As a ball player, you eat, sleep, and dream basketball. It is every young players dream to make it to the league. But if they must go through elementary ball, high school and club ball, why are they not required now to go through the preparations of college basketball to make it to the league? It is of the utmost importance college basketball players stay in college for 5 reasons:
- Players need an education to live up to the “student athlete” title
It is commonly said that the student in student athlete comes first. 
College is set up to help basketball players reach their potential in basketball as well as outside of basketball. Many players do not realize what could happen to them if they do not get as far as they hope to in the league. Majority of players are not the next Lebron James, and will not be paid the millions upon millions they believe, and will end up needing the education they blew off in college. The economy is tough and even a bachelor’s degree isn’t getting people where they need to be, most people need a masters to get where they want to be. They are missing out on business skills, and other things that college classes teach. The fact of the matter is that if something doesn’t go their way, and they end up out of the league, they have no job opportunities, no career to fall back onto because they have no degree. While the urge to get into the league soon and not be forced into retirement is there, an education is the only way to fully be able to support a family in the future. Many players do not even make it to the “forced retirement” age anyways.
- They do not have the skill set yet.
Many people going into college do not have the experience to play at the higher level college, let alone in a professional league. To get to these high levels, one must be an expert at every position. It is not enough to be a great stand still shooter, or an awesome rebounder, posts must know how to handle the ball, and guards must know how to handle themselves in the paint. Many players aren’t cut out for this because they cannot truly capture all the positions and skills needed. High school students and club kids are not ready to jump right into the league, where most of the players have experience at the college level. Coaches at the college level are able to give great coaching advice, many even played in the league themselves. Skipping this step, is losing valuable coaching opportunities to gain skill sets in all areas.
- Many end up in leagues they never imagined.
“There are 6,717 players, who have been playing pro basketball overseas in the last 5 years.”
While this is a good thing, many players would rather play for their home countries, however teams are looking for the best players they can find. Many players forget to take into account that they are not very high up on the draft pick and forget that they may fall short to a player from overseas. While many players are happy with this, it is also not long term, sometimes they receive less money and it can be a very hard commitment. A player could end up in a foreign country, not understanding the language, missing their family, and unable to contact them, let alone see them regularly. This also is negative because when they do come back from this, their lack of educations leaves them forced to be put into jobs they do not enjoy because they do not have a degree, and lack of experience because of their time overseas.
- Going Broke
This is a huge reason that basketball players need to stay in school. Many are too attached to the dream, the idea of being a celebrity, the media gives too much power to athletes.
Worldwide all have the same dream, to be one of them, but they do not think of the price that comes with being a celebrity and it is a heavy one. The NBA is the difference between playing professionally, and being a millionaire. As wyattresearch.com suggests many players overspend for how little time they actually will spend in professional leagues. They think that just a few years will give them the money to live like a celebrity forever, but they spend too much in too little a period of time and never really gained the investment knowledge that college students do. Students need to get a degree before going pro, so when their career is over, they can get back on their feet and start a new career. Many students are wasting scholarships schools give them, when they should take advantage of it and get a degree.
- Maturing and becoming an adult
Males are not fully developed until their 20s, unlike girls who develop mainly in high school. Not only are their bodies not ready to take on players who are developed, but their minds are not ready yet to make that decision, or take the hit of concussions. Injuries are a big deal in the NBA and with the many games a season, the young bodies of 18, 19 and even 20 year olds really cannot take it. They have not had the experience in protecting their knees and other body parts from injury as the older players do. They are skipping the step that college players need and high schools do not show. In high school practices are easier, there is no weight training or education on protecting their bodies. In college there are more intense practices and games to resemble how it will be in the NBA. The NBA players are in games multiple times a week and one’s body cannot handle that straight out of high school. These college athletes need to let their bodies develop before trying to go out to the league.
For More information visit:
http://dailybruin.com/1998/10/28/athletes-should-stay-in-school/
http://coachgeorgeraveling.com/the-decision-to-stay-in-school-or-go-pro/
I agree with every one of these statements except for #2. I think college basketball players have a lot more skill than often given credit for, if not then they would not be playing at this level. College sports are taken very seriously and are extremely competitive depending on the university. If anything the pros would not hurt their skill level, or put them behind by any means, but instead enhance them and help them learn and strengthen their skill level even more. I am 100% on board with #1 though. I do believe everyone should take advantage on furthering and finishing an education outside of a sport in order to sustain a career path after their career in the pros finishes. #5 is huge as well. I do believe that individuals need to have a college experience of some sort to mature into an adult. I often see young adults becoming involved in the big leagues and losing sight of themselves in the process which is a very unfortunate occurrence. It is an honor and privilege to be apart of a professional team, and I do think you need to be mature in order to be apart of it.
Wow, I never really thought of the implications athletes would have if they left school too early to go pro. I agree with your perspective and article and think they should finish school before going pro!
very interesting article
I always wondered what the implications of leaving school early to go pro looked like and this article gave better insight into the repercussions of that choice. I shared this piece with my father, the resident sports lover in my household, and he thought you made some very good points. I don’t know much about sports, but you definitely made it easy to pick up on this.
I do believe athletes need an education as a back up.However, as a young individual that opportunity doesn’t come often so athletes feel pressure to take it.
I think there is a value for athletes staying in school, however for some of the elite athletes, the potential of getting hurt or some other catastrophic event happening and ruining their potential to make lots of money scares them in to going pro. Great article!