Would this get rid of the majority of the 1 and done or just the top few guys?
Silver's thought
"It may be the case that it's in all of our interests that we start impacting with these young players, especially because in our sport they are identified at such a young age," Silver said. "And begin working with them on their development then, not just basketball skills but increasingly there's a focus on their mental health, their diets, just helping them build character and all of the important values around the sport."
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the G-league option already whittled down a "top few guys" (or maybe rather "a few top guys"), this would bypass that entirely and probably take the top dozen or so players out of each recruiting class (or more, who knows). although the ability to secure NIL money might keep things more balanced than the last time high schoolers were going directly to the NBA, and NBA front offices have by and large gotten smarter. but i commented on this possibility just yesterday and it seems like that's the way the NB will be going
it's also worth noting that the change would need to be approved via collective bargaining with the NBAPA -- and the union probably doesn't have much of an interest in allowing high schoolers to jump to the pros the way the league does
This is just another example of how the NFL gets the best deal for the free farm system that is College Football.
Football players have NO option to bypass college if there realistically want to make it to the NFL. I know there are a few cases here an there, but all of the other major sports have a minor league or development league of some sort, while the NFL continues to benefit from the current model since they make the argument that these kids bodies are not mature enough to go right to pro football right out of high school.
end of rant
But let's be real, no 18 year old could play in the NFL. There's a reason most freshmen redshirt.
True, and most really can't play in MLB/NBA/NHL either, but those sports have either minor leagues or development leagues to feed into the top tier so there is an option other than going to play school. I think you even had a couple guys that went G league instead of to college that ended up as first round picks in the NBA draft this year.
The NFL benefits the most off of the college sports model for this reason. There is really not another realistic option for a player to make the NFL if they don't go to college. Sure, there are a few exceptions, but for the most part if you don't play in college you are not going to the NFL.
Amobi Okoye was 19.
Point being someone like him got three years of college before going pro
And as the 10th overall pick he racked up a whopping 16 sacks in 6 seasons. (Then got encephalitis and never appeared in a game again.)
Tremaine was also drafted at 19 but he turned 20 before appearing in a game.
Tremaine is also the youngest player to get an interception.
Personally I say go for it. It lets them go straight to the league and get paid real money more quickly. I also think it makes college basketball more interesting by getting rid of many of the one-and-done crowd. Teams will have to coach up talent more and it gives more guys who aren't guaranteed first-rounders a chance to shine.
I'm a strong believer in pro leagues allowing anyone to enter the draft. It also makes college sports better imo