of success.

2002
- Amare Stoudemire (No. 9)

Analysis: Stoudemire was named the Rookie of the Year and is a four-time All-Star. He was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2007 and averages nearly a double-double for his career.

Class rating: Though he recently suffered a serious eye injury that will require the use of protective goggles, Stoudemire is a superb talent at power forward. Since he was the only prep taken in ‘02, the class gets a 100% rate of success.

2003
- LeBron James (No. 1)

Analysis: James (AP photo) won Rookie of the Year, a scoring title in 2008, and was named league MVP this past season. He is a five-time All-Star and regular honoree on All-NBA teams. Preps drafted with James were Travis Outlaw (No. 23), Ndudi Ebi (No. 26), Kendrick Perkins (No. 27), and James Lang (No. 48).

LeBron James, who appeared on magazine covers before he was a senior in high school, is probably the best example of a preps star who was ready to play in the NBA right away.

Class rating: James’ name comes up in every conversation about who’s the NBA’s best player and his top-pick status was definitely warranted. Ebi and Lang played in a combined 30 NBA games. Outlaw is an integral, if not spectacular, player for the Trail Blazers who has averaged double figures the last two seasons. Perkins, known more for his rebounding and defense than his scoring, won an NBA title with the Celtics in 2008 and is their starting center. James, Outlaw, and Perkins give this class three out of five for a 60% rate of success.

2004
- Dwight Howard (No. 1)
- Al Jefferson (No. 15)
- Josh Smith (No. 17)
- J.R. Smith (No. 18)

Analysis: Howard is a three-time All-Star and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year this past season. Jefferson’s scoring average has gone up with each season, including a career-high 23.1 this past year. The Smiths are double-figure scorers and play key roles on their respective teams. Joining this class were Shaun Livingston (No. 4), Robert Swift (No. 12), Sebastian Telfair (No. 13), and Dorell Wright (No. 19).

Class rating: Howard’s game gets better each year as he asserts his place as the NBA’s best center. Jefferson suffered an ACL injury that ended last season prematurely but should have many bright years ahead. The Smiths should continue to have value wherever their careers take them. Livingston has had an injury-marred career thus far and has averaged just 7.3 points per game, making him a bust thus far. Swift is an even bigger bust and has never played more than 47 games in one season. For a 7-1 center, his averages of 4.3 points and 3.9 rebounds don’t justify his high selection. Telfair has started his fair share of games but poor shooting and turnovers make him an average point guard at best. Wright was slowly showing signs of improvement but spent most of last season injured and remains a bit-part player for the Heat. This class hit on four of the eight picks so it gets a 50% rate of success.

2005
- Andrew Bynum (No. 10)
- Monta Ellis (No. 4)

For an in-depth summary on how the class of ‘05 turned out, read this earlier post. When healthy, Martell Webster (No. 6), Bynum, C.J. Miles (No. 34), and Ellis are starters for their teams. Louis Williams (No. 45) has averaged double-figures off the bench last two seasons and is primed to start for the 76ers this upcoming season while  Gerald Green (No. 18), Andray Blatche (No. 49) and Amir Johnson (No. 56) will need to show more. Thus, this class hit on five of the eight picks for a 62.5% rate of success.

***

PHOTO GALLERY: From High School to the NBA

2006 and beyond: Since the NBA changed its draft eligibility policy beginning with the 2006 draft, 26 of the 240 picks (or 10.8%)  in the last four drafts have been one-and-done players. If we count sophomores as underclassmen, which they are generally viewed as, then 58 of the 240 (24.2%) picks, or one out of every four have been spent on players with two or less years of college experience. The percentage would be even higher if we were to count foreign players, many of whom start playing professionally as teenagers.

One player did not figure into the above tallies. Who is he? Brandon Jennings, of course. The No. 10 pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in this year’s draft, Jennings opted to take a different path to the NBA, and one that many more players will consider in the future. After being unable to pass an entrance exam in order to play at the University of Arizona, Jennings decided to bypass college and play in Europe for one year before entering the NBA draft. He signed with Italian team Lottomatica Virtus Roma and made over $1 million during his one season abroad according to adviser Sonny Vaccaro.

