
{"id":11419,"date":"2010-07-09T05:49:24","date_gmt":"2010-07-09T13:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=11419"},"modified":"2010-07-09T05:51:21","modified_gmt":"2010-07-09T13:51:21","slug":"one-and-done-how-to-encourage-them-to-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2010\/07\/09\/one-and-done-how-to-encourage-them-to-stay\/","title":{"rendered":"One-and-done: how to encourage them to stay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Taylor Sisk<\/p>\n<p>A debate has commenced among UNC basketball fans, and even in the press, over the role P.J. Hairston, a dead-eye 6-foot-5-inch wing from Greensboro, will play in his freshman year at Carolina. The fact that Hairston isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t scheduled to arrive until the 2011-12 season hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hindered the speculation over his expected role, with the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153x\u00e2\u20ac\u009d factor being whether Harrison Barnes \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most sought-after high school recruit in this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s graduating class \u00e2\u20ac\u201c will stay in Chapel Hill for more than one year before continuing on to the NBA. Barnes is also a wing. If he stays, will there be enough minutes for Hairston? And if there aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, what will Hairston do?<\/p>\n<p>Among those who scrutinize the world of upper-echelon adolescent athletics (lord, if only offshore wells were half so diligently monitored), the smart money says Barnes splits campus after his freshman year. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one-and-done\u00e2\u20ac\u009d player, say those who consider themselves to be in the know. <\/p>\n<p>One-and-done, a much-heard term in college basketball these days, was the topic of a panel discussion at the 2010 Scholarly Conference on College Sport held in the spring at the William and Ida Friday Center in Chapel Hill.<\/p>\n<p>One-and-done refers to a 2006 NBA rule that stipulates that league draftees must be at least 19 years old and a year out of high school. Previously, players could enter the NBA immediately after high school. The rule doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mandate college, but most would-be NBA players see a year of NCAA ball as their best option, though a growing number are opting for a year of professional ball overseas instead.<\/p>\n<p>Gary Williams, head men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basketball coach at the University of Maryland, chooses not to recruit likely one-and-done players. Sitting on the Friday Center panel, he stated that with any player who says while being recruited that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leaving after one year, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to get a player who probably isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t interested in school, and this upsets the professors.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>But wait. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not Harrison Barnes. Barnes is an honor student and tutor, and widely acknowledged as a well-rounded kid. <\/p>\n<p>Still, why should he sit in a classroom if his dream, and his unique talent, is to play professional basketball? Why should Barnes not be allowed to embark on his chosen career straight out of high school? He can always pursue a college degree in the offseason.<\/p>\n<p>Michael McCann, a professor of law at the University of Vermont and legal analyst for Sports Illustrated magazine, told the Friday Center audience that of the 47 players who jumped from high school directly to the NBA between 1995 and 2005, prior to the minimum-age rule, the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153vast majority were drafted in the first round and they averaged more points, assists and rebounds per game than the average NBA player or the average player of any other age group in the NBA.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>NBA Commissioner David Stern acknowledges that the rule wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t implemented for the sake of collegiate athletics. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This is not about the NCAA,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Stern says,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d this is not an enforcement of some social program. This is a business decision by the NBA\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6. We like to see our players in competition after high school.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about building \u00e2\u20ac\u0153basketball maturity,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Stern says.<\/p>\n<p>And about building a brand. After playing a couple of nationally televised games a week through the regular season and then in front of much of the world as a commodity for March Madness, a top-tier talent is a celebrity by the time he hits the NBA, a brand that sells big. <\/p>\n<p>As for why the NCAA would prefer that 18-year-olds not be given the choice of entering the NBA, well, obviously, see above. A marquee player, in that one-and-done year, has helped secure a colossal TV package for his conference, generated millions of dollars of revenue for the networks and sold many thousands of jerseys with his name embroidered on the back- for which he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s earned nothing. The administrators of the NCAA would look even more favorably at an age-20 minimum (which they may get), since they argue that a player passing through for a single year makes a mockery of the otion of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153student-athlete.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the NCAA does a pretty good job of that all on its own. The only amateur aspect of revenue-generating collegiate athletics is that those who generate the revenues get no paycheck.<\/p>\n<p>The NCAA is understandably concerned about losing ever more players to the NBA. Which is why it needs to pay them.<\/p>\n<p>If Division I universities don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want athletes intent on only staying one year, they shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sign them. But if they want players who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll stay for a while, they should compensate them. Maybe the money is deferred until the athlete is out of school \u00e2\u20ac\u201c maybe some or all of it is even contingent on graduation, a contract, with a commitment from the university to educate the kid while he works on his game. But give the players some measure of what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re due. <\/p>\n<p>Very often from families of lower income than their fellow students, athletes aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t allowed even clothing or transportation allowances or work-study. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153So it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tough sell sometimes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Williams said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153when they see 18,000 people in a gym or the amount of money being talked about in TV contracts.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If there was a way to provide a stipend for these players while they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in school,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Williams added, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153where they could be more comfortable on a college campus,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d maybe they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be more likely to come and stay. <\/p>\n<p>That stipend might not make a difference in the decision process of a can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t-miss kid like Harrison Barnes. But there aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a whole lot of can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t\u00e2\u20ac\u201cmisses out there, and fewer than one in 100 Division I players will make it to the NBA.<\/p>\n<p>I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m talking a healthy stipend. The money\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s there.<\/p>\n<p>Former NCAA president Gene Corrigan offered another solution some years back. If a player has a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153market value to the NBA of $80 million over the next 10 years,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Corrigan said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153he should be allowed to make a deal with an NBA team, put the money into escrow, and go on with his education. Let the NBA cover his insurance.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nShane Lyons, associate compliance commissioner for the ACC, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a fan of the NBA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s age-19-minimum rule, but is even less enthusiastic about compensating college basketball players. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There is a place for that,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said at the Friday Center conference, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s called the NBA.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We are an amateur sports organization,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Lyons said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on the front of that jersey is more important to a collegiate fan than what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on the back of that jersey. If we start going down this road that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to pay athletes, we just became a minor league for the professional sports organizations.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nHmmm. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just became\u00e2\u20ac\u009d?<\/p>\n<p>It should be noted that Gary Williams is not alone among college basketball coaches in his antipathy for the age-19-minimum rule. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disruptive to continuity.<\/p>\n<p>Which is why many fans don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like it either. Those of us who would like to see a Tar Heel squad featuring, say, Zeller, Henson, Barnes, Bullock, McAdoo and Hairston \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a balance of freshman talent and experience \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that could make a deep run into the tournament, should encourage consideration of changes to the current arrangement.<\/p>\n<p>Taylor Sisk is managing editor of <em>The Carrboro Citizen<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If Division I universities don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want athletes intent on only staying one year, they shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sign them. But if they want players who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll stay for a while, they should compensate them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11419"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11421,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11419\/revisions\/11421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}