Will we soon learn about the Thon Maker Rule from the NCAA as the debate over the NBA draft eligibility rules rages on?
Maker used a loophole in the NCAA’s eligibility rule by skipping a year of college to attend a prep school in Canada awaiting his chance to enter the NBA draft. The draft-eligible rule requires prospects to be 19 years old the year of the draft and one year removed from high school.
Stories surfaced after Maker’s announcement that it could generate a wave of prospects foregoing an immediate college education, and the competition that goes with that, by going to a prep school and awaiting the opportunity to enter the draft.
One argument for a player doing this is to avoid the possibility of adversely affecting his draft stock by failing to meet his expectations as a freshman in college. Look at what happened to Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere. (pictured below left) His unproductive freshman season under John Calipari made him potentially drop from a lottery pick to a late first-round pick. Labissiere has hired an agent and will enter the draft despite being primarily a reserve for the Wildcats as a freshman.
Kansas’ Cheick Diallo (pictured above right) is another high-profile recruit who did not live up to his hype as a freshman with the Jayhawks. After taking a while to gain clearance from the NCAA and having to sit the first five games for receiving extra benefits, Diallo never found his niche with Bill Self’s system this season. He played only 202 minutes and sat on the bench in five of Kansas’ last seven games. Diallo has declared for the NBA draft but has not hired an agent. He has until May 25 to make a final decision after working out for scouts.
If Labissiere and Diallo took the same path as Maker, they may have a better draft stock this year.
NBA scouts should be knowledgeable and advanced enough in their craft to realize a player’s potential regardless. They can observe players like Labissiere and Diallo in the NBA scouting combine and gain some insight into a player’s worth, although live competition in front of the bright lights helps to get a better gauge.
What it all boils down to, with the direction Maker took, players are thinking more about their pro futures rather than their personal growth away from basketball. That is a dangerous side of one-and-dones and players avoiding college for a year that the NCAA and NBA should seriously care more about.
ESPN college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman recently tweeted that players should be allowed to transfer without losing a year of eligibility if their coach leaves for another program. “Only fair,” Goodman wrote.
Rule should be in place that kids can transfer and be eligible immediately following a coaching change. Only fair.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 18, 2016
Opposing views to his tweet suggested players are students first and pick the school, not the coach. In this era of one-and-dones and Maker and others using loopholes for the sake of the NBA draft, Goodman’s tweet carries a lot of weight. Similar to Maker’s situation, players like Brandon Jennings and Emmanuel Mudiay decided to play professionally overseas for one year before entering the NBA draft.
A remedy for this situation – call it the Thon Maker Rule – is to require a player who does not enter the NBA draft out of high school (yes, out of high school) to be at least 20 years old and be two years past his high school graduation date to be eligible for the NBA draft.
That will take care of the one-and-done controversy and it forces prospects like Maker to think about his education initially in addition to his playing career.
Players should be eligible for the NBA draft out of high school to avoid claims the athlete is losing his right for personal advancement. Baseball players are afforded that opportunity. For physical development reasons, the NFL draft-eligible rule makes sense that a player cannot enter the draft until after the third year out of high school.
Similar to the baseball rule recently adopted by the NCAA, under the proposed rule change in this article, a high school basketball player can gain consultant assistance from an agent but can’t hire one until it is certain the player is draft-worthy after working out and communicating with NBA scouting personnel. That means high school standouts can have until late May to test the NBA waters before making a sound decision.
The proposed two-years-and-done rule for basketball players here is one less than baseball’s three-year policy if a prospect decides to attend college, but it is within reason for a basketball standout to be prepared for the next level after two full seasons at the college level. Baseball could revisit its policy, but it seems little or no controversy exists for that time span.
The reality is these highly-touted players are thinking more about their future on the basketball court rather than off of it. The Thon Maker Rule as suggested here places more of an emphasis on a college education from the start with the ability to still pursue NBA dreams without having to play three or four years before entering the draft.
Some give and take will go a long way for all parties involved — the player with his sincere college education, the NCAA and the NBA.
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