Already, the ripple effect from Jennings’ move is being seen. Earlier this year, Jeremy Tyler, a standout from San Diego, announced that he was skipping his senior year of high school to play in Europe for two years before entering the NBA draft.  In July, Latavious Williams, a preps star from Humble, Texas, backed out of a scholarship to play at Memphis to announce that he too would pursue an opportunity to play overseas. This is only the beginning and the flow of American youngsters overseas will only continue until the NBA and NCAA confer and come up with an age policy that can benefit both their institutions and the talented players involved.

Congrats to Brandon Jennings on his historic journey to the Nba.  He landed the tenth pick in the draft but wasn’t even in attendance at Madison Square Garden because he wasn’t 100% positive that he would have been drafted that early.  He did show up in the arena a few picks later, which was pretty cool. He must have been around the corner waiting for the good word.

We last spoke of him here.

If this is your first time hearing about Mr. Jennings,  he’s basically the first American player to go from high school to the Nba via Europe. Meaning he totally bypassed the college system and Nba’s age requirement by going pro for a year in Italy.

He was advised by the infamous Sonny Vaccaro aka the man who advised MJ23 to go with Nike as well as many other blockbuster deals.

Mr. Vaccaro most recently co-signed Jeremy Tyler’s descison to forgo his senior year of high school and go pro in Europe! The future of players like Jennings and Tyler will decide what becomes of the age limitations.

Time will tell.

For John Paul “Sonny” Vaccaro, there are three things more important than anything else in life: “The God you believe in, your family, and earning a living.”

Vaccaro certainly made good on the last point, spending nearly three decades as a highly successful shoe company marketing executive and trusted adviser to some of the greatest basketball players ever seen.

The man who signed Michael Jordan to his first sneaker deal in 1984 and has served as a close confidant to the likes of Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and LeBron James, to name a few, stepped away from his professional career two years ago.

Vaccaro, however, remains an influential figure in basketball. With Vaccaro’s assistance, Brandon Jennings, a talented point guard from Compton, Calif., left to play professionally in Italy after high school last year, forgoing college altogether.

Earlier this year, Vaccaro gave the same blessing to Jeremy Tyler, a 17-year-old standout from San Diego. Tyler, though, is not just skipping college but also his senior year of high school.

The reason behind the pioneering moves made by Jennings and Tyler? The NBA’s 2005 collective bargaining agreement, which required that beginning with the 2006 draft all American players be at least 19 and a year removed from high school.

“In the easiest way to describe it, it was unfair. It wasn’t right because a precedent had been set very successfully in kids who do this,” says Vaccaro. “They don’t have the right to discriminate against your ability to earn a living. I just don’t believe that. Nobody. In any part of society.”

The precedent Vaccaro’s referring to is a 10-year period from 1995-2005 which saw many of the best high school players bypass college for the NBA. In total, 39 preps were drafted in that span, including stars such as Bryant, James, McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, Al Jefferson, Rashard Lewis, Jermaine O’Neal, and Amare Stoudemire.

Making his case

Vaccaro has his own theories as to why the NBA would enforce an age limit.

“I think the most important reason they did it was that David [Stern], the NBA, can save on the contracts. If you make it 18-plus-one, or any discriminatory age, you automatically delay the future contracts by two or three years,” says Vaccaro. “It’s the third contract that’s the $100 million contract, it’s not the first rookie-based contract. There’s only four years guaranteed and two of them are team options. It’s the delaying the paying of the money, and David Stern and the NBA and the players’ association realize that they can delay the entry level of these kids.”

Vaccaro thinks the change is squarely about the money. He points out that NBA teams can save by holding on to veteran players at mid-level, or even minimum-level salaries, rather than having to open up their wallets for talented younger players.

Vaccaro also bristles at the notion that high school players aren’t ready for the grind of the NBA. To prove his case, he refers to the Cavaliers, Lakers, Magic and Nuggets – the final four teams (hypothetically, the four best teams) in this year’s NBA playoffs. Cleveland’s James, Denver’s J.R. Smith, Los Angeles’ Bryant and Andrew Bynum, and Orlando’s Howard and Lewis – all key contributors to their teams – made the jump from high school.

“Six of the key players, six of them. And they’re not just players,” says Vaccaro excitedly. “So how do you in good faith argue the point that they weren’t ready?”

Sonny Vaccaro signed Michael Jordan to his first shoe deal.

