55 The One and Done Rule: A Need for Change Katie Streck, Gerald Masterson, PhD Missouri State University The One and Done Rule: A Need for Change In 2005, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the NBA Players Association passed a rule, which took effect in 2006-2007, mandates draft entrants must be a year out of high school and meet minimum age requirement of 19 before they are eligible for the NBA draft. (ncaa.org) The rule is commonly known as the one and done rule. NBA Commissioner, David Stern, passed the rule in order to protect the NBA veterans and prevent high school players who have been improperly advised on jumping straight to the league. However, the National Association of Collegiate Athletics (NCAA) had no input into the rule even though a player will most likely go through the NCAA in order to get to the NBA. Prior to the 2005 one and done rule, there were no age restrictions on NBA draft eligible players. While David Stern believed the one and done rule would make the basketball better, it has actually negatively affected not only the NBA, but also the NCAA student athletes and NCAA men s basketball. College academics are not for everyone, which is why people have the freedom to choose whether they want to go to college or enter the workforce. The one and done rule denies that freedom for young basketball players. Playing professional basketball is a job and a player who is capable of playing and earning a living doing so should not be denied that right. Players who know they will be in the league out of high school are less likely to be interested in attending college because they do not need the education in order to make a living for themselves.
56 Student-athletes are just what they sound like: student athletes. It does not mean athlete-student. Students are in school to get an education first and play sports second. The term student-athlete describes the direct balance of a full time student and a full time athlete. (Gerdy) One and done athletes are not in school to be student-athletes. They know they are there for one reason and one reason only, to serve their one year before going to the league. According to NCAA rules, eligibility for competition shall be determined based on satisfactory completion of six semester or six quarter hours of academic credit during the preceding regular academic term in which the student-athlete has been enrolled full time at any collegiate institution. (NCAA) So this means a basketball player is eligible to play by taking six credit hours in the fall and skip classes entirely in the spring and declare for the NBA draft when the season ends. NCAA rules allow basketball teams to practice up to 20 hours per week. Six hours of academics and 20 hours of basketball a week is not a direct balance between school and athletics. The one and done route is criticized by many academic establishments as making a mockery out of the classroom. Players may read a book now and then or show up for class once in a while only because they know they do not need the education and will be gone in a year. Every NCAA University has a Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), who serves as a faculty voice that ensures balance between academics and athletics for the benefit of the student-athlete. A lot of Faculty Athletic Representatives are opposed to the one and done rule because it takes the student out of student-athlete. Alan Hauser, president of the Faculty Athletics Representative Association and Faculty Athletics Representative at Appalachian State, says, A university is a place for education, not merely showing off athletic wares and then leaving. That has bad consequences for student-athletes and colleges. If players had to compete three or four years, they know they are going to have to do academic work to stay eligible. The rule, as it stands now,
57 does not do a whole lot of good for anyone. (Brady, Wieberg) An athlete will be more likely to attend class and do well in school if they know they will have to stay and be eligible for more than one year. If they are not interested in school then the freedom to play basektball should be available. Colleges and Universities understand some people would never get the opportunity to go to college unless they are outstanding athletes and earn scholarships. However, they embrace the student-athletes who really want to pursue an education and somewhat frown upon those who will be there for one year and then jet. They want their univeristies to have a high graduation rate and want those who will achieve that objective. Ohio State s Faculty Athletics Representative, John Bruno, is frustrated with the one and done rule because you know that there is a real good chance that the student-athlete is not going to take full advantage of the college opportunity. (Katz) He also says, Maybe it is almost better if they did not enroll at all. (Katz) Academic professionals jobs are to teach and they are frustrated when students take advantage of them and make a mockery of them. Many college programs have been affected by the one and done rule. College coaches get paid the big money to recruit and build and maintain programs. One and done players are usually the highest recruited athletes out of high school and coaches are going to pursue them. However, one and done players are not beneficial in building or maintaning a program. A coach works hard and puts his time and effort into recruiting the best players when in the end it is not helping build or maintain his program. The more coaches win, the more they get paid. Depending on the school, coaches can receive championship bonuses worth anywhere between $50,000 and $500,000. So if coaches receive bonuses for winning championships, why wouldn t they want to build a program that consistently wins? And that is why many coaches are fed up with the one and
