Jumping from High School to the NBA
Ever since Kevin Garnett, a teenager who by-passed college, was drafted as the fifth overall pick in the 1995 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft, more and more high school teenagers have been making the jump straight to the pros. Since the league draft of 1995, 17 first round picks have been high school players. This means that about 7 percent of first round draft picks in the NBA have been high school teens skipping out on their college education to make the jump to the NBA (Chylinski).
Basketball players entering the draft out of high school have been on the minds of NBA Commissioner David Stern and basketball fans across the world for the past few years. For several years, Stern has wanted to establish a minimum age requirement of 20 for players jumping to the NBA, where currently high school players can enter the NBA draft the year of their high school graduation. However, the Player’s Association is unwilling to budge on the topic, which has caused Commissioner Stern to basically give up on his campaign (Chylinski).
The group of high school players that have made the decision to jump to the NBA has its share of impact players and duds. Of the 14 players, five of them who were selected prior to last year’s draft have a pro career scoring average of over ten points. Of the remaining nine players, one is no longer in the league. Although the other eight are not putting up big numbers, they all have great potential (Head to Head). While some of these players may develop into solid NBA players and some may not, this may be the same scenario for players with college or overseas experience. From which ever point of view a critic may look at the situation, making the jump h...
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...me cases, the flash and glamour of an NBA career is all too tempting to pass up.
There may be as many as five high schoolers taken in this year’s NBA Draft, and all of them are expected to go in the first round (Head to Head). Just another growing number that goes to show how increasing popular this trend is becoming amongst high schoolers across the nation.
Works Cited
Head to Head. “From High School to the NBA: Great Move or Bad Pass?” 15 Mar. 2004 <http://www.brainevent.com/be/TheNews/head_to_head/20010321/index_html>.
Chylinski, Patrick. Inside Hoops. “Preps to the Pros.” 3 July 2003. 16 Mar. 2004 <http://www.insidehoops.com/nba-from-prep-070303.shtml>.
Broussard, Chris. “Basketball: U.S. teen players now old pros at stardom.” The International Herald Tribune Online. 12 Dec. 2003. 16 Mar. 2004 <http:// www.iht.com/articles/121243.html>.
Michael Jordan, in his prime, was thought of as one of the greatest basketball champions of all time. A shooting guard, standing at six-six, Jordan was able to out play anyone in his position. He started his career at the University of North Carolina, where he helped his team win a national championship. He then was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984-85 season. While playing for the Bulls, Jordan received many awards such as, MVP, five championships, Olympic gold medals, slam dunk contests, and many more defensive and offensive awards. Jordan simply dominated the nineties and left the game as a NBA Finals winner in 1998.
“I 'm really not into selling the school,” Hoyt said. “I 'm not going to talk anyone into playing basketball for me. It needs to be a marriage. They need to want me as much as I want them, otherwise it won 't work. I am going to let them know why it 's a great place for them, and why it may, or may not be a good decision for them. But at the end of the day, I want them to make the best decision for themselves, because it 's a huge decision moving forward. I let them know that they are going to be looked after while they are here by not only myself, but the community as well. It will be difficult at times, but they will succeed. This place was designed for them to be successful.”
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...
European settlers first came to America in 1742 to start over and improve their life styles. It was mostly European settlers that originated America. They did not have a good enough chance to make good money or support there family in Europe so they moved to a new nation to start over or to get away from the war. This is what European basketball players are doing now coming to the NBA in America to improve on there basketball skills as well as make more money. The NBA is the best way for any basketball player to make the most money and to promote themselves.
Robinson, Mark D. Ph. D. “Every Black Kid Should Strive to Be a Professional Athlete”.
The early age entry rule, has been blamed for taking away the talent that made NCAA basketball popular over the last 40 years (Hughes, 2013). Recently many of the most talented basketball players have entered the NCAA with no intention of playing a second, third, or fourth year. The NBA permits players to be drafted at an age that many have considered is too young to live the lavish lifestyle of a professional player. This has been cause for the big debate of should the NBA change the eligibility to 20 years of age and two years removed from high school.