If only it were that easy. For all the success stories, there have also been some colossal failures. Names like Jonathan Bender, Darius Miles, Kwame Brown, DeSagana Diop, Shaun Livingston, Robert Swift, and Martell Webster were all lottery picks that haven’t worked out. Others such as Korleone Young, Leon Smith, Ousmane Cisse, Ndudi Ebi, and James Lang barely even broke a sweat in the NBA or saw trouble off the court.

Still, Vaccaro thinks the blame should not rest on the players, successful or otherwise.

“If the professional bodies, the pro teams themselves, don’t think these kids can do it, don’t draft them. Don’t employ them! The thing that’s missing, and even to the public, is the very people who don’t want them to come play in their league, are the very people that draft them,” says Vaccaro.

Responding to criticism

In a May 12 USA Today story, Wally Renfro, an NCAA vice president and senior adviser to NCAA President Myles Brand, spoke negatively of Vaccaro.

“He helped create an environment in which the value of high school and college education has been diminished in the minds of many young basketball players,” Renfro told the newspaper.

When asked about Renfro’s comment, Vaccaro claimed a double standard.

“Wally Renfro’s group [the NCAA] took more money from shoe companies than any other organization in the history of corporate sponsorships. … If he thinks I did these things, then why did he not think I did these things in 1978 when we signed our first colleges?”

Indeed, Vaccaro was the first person to pay college basketball coaches for exclusive apparel deals. He later orchestrated similar agreements with the schools.

“So Wally’s blaming me, and I accept … I publicized and marketed the kids, I accept that. But I also want him to say in the same breathe, ‘Thank you Mr. Vaccaro and Nike for publicizing and marketing Maryland and Georgetown and North Carolina,’” says Vaccaro. “They all sell our products. We’re on their bookshelves, in their bookstores. They let me in the door! No matter who wants to say I demonized or didn’t demonize, it all got its start 30 years ago when they [the NCAA] took the money.”

The future

Vaccaro believes that the NBA will eventually lift the age requirement. If — as Jennings and Tyler have done — more players decide to play in Europe before gaining eligibility, Vaccaro thinks the league will have to react and come up with a resolution to its collective bargaining agreement.

“What Jeremy Tyler did is open the door to a wider spectrum of people. You know, now you’ve got 17-year-old kids who want to do it,” says Vaccaro.

The easy money is certainly hard to argue against. According to Vaccaro, Jennings made over $1 million in salary and endorsements during his one season playing in Italy. That is money “very hard for normal people with college educations to achieve with their degrees,” says Vaccaro.

The alternative is to go to college and become a ‘one-and-done’ player, or one that leaves for the NBA right after becoming eligible. There are a growing number of ‘one-and-done’ players and the ramifications of the NBA’s 2005 rule change are slowly becoming evident. Young NBA stars such as O.J. Mayo and Derrick Rose have been in the news recently for investigations of NCAA rule violations that have been black eyes for the basketball programs at Southern California and Memphis.

Vaccaro makes it very clear that he is not against youngsters getting their educations. For most of his clients, going to college to forward their basketball careers is the right decision. Only a very selective group of high school players is physically capable and talented enough to make the jump to the NBA. For the few preps that fit that description and come from humble means, the choice between going to college or turning pro is often very clear.

“How do they [critics] beat me up? How do they beat this whole system up? When someone can take themselves off of welfare basically and have money in the bank,” says Vaccaro. “Isn’t it interesting? These kids are doing it the right way; they’re trying to make a living with their talent. We’re talking about people capable of earning money legally — without resorting to any criminal activity!”

Here’s what’s on tap for the blog in the coming days and weeks:

- A feature on Sonny Vaccaro, the “godfather of basketball.” The former shoe company marketing executive and longtime influential basketball adviser is still going strong at 69. I was lucky enough to interview Vaccaro and get his honest, straightforward thoughts on the NBA draft policy and youth basketball.

- An analysis of the 2005 NBA draft, the final one in which high school players were allowed to be selected. I’ll take a look at how many preps were drafted and where they are now. I’ll also break down how many underclassmen (freshman and sophomores) were taken and what became of them. This will be the first in a series where I will look at every draft since 2005. In addition, I’ll go all the way back to Spencer Haywood’s lawsuit in 1971 and trace the progression of high schoolers in the draft.