58 done rule. Former Arizona coach, Lute Olson, would not even recruit one and done players because he felt it would only result in disaster. We said at the time it d be a disaster, that agents would be swarming all over not only over these kids, but their parents- telling them the kid needed to score a ton of points in the one year and get out, Olson said in 2005 when the NBA was implementing the new rules. (ESPN.com) Ohio State University is one of the most affected programs by the one and done rule. The Buckeyes have had at least one freshman leave every year since the rule has been in affect. During the 2006-2007 season, the Buckeyes made it to the NCAA national championship game with Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and Daequan Cook, all one and done players. Since then, the Buckeyes have not made it past the first round of the tournament the following two years. Also, Kosta Koufos left after his freshman year in 2008 and BJ Mullens left after one year in 2009. Ohio State was hit with an academic setback that led to a reduction of scholarships after one and done players; Greg Oden and Kosta Koufos departed for the NBA and failed to complete third-quarter course work. (Garcia) Consequently, the team s Academic Progress Rate (APR) slipped, and the team had to forfeit two scholarships. How is Coach Thad Matta supposed to build a program when his recruits leave and leave with violations? Not only have coaches been unable to build programs with one and done players, but some programs have been damaged because of one and done players. The University at Southern California (USC) took a risk on a big time high school player named O.J. Mayo who was a definite NBA player out of high school. But because of the one and done rule he had to attend college for at least one year. USC coach, Tim Floyd, did anything and everything to get Mayo to attend USC for one year. He did not care about the big red flag that was waving in front of his face when runners (middlemen between athletes and sports agents)
59 were hanging around with Mayo. He recruited Mayo at all costs and the USC program is now paying for it. Louis Johnson, who was a part of Mayo's inner circle, said Mayo accepted around $30,000 in cash and gifts during the past four years from Rodney Guillory, a 43-year-old Los Angeles event promoter. In addition to cash, the gifts included a flat-screen television for Mayo's dorm room, cell phone service, a hotel room, clothes, meals and airline tickets for Mayo's friends and a relative, according to Johnson and others with knowledge of the gifts and store receipts. (Naqi) In return for these gifts and benefits, Mayo verbally agreed he would use Bill Duffy and Associates once he turned professional. All these benefits are major NCAA violations and USC sanctioned itself by placing a ban on postseason competition this season, including the Pacific-10 conference tournament; a reduction of two scholarships, plus other recruiting limitations, and the forfeiture of all victories during the 2007-08 season, Mayo's one year at USC. (Moore) USC will now be building up from the bottom because of Mayo a one and done player who would have never made the stop at USC if it weren t for the one and done rule. Not only is the one and done rule affecting college programs, but the NBA is starting to feel the affects. Brandon Jennings, a projected NBA first-rounder out of high school, decided to take a different route. Because of academic questions, Jennings decided to bypass SAT and ACT tests and take an all-expense paid vacation to Europe that included a six-figure salary. Rather than waste everybody s time, Jennings decided to take his year in between high school and the NBA over to Europe and play professionally for a year. And how can you blame him? Jennings is meant to play basketball. European leagues are now very enticing to young men who wish to play professionally out of high school. Players are eligible for the NBA draft after one year of playing overseas. The NBA is risking American players developing and staying in the European leagues. The
60 rest of the world is starting to catch up to American basketball and the NBA cannot afford to lose the best American players to European leagues. Imagine LeBron James or Kobe Bryant taking their games overseas because the NBA thought they were not ready to make the jump to the NBA and staying over there. Imagine what the NBA would be today without those superstars. We want the best American talent to stay in the United States and hopefully David Stern will take a deep look at the rule and consider a change due to Jennings approach. Once high caliber players see they can make six-figures playing overseas they might prefer that option instead of playing one year in college and not make a dime. One player has gone as far as to leaving high school early in order to play overseas. Jeremy Tyler, considered the best American big man since Greg Oden, left his high school in April 2009 to play professionally in Europe. He is expected to return in another year and head to the NBA. He could be the pioneer for other elite high school basketball players to follow. Sonny Vaccaro, a former sneaker company executive, is quoted as saying, It s significant because it shows the curiosity for the American player just refusing to accept what he s told he has to do. We are getting closer to the European reality of a professional at a young age. Basically, Jeremy is saying, why do I have to go to high school or college? (Thamel) Some players may take this route and come back to the NBA after they are 19 but there may be some who do not decide to come back, and who knows those players could have been the next LeBron James or Kobe Bryant s. The Commissoner and the Player s Assocaiton need to look into changing the one and done rule or the NBA will feel the affects. The current collective bargaining agreement expires in 2011 and Stern will reconsider the rule. Other professional leagues have had success with their draft rules. The National Football League s (NFL) draft rule states that a player must be out of high school for at least three years. Most players go to college for at least
