High School Athletes Should Consider College Over the NBA

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In the last ten years many young and talented high school basketball players have chosen to enter the NBA draft. These 17 and 18 year olds decide to skip college, and instead they choose to take a big risk and enter the NBA, hoping to become stars and earn millions of dollars. In many cases, these youngsters’ careers are a failure because they don’t turn out as talented as they thought to be. They end up spending only a few seasons in the NBA because they are not good enough to compete at that level. Many of them have to move on to doing other things, such as playing basketball overseas, doing everyday jobs, or going back to college to earn a degree.

This essay will help you understand why making the jump from high school to the NBA is not good in most cases, and it will show you the benefits, for these kids, of going to college.

The Success Rate

Reggie Harding was the first high school player to make the jump from high school to the NBA, and he did this in 1963. He spent five mediocre seasons in the NBA and was never the special player that people thought he would have been. Since then, there have been around 40 high school players who have decided to skip college and declare for the NBA draft. The bulk of these players have come within the last seven to ten years. Out of these forty or so players, no more than ten have had a successful career. Last year seven high school players entered the NBA draft, and only one of those seven had a successful first season, and that was Lebron James (Smith).

Although many youngsters fail in the NBA, there are a few high school players who have had, or do have a successful career in the NBA. Some of these are, Moses Malone, Kobe Bryant, Tracey McGrady, and this year’s most valu...

... middle of paper ...

...arnett won’t give up as teammates change. 23 March 2001.

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Carter, Fred. Pros and cons of high schoolers going pro. 11April 2003.

ESPN NBA Online. 1 May 2004. <http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/carter_fred/.html>.

Hodge, Bill. Swift is 10th prep star to enter 2004 NBA Draft. 6 May 2004.

ESPN College Sports. 7 May 2004. <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/news/story?id=1796338>.

Lebron James Player Profile. NBA Media Ventures. 2004. 1 May 2004.

<http://www.nba.com/playerfile/lebron_james/>.

Smith, Sam. Hype over LeBron doesn’t match Alcindor’s. 22 July 2003. ESPN NBA.

7 May 2004. <http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/smith_sam/1475855.html>.

Tim Duncan Player Profile. NBA Media Ventures. 2004. 1 May 2004.

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