- A piece on Haywood. Once I get in touch with him that is. At a minimum, Haywood should be able to provide some historical context.

Will Spencer Haywood agree to an interview? Stay tuned to find out!

- Live blogging and analysis of this year’s draft on June 25.

- Here are other interviews I’m contemplating or hopeful of doing and turning into featured pieces.  Some I chose because they’re unique to the subject, others because of their expertise, and still others based on mutual contacts that will hopefully pan out. Obviously I’ll add any other names if I feel like they’ll help the project.

Players
- Brandon Jennings
- Jeremy Tyler
- First-hand account (Any player(s) who made the jump, successful or not)

NBA sources
- Mavericks President and CEO Terdema Ussery (or anyone else in a team personnel position if I can’t get him)
- League spokesman

Miscellaneous
- Alan Milstein, lawyer who represented Maurice Clarett when he tried to sue his way into NFL
- Sports psychologist for insight on emotional, mental aspects of a high schooler or underclassmen making leap to NBA
- Sports doctor for insight on physical demands on a young body
- U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., who has sent letters to NBA urging it to eliminate the age requirement

Journalists
- Sports Illustrated’s Frank Deford
- USA Today NBA writer Chris Colston
- USA Today NBA Jon Saraceno
- USA Today columnist Christine Brennan

The wheeler-dealer who got Brandon Jennings to Italy out of high school is just as adamant that rising senior Jeremy Tyler has every right to do what he’s doing, the college basketball industry be damned:

“Why aren’t those people interested in the other 30 percent of kids in the state of California who don’t graduate high school? Why are they so concerned with one individual who won’t graduate right now, but who will be financially secure for the rest of his life.

“And let me take it a step farther. What if Shaun Livingston [who turned pro out of high school] would’ve gotten hurt at Duke and would’ve never been able to play again? By the grace of God, he got hurt when he was in the NBA, and so even if he hadn’t ever played again, he would’ve been financially secure for the rest of his life.

“People always talk about what happens if the players get hurt [in the pros without a college degree to fall back on]. I ask, what happens if they get hurt in college [and don't have the pro contract to fall back on]? We are so shortsighted that we forget the basic things in our existence are to be a good person and to financially take care of you and your family. Those are the two things. I don’t know what else there is, really. Be good and be self-sufficient.”

…and I am not just okay with it, but glad someone had the ability to stick up for themselves.

Its not just the players, its the cheerleaders too!

The age requirement is a racist piece of propaganda thrown on America and basketball fans by David Stern.  I wont go into the fact that other sports allow players to be drafted early,  but basketball and football lag behind. Chris Lawlor reports this story on ESPN.com

Now that Jeremy Tyler has fired his salvo, what’s next?

If you ask Sonny Vaccaro, the grassroots basketball guru, he’ll give you an earful.

It was Vaccaro, a longtime proponent of free enterprise for qualified, gifted teenagers, who helped the 6-foot-11 Tyler navigate the roiling waters en route to a professional career abroad.

Tyler, a junior who recently completed a tumultuous season at San Diego High School in California, announced earlier this week that he’ll bypass his final year of high school eligibility and college to pursue a pro career, likely in Europe.

“What’s he going to learn in high school? Going to a club team in say, Europe, would do him good,” Vaccaro said. “I’m ecstatic for Jeremy and his family. They are unified on this decision.”

I am glad that his parents are behind him in this decision.  Sorry makes all the arguments that you need to hear.  He is a genetic freak of nature.  If I could program computers better than anyone else, Apple, IBM/Lenovo, Cisco, Sun would all be in a bidding war to hire me, regardless of my age.  It is about skill.  Plus, why do we need to protect owners from themselves.  If they thingk that the player is not ready, there is a simple solution… DO NOT DRAFT HIM!

Tyler, the No. 7-rated player in the ESPNU Super 60 and one who committed to Louisville over Arizona, UCLA, North Carolina and USC, is a work in progress, but has a tremendous upside, according to his Scouts Inc. assessment. “Overall, [Jeremy] Tyler is an enormous talent that should project to the NBA level, but that all depends on him and being consistent in both effort and skill development,” Scouts Inc. wrote.

If I got a report like this, why waste time in HS being guarded by someone who is 6′4 or 6′5?  He needs to play against superior competition to improve his stock.

