Essay topics and research approaches

¶ … prep-to-pro' NBA draft

According to Brian Hindo's essay entitled "The NBA's Youth Squad," the drafting of high school age athletes by the National Basketball Association may be rapidly coming to an end. Hindo argues that the league will have to seriously consider bowing to public pressure and end its long-standing policy of drafting the most attractive high school draft 'picks,' before these students enter college, what is commonly called the 'prep to pro' recruitment drive (Hindo 2004). Early recruitment means that the high school students lose their eligibility to play as nonprofessional athletes in college, but can score multimillion dollar contracts -- before they are old enough to vote, in some cases.

Few high school prodigy basketball players can resist rejecting a guaranteed three-year contract worth more than $10 million just so they can play ball in college, especially if their ultimate dream is to turn 'pro' in the long run. But the changing, increasingly youthful face of basketball is not attractive to everyone. There is a fear of making it too tempting for a high school player to pass up a potentially good educational and vocational opportunity in college. The shift from high school to the pros for a teenager is often quite heady, as teens must deal with being around adult ballplayers on the road, and also the pressures justifying their stratospherically high salary to the team's fans and owners. For example, "Leon Smith, a Chicago high school star, attempted suicide shortly after being drafted in 1999 by the Dallas Mavericks" (Hindo, 2004).

However, despite this prominent example, Hindo argues that most draftees make good decisions to go pro, despite their youth, and the 'youth squad' of the NBA has done quite well. After all, these athletes are the top of the high school roster, not simply your average kid who likes shooting hoops. "Of the 22 drafted, only three aren't in the league anymore" (Hindo, 2004). After all, "teams draft on potential, usually investing years of training and millions of dollars in salary before preps develop into stars" (Hindo, 2004).

Moreover, it could be argued, what is the purpose of someone whose eyes are only focused on basketball attending a four-year or even two-year university that they could not hope to get into, if they were not basketball stars? Many college players with their eyes on NBA dreams put little effort into their classes, and instead hone their game rather than crack the books. The life of a world-class college athlete garners many perks, but no pay, other than tuition and a stipend. Contrast this with the millions of dollars NBA stars receive. Surely the professional salary commensurate with the arduous practice schedule and workload of a professional-quality ballplayer is a fairer trade-off then the payment offered by the NCAA-affiliated schools. At colleges with successful basketball teams, coaches earn hefty paychecks, universities watch their coffers swell with alumni contributions, and administrators see their school's prospective applicants grow increasingly more competitive academically, as the school garners publicity. The college basketball players get only glory and little else. What chance does someone with a shaky academic record have to succeed in college, when he or she does not have enough time to devote to classes as even the most talented of students?

Some of these teenage NBA draftees insist that college is still 'on the table,' despite the tempting offers: "I really want to go to college. I want to be a psychologist" (Hindo 2004) This seems like an argument to take such a choice away from teen draftees, and prohibit the NBA from recruiting straight from high school. But this is more rhetoric than reality, and although it could be argued that playing professional 'ball' leaves a player ill-prepared for job prospects in the real world, an even worse fate is to play college basketball for four years and leave with no degree, or to leave with a degree but few marketable skills -- and an empty bank account, and no NBA offers.

Ending the 'prep to pro' draft is not simply bad for professional basketball; it is also bad for the players, unless the 'shamaturism' of college-level basketball ends. March Madness is a multi-million dollar enterprise, but everyone profits -- colleges, coaches, networks, even alumni by their school's elevated name and more competitive admission standards -- except the boys sweating on the courts. Forcing the most talented high school athletes to turn away professional contracts would encourage further exploitation of student athletes, as they would have no recourse other than to become NCAA eligible to play at a competitive level. They might even get less heft scholarships as a result.