NBA Hazard: In The League Too Soon

Posted by James Seaman on September 01, 2009

Exactly 35 years ago this past Saturday, Moses Malone became the first hoopster to sign a professional contract straight out of high school when he joined the Utah Stars of the ABA. Three and a half decades later, the waves of Malone’s landmark splash still ripple through the basketball world. While some of today’s top players never attended college, other youngsters made fatal moves by forgoing the collegiate ranks in pursuit of NBA dreams. Even with the league’s relatively recent rule change that American players must play at least one year of college ball, the influx of hopefuls trying to follow in Moses Malone’s footsteps has done significant harm to the game of basketball.

Malone played only one season in Salt Lake, but he left his mark on the stat sheet. The 19-year-old rookie averaged 18.8 points and 14.6 rebounds. Despite weighing just 215 pounds, Malone led the league with 455 offensive boards. Easily making the transition from the ABA to the NBA, the Virginia native became one of the greatest rebounders in basketball history. He also proved that a teenager could jump to the pros and have an immediate impact. Malone would lead the way for Kevin Garnet, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, and others. Unfortunately, these success stories can prove misleading and obscure the dangers of coming out too early.

C.J. Miles serves as the perfect example of an other-worldly talent who would have served himself well by playing college basketball. Aside from scoring 23.2 points per game as a junior, Miles averaged 11.2 rebounds. The slender left-hander would be hard pressed to grab 11 rebounds in a month with the Jazz. Therein lies the problem—kids like Miles prove so dominant in high school that they never have to learn how to be all-around, team basketball players. They don’t need to in high school because they can do everything better than their awkward, pimple-faced competition. It’s why the best high school athletes always play quarterback. Give the ball to that kid and get out of his way. But just like a gifted young person with an eye for design attends college to learn how to be an architect, talented athletes still need college experience so they can truly learn how to play the game. Sure, C.J. can shoot the lights out. But he doesn’t defend, rebound, throw assists, or move well without the ball.

Harsh words aside, don’t mistake this post an attempt to throw Miles under the bus. I want the guy to succeed, to fulfill his potential. He would have a better chance to do so if he’d played for the Texas Longhorns and seasoned himself in pressure-filled games against Kansas and Oklahoma. DeShawn Stevenson serves as a similar case but with one major difference—the Educational Testing Service red-flagged Stevenson’s sudden 700-point gain on the SAT, making him temporarily ineligible for NCAA competition. As a result, Stevenson broke Roy Williams’ heart—Williams called Stevenson “the best recruit ever”—and declared for the draft instead of enrolling at Kansas. Like Andre Miller at Utah, Stevenson could have been a Prop 48 had he been willing to sit out a year and concentrate on school. Instead, he bolted for the NBA and never truly fulfilled the greatness that his talent promised.

I would have liked to see C.J. Miles and DeShawn Stevenson play college basketball, not just so they could sharpen their respective games, but for my own selfish pleasure of wanting to enjoy college basketball. Unfortunately, the expansion of NBA rosters from 12 to 15 and the growth of the NBDL threaten to harm college basketball the way the minor leagues kill college baseball. Talented prospects have fewer incentives to play more than the single required year of college hoops when they can sign a professional contract as a 19-year-old. College basketball loses out when C.J. Miles elects to sit on a professional bench instead of adding to the madness of March.

Subsequently, the NBA suffers because it gets guys like J.R. Smith years before they have the maturity to play professional basketball. Coaches become father figures to teenagers who have never strayed far from home and must now make prudent decisions amid all the pressure and temptation of the NBA lifestyle. One year of college isn’t enough. I prefer the NFL rules which require draftees to wait three years after graduating high school. This makes college football more fun because you get to follow guys for at least three seasons. Simultaneously, raw talents get to hone their abilities in college so they can add to the quality of the pro game as soon as they enter the league. Sure, this would have meant waiting a few more years to watch LeBron James in the pros, but I certainly enjoyed following Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, and Dwayne Wade in college. Who wouldn’t have wanted to see LeBron battle Carmelo Anthony in the Final Four the way Magic once faced Bird?

35 years ago, Moses Malone set a precedent that Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett followed. But for every Rishard Lewis leading his team to the NBA Finals, a Robert Swift languishes on the sideline, wasting his talent and hiding his light instead of shining it for college basketball fans to admire. Gifted young players, hoops-loving fans, and the game of basketball itself suffer as a result.

9 Comments

Shaun B on September 01, 2009 said:

The players with real talent need to spend those young years with NBA coaches. Some players just don’t make it. Nothing to do with college, they are cry baby’s.

Boondock Saint on September 01, 2009 said:

Oh how true it is.

Derrick Daye on September 01, 2009 said:

@Shaun B. Please don’t make me clean up your comments. Insults will not be posted. Full opinions yes. Insults no.

Derrick

J R Stewart on September 01, 2009 said:

It has certainly decimated the college ranks and caused problems both ways.

I would like to see the rosters drop back down to 12 players and make that a maximum to suit up and travel. Then, allow a team 3 extra players which would play in the D League, no restrictions on who you rotate down or back. You still have the 12 game players and no healthy players in suits.

Jazzaholic

Joey on September 01, 2009 said:

I think they need to find a good balance of years to make players wait before they come in the league. I think if they moved the # of years to 3 or 4, a lot of players would just go to Europe for two years, which wouldn’t help College b-ball any. I like the 1 year rule and even a 2-year rule though. The 1st two years are just such a waste for most of the high-school to NBA guys. Even Kobe wasn’t that great his first year. I am fondly remembering a lot of airballs in the playoffs…

Joey on September 01, 2009 said:

I will say, though, that I do like the 15 man roster where 3 can be inactive. I HATED the “injury list” thing. It was a total crock and allowed dishonest teams to stash away prospects who happened to all have “tendinitis”. In fact, I remember that Jerry once called out the Blazers for having stashed away Bonzi Wells for awhile.

Mal on September 01, 2009 said:

Sometimes I’ve wondered if CJ is smart enough to pick up on the intricacies of NBA basketball. Not to be rude, but he doesn’t come across as very bright. I think he’s riding on the coat tails of his buddies right now–if Deron wasn’t so public about hanging with CJ and being his good buddy, I don’t think many Jazz fans would like him.

Linda on September 02, 2009 said:

James……I agree so much! The only problem is that almighty dollar and like another blog said, they will take off for Europe. I don’t know what the answer is or how the rule should read but it depends so much on the guys maturity in basketball. The problem there is that it is pretty hard to say “you are mature” and “you are not”. I think there are some great college coaches who do so much to get players ready for that big change to the NBA and the guys need that experience. I would love to watch players come up through the years and hope he ended up in a Jazz uniform. The money is so important that they just don’t stop and think at all.

JayD on September 11, 2009 said:

I think that they all should play at least 2-3 yrs , that gives them a chance to muture some .

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