Okay, what happens if he fails/washes out/gets injured?

There are a few options.  1) Get a Lloyds of London type insurance policy. They insure almost everything.  2) You are getting a guaranteed contract from the European club.  You are going to make a million dollars at least in those two years.  Manage your money.  Going to class at school or college could get him hurt in a game.  This way, he is getting paid for it.

What about college?   He won’t have an education!

A lot of people do not go to college and are better off for it.  Quit perpetrating the  American dream ideology.  College is just not for everyone.  People need to find what they are good at, and what they enjoy.  This kid likes basketball, has a genetic predisposition for the game ( He is tall… 6′11, but I really bet he is 6′9 which is still very tall)

Plus, if he wants to go to college, he can either have his representation ask for that in the contract ( baseball players get it all the time for the team to pay for education…USA education stinks, need I remind you that, in Europe, they are kicking our behinds) or he is going to have enough loot to pay for it himself.

This is not even diving into the cultural aspect of it all.  He will be in Europe, living the life and learning how to become an adult.

And now with Brandon Jennings, we have a test case that worked…

Tyler is not the first player whom Vaccaro has advised. Last year guard Brandon Jennings of Compton, Calif., consulted with Vaccaro before heading to a pro career in Italy’s top-flight league. Jennings is considered a surefire lottery pick and is eligible for this year’s NBA draft.

Sonny Vaccaro is the godfather of the basketball advising.  He has been with most of the powerhouse athletic companies like Nike,  and he has all the connections to make it work.

As a junior, Tyler averaged 28.7 points for a team that underachieved, going 15-11. The season of discontent was marred when two San Diego High assistants were fired for their roles in an attempt to lure three key transfers to surround Tyler with talent. Eventually the three were ruled ineligible, leaving San Diego High void of talent.

So, the team that he plays for depends on him.  He has no talent around him and for that reason, the coaches attempted to recruit other talent.  While that works in college, not so much in HS.  The coach cheated to get others around him.  That is a problem that should be dealt with.  The creation of the faux-prep school is just another way of creating a basketball factory like Oak Hill and now Findley Prep. This is another reason to allow players to go straight to the NBA and support this (players going across the pond) happening.  If the players do not want to be in school, you should not force the.

[+] Enlarge

John Dunn/TSN/Icon SMI

Sonny Vaccaro has advised many budding pro players.

Tyler, 17, has been home schooled for the past month and intends to earn a high school diploma through correspondence classes.

“No question he’ll earn his diploma through GED,” said Vaccaro.

In 1998, coach Kevin Boyle of St. Patrick High (Elizabeth, N.J.) dealt with Al Harrington bypassing college for the NBA. When Boyle was reassured Harrington would go in the first round (he was selected by the Indiana Pacers), he made sure his star pupil earned his diploma.

“It’s a personal decision,” Boyle said. “After you get your diploma, you do what’s right for your family.”

However, Boyle thinks Tyler’s situation is “highly unique.”

“It’ll be interesting if European teams come after American junior or sophomore players who are special,” he said. “If they do, teams would have the players for two or three years and perhaps develop a relationship with them to keep them around longer.”

Azzam doesn’t feel Tyler’s decision will become a trend.

“This is a case-to-case basis,” he said.

So the kid will be going to class, getting his GED.  That is all he really needs.  if he wants some college later, he can get that.  You can go to college anywhere in the world with your computer.  I really hope that he does it and gives David Stern a big…

Sincerely, Dirk Nowitzki age 5

]]> http://grassrootsballin.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/678/ Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:25:49 +0000 Cj Watson http://grassrootsballin.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/678/

Jeremy Tyler (San Diego HS, CA) Class of 2010 Heading Overseas

This is a short clip of the top 5 prospect in the class of 2010 Jeremy Tyler. He has decided to forgo his senior year of high school to purse a professional career overseas.

Go checkout my article on www.Collegehoopsnet.com about Jeremy Tyler from the class of 2010.

We

Photo from BrandonJennings.net

Months ago, high school basketball phenom Brandon Jennings became the first American hoops talent to bypass college and play his mandatory year abroad (the NBA has a rule requiring Americans be out of high school for a year before they’re eligible for the draft). Keeping with the same ground-breaking mentality, it was announced Wednesday that Jennings passed up endorsement deals with Nike and Adidas to become the face of Under Armour’s new basketball line. The deal was negotiated by the legendary Sonny Vaccaro, who has worked with Adidas and Nike in the past. Jennings will wear Under Armour’s much-anticipated basketball shoe, which is scheduled to release in 2009.