Did you know that there are roughly 550,000 male high school basketball players, 15,000 are good enough to make it to play college basketball, one third of that or 5,000 play well enough to make it to division I which is the highest in the NCAA basketball league, and only around 348 go on to play one game in the NBA. On the other hand there are rare cases of players having extraordinary talents and making the jump from high school basketball straight to NBA without any college experience. The debate on this topic is two sided, the first being that the jump from high school to the NBA should not be allowed and the second being that they should be able to do what they want.
The minimum wage was, as it should be, a living wage, for working men and women ... who are attempting to provide for their families, feed and clothe their children, heat their homes, [and] pay their mortgages. The cost-of-living inflation adjustment since 1981 would put the minimum wage at $4.79 today, instead of the $4.25 it will reach on April 1, 1991. That is a measure of how far we have failed the test of fairness to the working poor.” (Burkhauser 1)
When Michael Jordan was attending Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina nobody thought that he would ever turn out to be the player he is today let alone make it to the NBA. In fact, James Jordan, Michael’s father, actually thought that Michael’s best sport was baseball. His high school didn’t think he was so great at basketball either so they cut him from the varsity team when he was a sophomore.
eligible for the NBA draft; or in other words, if you have years of eligibility
“The odds of a high school basketball player making it to the “next level” to play college basketball (DI, II, or III) is slim. In fact, only 3.4% of high school players go on to play college basketball. Taking it even further, only 1.2% of college basketball players go on to get drafted in the NBA” (Winters, 2016). There are two types of players in the game. There are the kids who play basketball because they are athletic, and all they are seeking to gain is the recognition and awards. They want to be known. Those players are self-centered, they do not play for the team, and generally don’t play because they love the game. These are the types of players who don’t usually go on to play at the next level. On the other hand, there are the players that absolutely dedicate their life to the game of basketball just because they love the game. That is what coaches are looking for in a player, and that is the kind of player I am striving to be.
... room for adults to be playing a child’s game instead of going to school. If athletes want to play that bad because they feel that they are good enough then they have to make sacrifices. I am not against talented individuals playing professional sports but I am against those who do not obtain a degree and actually get something out of college before doing so. Written in an article published by USA Today “in 2009 that 78 percent of NFL players are bankrupt or facing serious financial stress within two years of ending their playing careers and that 60percent of NBA players are broke within five years of retiring from the game” (Wiles, 2012). Professional athletics is not all about fame and being filthy rich and this is something that young college students don’t understand. It is essential to better yourself and obtain a degree, there is more to life than just sports.
Today the federal minimum wage is $5.15, but should be about $8.50 if Congress had adjusted it for inflation over the past 35 years. While $5.15 may not seen that bad, when factoring in such variables as sky rocketing gas prices, budgets can get pretty tight. David Shepard, a sophomore at Wayne State University, worked at a Meijer Retail and Grocery Superstore for over two years while in high school. At the time Shepard lived with his parents and didn’t have to worry about paying rent or buying groceries, all that he had to pay for was filling up his gas tank and paying for his car insurance. Shepard recalled, “It was all I could do to pay for the basics like gas and bill’s, I barely had any money to have fun on the weekends”. This is only an example of a high school student that can nearly slip by on minimum wage with only a few expenses. There are 1.8 million people in America with children under the age of 18 that would benefit from an increase in minimum wage (Minimum).
LeBron James displayed the natural talent of an athlete at a young age, allowing him to attend the top school for basketball. In 2003, he was drafted to The Cleveland Cavaliers as a large forward, dominating at an early age. During that impressive season, James was awarded the NBA Rookie of the Year, breaking Cleveland history as the youngest player to accept this honor. At only twenty years old, James averaged over 20 points per game, slowly building his reputation. He continued to outshine every player in the NBA, averaging 30 points per game.
Sports programs have been an integral part of all schools. They support the academics of the school and therefore foster success in life. These programs are educational and help produce productive citizenship. They help students experience and build skills that may help them in their future, like interpersonal and time management skills. Education may kindle the light of knowledge, but sports help to maintain the proper physique. Sports are also an important means of entertainment and a use for energy after long hours of study. Sports increase a student’s performance not only in the classroom but also in their life.