61 three years and then go to the draft. This allows for students to be student-athletes. Players must go to class and do well in order to stay academically eligible. Players know if they are not academically eligible then they won t be athletically eligible. And football is different then basketball because football players need to go to college and get physically bigger before they go to the NFL, so the three years in college are necessary. Football players are not physically ready out of high school whereas basketball players can be ready out of high school. This is a better rule for the student-athlete but still does not give the athlete an option of going straight from high school to the NBA. The Major League Baseball (MLB) draft is a good model to fit the NBA s needs. MLB draft eligible players are high school players, if they have graduated from high school and have not yet attended college or junior college, college players, from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or at least 21 years old, and junior college players, regardless of how many years of school they have completed. (MLB.com) This is the best of both worlds, the high school athlete has the freedom to go straight from high school to the draft and it also requires a student to be a student-athlete if they go to college. The player has the freedom to choose what he wants to do. The MLB has a strong minor league system and the NBA is starting to follow suit with the NBA Developmental League. If the athlete chooses to go to the league right out of high school and doesn t make it to the NBA they can go to the Developmental League and work their way up, the decision is theirs. However, if they decide to take the college route they are there for two reasons and not just one: to be a student and an athlete. The athlete must meet the same academic standards as any athlete- no special expectations just because they are the star basketball player. Also, three years in college will give them a better advantage athletically then only staying one year. The athlete can develop more physically and mentally during his time in
62 college. College programs really work athletes hard in the weight room and more time with that kind of program can only help the athlete mature and prepare for the next level. The MLB draft has proven to be effective and has the highest percentage of high school and college players making it professionally. As of 2009, the percent of NCAA college athletes that play professionally in baseball are 8.9%. Whereas men s basketball is 1.2%, women s basketball 0.9%, football 1.8%, men s ice hockey 3.7% and men s soccer 1.6%. (NCAA) The percent of high school athletes to play professionally in baseball are 0.44%. (NCAA) No other sports compare because high school athletes are banned from going straight from high school to the pros. The MLB draft is a great model for the NBA to imitate because it gives the players freedom to choose, helps shape the studentathlete, and gives coaches the opportunities to build college programs. The NBA s one and done rule has been criticized by many and nothing has been done about it. Upon it s expiration, David Stern will take into consideration the concerns and hopefully take into consideration not only the NBA but also the NCAA. Other professional leagues have come up with ways to give the athlete a choice and their leagues have done just fine. There is no reason why the NBA cannot follow suit and come up with a similar rule to those of the NFL or MLB. We live in a country where we have freedoms to choose whether we want to work or go to school and the NBA s one and done rule takes that freedom away. Bibliography Brady, Erik, & Wieberg, Steve. (May 14, 2008). Merits of One-and-Done Rule in NBA Face Fresh Scrutiny. Retrieved February 3, 2010. From USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2008-05-14- nbadraft- freshmen_n.htm
63 Espn.com News Services. (July 11, 2008). Olson Won t Pursue One-and Done Players at Arizona, Report Says. Retrieved March 1, 2010. From ESPN.com: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3483221 First-Year Player Draft. (2001). Official Rules. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/draftday/rules.jsp Gerdy R. John. Sports in School the Future of an Institution. Teachers College Press, 2000. Katz, Andy. (May 13, 2008). One-and Dones have Low Academic Requirements Too. Retrieved February 3, 2010. From ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=339 347 0 Garcia, Marlen. (June 5, 2009). One-and-Done Players Leave Behind a Mess for Colleges. Retrieved March 1, 2010. From USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2009-06-05- freshmen-cover_n.htm Moore, David Leon. (January 4, 2010). USC Penalizes Self in O.J. Mayo Basketball Recruiting Violations. Retrieved March 2, 2010. From USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/pac10/2010-01-03- usc-sanctions_n.htm NCAA Membership Services Staff. (2009) 2009-2010 NCAA Division I Manual. Eligibility for Competition (pg 149). Indianapolis, IN.
64 National Collegiate Athletic Association. (2010) Details on NBA Age Rule. Retrieved March 1, 2010. http://www.ncaa.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Estimated Probability of Competing in Athletics Beyond the High School Interscholastic Level. Retrieved February 3, 2010. From NCAA.org. http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?wcm_global_context=/ wps/w cm/connect/ncaa/ncaa/academics%20and%20athletes/education%20and %20R esearch/probability%20of%20competing/ Naqi, Kelly. (May 13, 2008). OTL Probe: Mayo Received Money, Perks from Agent Reps. Retrieved March 1, 2010. From ESPN.com: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3389049 Thamel, Pete. (April 23, 2009). Basketball Prospect Leaving High School to Play in Europe. Retrieved March 2, 2010. From The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/sports/ncaabasketball/23prospect.html
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