In what will undoubtably be one of the most scrutinized decision in prep sports history, 5-star point guard and Arizona signee Brandon Jennings has decided to forgo his college eligibility to turn pro. . .in Europe. While most people have been speculating that the decision is based on his trouble achieving a high enough SAT score–met the requirement on his 2nd try, but the NCAA flagged it for being a suspiciously high increase from his 1st try and he is awaiting the results of his 3rd attempt–his family asserts they have been considering going to Europe for a while because of the NBA rule that American high school players cannot be drafted until 1 year after their high school class has graduated. Lute Olson appears to be less than thrilled with the decision and has stated he will not recruit anybody who would be a one-and-done player.

While Jennings probably isn’t the 1st American-born player to go straight from high school to an overseas professional league, he certainly is the first with legitimate NBA potential. It will be interesting to see how Jennings does as it will give us a better insight into high-level college basketball versus European pro ball.

On Thursday, Jennings signed with Pallacanestro Virtus Roma of the Italian league. The deal was negotiated by Sonny Vaccaro (surprise!) and is described as a “three-year, multimillion-dollar” contract with an option for a buyout if Jennings wishes to enter the NBA Draft. Vaccaro declined to go into detail about the financials, but I’m assuming Vaccaro is shrewd enough to make sure that the buyout isn’t significant enough to affect his client’s draft stock.

I’m not that familiar with European basketball outside of a few of the major powers, which Pallacanestro Virtus Roma definitely is not (last European League title came in 1984). However, it seems like Vaccaro has ensured that Jennings is in a position to succeed by placing him with an English-speaking coach and arranging for many other things including taking care of his family.

In order to study what could become a major turning point in college basketball (players skipping it to go overseas before the NBA), we will try to provide updates and analysis of Jennings and his performance along with an attempt to translate it into how it will affect his draft stock. In the meantime, if any of you are familiar with Italian league basketball share your knowledge with your fellow fans in the comment section.

Found this article from the NY Times that gives more insight into the groundbreaking decision that was made by high school talent, Brandon Jennings.

Open your eyes and get wise.

Brandon Jennings smiled Sunday afternoon when someone suggested that he might be considered a trendsetter.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Brandon Jennings may skip college.

If he makes good on a threat to go from high school to professional basketball in Europe, Jennings will become the first high school player to spurn college to go overseas and play professionally.

Trendsetting.

This is the latest — and most brilliant — plan yet to combat the three-tiered maneuver by the N.C.A.A., the N.B.A. and the players union to prevent talented high school players from going directly to the N.B.A.

The N.B.A. instituted an age limit of 19, and required that a player be at least a year removed from high school, as part of its collective bargaining agreement with the union. The N.C.A.A. didn’t protest, and why would it?

Under this arrangement, the great high school players have little choice but to do time in college for a season at a high-profile college. Kevin Love wound up at U.C.L.A., Michael Beasley at Kansas State, Derrick Rose at Memphis and O. J. Mayo at Southern California. All entered this week’s N.B.A. draft after one season in college.

Jennings, an 18-year-old from Los Angeles who played the last two seasons at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, signed a letter of intent to play at Arizona.

Jennings was pushed into action by the N.C.A.A. After doing poorly on his first standardized test, he did well on the second, but because of the difference in the scores, the testing service asked him to take the test a third time. He relented, but at that point Jennings decided that he was through with the N.C.A.A. Why jump through hoops to go to Arizona, endure the charade of an academic regimen, then switch into N.B.A. mode the instant the season is over?

The coach receives adulation, the university receives tournament money, the nonrevenue sports receive funding. What does an elite player get? An “extra benefit” could land the program on probation and have the player declared ineligible. You can’t say the player receives a free education because he is leaving after a year.

So Jennings surveyed the landscape and concluded it may make more sense to play professional basketball in Europe than to play semipro N.C.A.A. basketball free.

“It’ll be a good thing for the kids and a bad thing for the college coaches,” he said.

