A New Proposal To Solve College Basketball’s One-And-Done Problem

(Photo via Jay Clark/East Carolina University)

From a player, coach and administrator point of view, few if any have more insight than Terry Holland about matters pertaining to college athletics, particularly basketball.

Holland, 74, has 20 years of coaching experience and is going on 26 years as an administrator, presently the athletic director emeritus at East Carolina University. He also played four years as a point guard at Davidson from 1961-64.

When I wrote an article two months ago about NBA draft eligibility for CollegeAD.com, Holland responded to me via e-mail with his ideas concerning what the eligibility cutoff should be for young student athletes to enter the draft. Presently, an athlete can enter the draft after one year of college or if he is 19 years old and a year removed from high school.

“The one-and-done model places the emphasis on using college to prepare for the NBA instead of preparing to be successful in the game of life,” Holland communicated to me.

My proposal included allowing players to enter the draft after high school, and if they decided to attend college, make it mandatory for them to stay in school two years. I called it the “Thon Maker Rule”, preventing players from skipping the college experience by attending a prep school for one year awaiting to become 19 years old and eligible for the draft under the current setup.

Maker, a 7’0″ and 220-pound player, opted to attend a prep school in Canada rather than enroll in a college. He hired an agent and has entered the NBA Draft, which takes place Thursday. Many draft analysts rate Maker a middle-first round talent.

 

Maker’s decision to forego the college experience may start a dangerous trend of athletes forsaking their college education with only the NBA in their thoughts as they attend a prep school.

You may ask, “What about the college education lost for those coming out of high school and directly entering the NBA draft?” As stated in my article in April, the process for high school seniors to make that life-altering decision will come after an extended period of scrutiny from scouts before they hire an agent. If a player is deemed capable to enter the NBA draft by people in the know, then he should be allowed to chase his dreams and attend college during the offseason.

“After 50-plus years a player, coach and AD, my vote would be to allow those high school graduates who wish to try the NBA out of high school to do so,” Holland agreed. “(The one and done model) is not the fault of the young men involved. It is our fault for allowing others to make rules restricting the options of these young men.

“We – the collective NCAA membership – should seriously consider making some rules of our own to allow these young men to have the opportunity to have a second chance to live the life of a college student while playing the game they love.”

Holland suggest a modification of the baseball rule, which allows prospects to choose between signing with a major league team out of high school or attending college for at least three years.

Holland’s revolutionary yet sensible proposal if the athlete chooses to play professionally out of high school places an emphasis on giving the young player another chance at competing at the collegiate level if the pro experience does not immediately go well.

“After their first professional season they would have the option to return to college and sit out for one year to regain their amateur status and regain eligibility to compete for four years at the college level,” Holland stated. “After their second professional season they would have the option to return to college, sit out for one year to regain amateur status and then have three years — instead of four — to play at the college level.

“This would provide a safety net for the young men who choose to try professional basketball after graduating from high school but who find trying to play professionally without the collegiate experience athletically and academically was a mistake.”

Holland understands the idea of allowing a player to play professionally and then grant him the ability to return to college to play is a concept that will not be welcomed by traditionalists.

“There may be a surprising number of people who will oppose this concept but it seems to be best way to provide the maximum reasonable number of opportunities for these young men to pursue the college experience,” Holland commented.

Holland is thinking foremost about enriching a young man’s life with a college education if that player’s pro aspirations come undone early in his career.

Five underclassmen selected in the second round of last year’s NBA draft never played in the league this season, landing in the D-League instead. Eleven early entrants who thought they would be drafted last year did not hear their name called in the two rounds.

The NCAA revised its eligibility rules this year to allow non-seniors to have more time to declare for the NBA draft after more involvement with NBA teams and scouting personnel. The NCAA has placed more of an emphasis where it should be, on the student-athlete, with this direction.

The NBA reported 117 early entrants filed early for the draft by late April. When the May 25 deadline came for these players to officially declare for the draft, 57 of them opted to return to school. That means 60 underclassmen are vying for the 60 available draft spots along with players who have exhausted their eligibility and international players.

Many of the early entrants will not get drafted once again and will embark on uncertain professional careers. Holland’s proposal would give these players another chance at the college experience and further their development in the classroom as well as on the basketball court. Nothing but a positive change comes from his proposal.