One and Done Rule: Impact on College Basketball and NBA

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Last year thirteen college freshmen were selected in the first round of the NBA draft (ESPN). That is almost half of the first round. The “one and done rule” is a rule that requires players to be at least nineteen years old and have one year removed from high school to enter into the NBA draft (Rice). “One and dones” are becoming a big part of college basketball and the NBA. The past three years the number one and number two picks have been freshman. Major basketball programs like Kentucky and Duke have even shaped their teams around this concept. Top high school recruits are constantly playing college basketball for a year just to enter the NBA draft. The NBA has not made any effort to change this rule, even though many people believe it is …show more content…

The one and done rule is benefiting the NBA more than college, and because of this the NBA is not working towards a solution with the NCAA (Feinstein). Many college fans believe that it is taking the joy out of college basketball because fans only see the players for one year. College players do not stay long enough to make an impact on their college or create big rivalries with other players. Some people believe that the NBA should adopt the policy that the MLB has with their draft. This rule states that player can either leave to play professional baseball straight out of high school, or stay at least three years in college (Rice). The one and done rule should be abolished because it interferes with player …show more content…

The University of Kentucky (UK) and Duke University are two of the biggest programs in college basketball, and they focus mainly on one and dones. UK and Duke have had the top two recruiting classes for the past four years (ESPN). UK has had a top two recruiting class since 2009 (ESPN). These teams’ coaches, John Calipari and Mike Krzyzewski, both say that they oppose one and dones, yet they constantly recruit them for their basketball programs. Half of the ESPN Top Ten recruits have committed to either Kentucky or Duke, and another might be heading to one of the two colleges (ESPN). The idea of colleges having a roster for one year just to get a whole new one is no fun for fans or the players staying more than one year. Kentucky currently has thirty-six players in the NBA, with five players expected to enter the draft this year. NBA franchises are paying rookies so much that eleven franchises are valued over one billion dollars (Forbes). In some cases one and dones are not prepared for the NBA, but feel like they have no choice but to enter into the draft because of pressure put on them by family, coaches, and themselves. Greg Oden is an example of one of these players. He played basketball at Ohio State for a year before leaving for the NBA. He was the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, taken by the Trial Blazers,

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