Jennings got the idea to go overseas when he heard Sonny Vaccaro discuss it on a radio program. “I told my mom that that was something we should look into, going overseas, it seems like a good idea,” said Jennings, who is playing in several tournaments in New York City this summer.

The prospect of recruiting great young N.B.A.-caliber stars may be compelling to European league teams that have mastered the techniques of the game but not necessarily how to play it with flair. They could learn much from players like Jennings, and Jennings would certainly learn from the older players, more than he would learn at Arizona.

“I think people just develop better over there,” he said. “You’re playing professional ball for a year, you’re playing against guys who are older than you. I’ll constantly be playing basketball 24-7. I don’t have to worry about school and things like that.”

On the surface, that sounds troubling. In reality, forcing talented players who otherwise would be drafted to spend a sham year in college does not advance higher education. The N.C.A.A., the N.B.A. and the union created a class of hired guns.

“For a person that plays ball, our dream is to get to the N.B.A.,” Jennings said. “College is like, O.K., we’ll do this one year, but our real mind-set is that we’re trying to get to the league, take care of our families. They’re making us do college so we feel like, Let’s do one year, go to class half the time.”

Jennings could play a role in redirecting the pipeline that carries N.B.A.-ready talent from high school to college, in which the best players are forced to mark time for a season. There are not many options.

What’ll it be: Spain or Paris, or Tucson? Being compensated —half a million to a million Euros, or receiving room, board, tuition and a telephone book of N.C.A.A. regulations?

He would come into the N.B.A. with money and maturity after having lived abroad for a season or two. This is true education, the kind of education an elite college basketball or football player will be hard pressed to receive inside forced study halls, where the primary objective is to stay eligible.

Which is the best choice? For a trendsetter, it’s pretty simple.

Link

We wanted to reflect on this before it got too stale.  Wednesday the NABC strongly recommended that the growing practice of college coaches targeting middle-school kids as prospects unconditionally end.  This is in light of the uproar that ensued in May when uber-recruiter Billy Gillispie at Kentucky received a verbal commitment from Michael Avery, a 6′4 eighth-grader from southern California who had not yet even picked a high school, much less a college.

Will This Kid Be Any Good in Four Years?

Gillispie took the brunt of the criticism in the national media, but he wasn’t the first or only coach who was using this questionable (but legal) strategy to ‘lock up’ young players who arguably have no idea what the concept of going to college means yet.  Anong others, Tim Floyd at USC and Bruce Weber (two mentions in one day!!) at Illinois have also made use of this practice.  The NABC, ironically led by Tubby Smith (the former UK coach who withstood increasingly harsh criticism, some legit, some not, based on his recruiting while in Lexington), asked all college coaches to hold off on offering scholarships or accepting commitments from prospects until mid-June after their sophomore year in high school, stating that younger players:

[They] have not yet displayed sufficient academic credentials or, in the vast majority of cases, basketball maturity to accurately project them as admissible students to the institution or impact players on the basketball team. [...] The academic and athletic profiles of these younger students are still very much works in progress. Coaches and athletes need to respect the process and allow development to occur in both areas prior to making commitments.

Already Committed to Maryland

While I often agree with and respect the reasoned discourse made by the esteemed Truzenzuzex at A Sea of Blue, the Kentucky blog of record as far as we’re concerned, we never could quite get over the smell test on this one.  Notwithstanding the arguments of caveat emptor and the lack of any enforceability of such early commitments, this whole situation just had a backroom feel of predatory extortion, an awkward taking advantage of kids (and parents) who may not know any better.  We view it as not dissimilar to the equally distasteful Sonny Vaccaro-bred fast-tracking of certain kids to certain schools based on implicit promises and subsequent shoe company representation.

Luckily, this may be a situation where coaches were doing it because they felt they needed to avoid a competitive disadvantage.  Now that the NABC has effectively disavowed this as a strategy (although it is still legal), coaches appear to be supportive of the line-drawing.  Billy Gillispie stated today:

I fully support anything the coaches’ leadership and governing body thinks is best for college basketball and high school-age basketball players.  It’s not like you’re not going to go out and evaluate young players. They’ve just strongly encouraged us not to seek a commitment, offer a scholarship, those kinds of things, which we definitely will adhere to.

What will be an interesting test of a coach shadiness factor (yeah you, Huggins, and you too, Gary) is to see who obliges the NABC with this directive to avoid recruiting the youngsters.  Nevertheless, we think this is ultimately a move in the right direction.

“Am I nuts?”  Former sneaker pitchman and basketball promoter Sonny Vaccaro wants answers.  How can the NCAA, the networks, the coaches and the athletic conferences all profit from big-time college athletics, while the players get nothing?  How can the NCAA and NBA keep a talented basketball player from earning a living off of his unique talents until the player has attended college for at least one year?  How can coaches sign lucrative contracts with sneaker companies and agree that all of their players will exclusively wear that particular brand of sneakers, while the players get nothing?  How can the NCAA and its member institutions take advantage of players under the guise of amateurism, while running a multi-million dollar business?  “Am I nuts?”

Last week, I attended the Columbia University Sports Ethics Symposium, which discussed the topic of amateurism in modern day sports.  The keynote speaker was Sonny Vaccaro.  Vaccaro has been an outspoken critic of the NCAA and NBA, particularly with respect to whether players should be forced to attend college before playing in the NBA, and whether players should profit from the money that they generate for their school and the NCAA.  

 After 5 minutes listening to him speak, there is little wonder why he has been a successful pitchman for Nike, Reebok and Adidas.  Vaccaro has energy, passion and charisma to spare.  To attempt to summarize Mr. Vaccaro’s speech – which excitedly jumped from topic to topic, criticizing everyone from the NCAA, college coaches, athletic directors, athletic conferences, etc., littered with the rhetorical question “Am I nuts?” - would be impossible.  But there two points that were particularly interesting in this far-reaching debate.

“When did it become the right of the NCAA to sell me into perpetuity?”  Vaccaro was highly critical of the NCAA, schools and the athletic conferences for selling the rights to broadcast games and selling DVDs of games.  Vaccaro points out that the NCAA, schools and conferences are profiting from these games, long after game is over and the players’ careers have ended  The players, of course, receive nothing. 

While Vaccaro advocates mainly for basketball players, I prefer to use an example from college football – Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie.  Flutie’s game winning touchdown pass against Miami in 1984 is replayed every football season; it has been incorporated into ESPN’s SportsCenter opening montage and is replayed on ESPN Classic seemingly every year.  Pontiac has used the highlight in connection with a marketing campaign built around college football.  According to Vaccaro, players like as Flutie  who actually authored this historic play, get nothing, while everyone else profits from the constant reruns, replays and other merchandising opportunities.

Vaccaro’s argument has some merit.  Maybe players shouldn’t become millionaires off broadcasting rights and DVD sales, but some compensation might be in order, even if some portion of the money was allocated to an insurance fund for former players.   Considering the plight of former NFL players, who have engaged in a well-publicized fight for better health benefits from the NFL Players Association, there might be a place for a health care fund for former college athletes in need.  One panelist, Gary Charles, had a creative idea to compensate players – an escrow fund available once players graduate, to give them a head start as they joining the working force.  As I understood it, this fund would not go to the top players who leave school early for the riches of professional sports, but to those who stay in school and graduate.  An interesting idea, and one that might alleviate the general discomfort with a “pay for play” system in collegiate athletics.   

“Why Should the Top 1% of players bear the burden for all other collegiate athletes?”  Vaccaro believes that the star players that create revenue for the schools should be compensated in some fashion.  A myriad of arguments have been made for either side.  But the question raises an important point in the conversation about amateurism.  The players for whom Vaccaro advocates constitute a very small percentage of collegiate athletes.  As commercial as big-time athletics have become, the system does allow for a school to maintain many other athletic teams and programs that are clearly not profitable.  As Notre Dame football might support the field hockey team, the Fairfield Science department might help support the American studies program.  This model allows colleges and universities to provide diverse opportunities for learning and competition that might otherwise be unavailable.  As flawed as the system might be, it works for most student-athletes.   Moreover, most Division I schools will tell you that their athletic programs are not profitable.

Vaccaro covered many other topics, but the pervasive theme was whether amateurism was an outdated concept in today’s sports world.  The answer is likely yes – amateurism is dead – but only for a very small percentage of schools and very few athletes, who are passing through college to prepare for a career in professional football or basketball.  The large majority of student athletes still exemplify the ideals of the amateur athlete.