Van Gundy says NBA age-limit is a “sham”
Five of the 10 starters in last night’s Game 4 skipped college altogether. In his pregame press conference, Stan Van Gundy says that the age-limit is a sham and blasted the NCAA.
Van Gundy was on a roll, decrying the NCAA as “the worst organization going,” and the NBA/NCAA’s one-and-done rule as “a sham,” telling the press that he doesn’t “understand how we got away with [the one-and-done] rule as a league.”
I’m not a fan of the age limit. I understand the goal — to make the NBA a more mature league and (hopefully) increase the quality of the product. But the one-and-done rule is hurting the college game, and it isn’t doing much for the NBA. High school players have a high rate of success in the NBA, so those that get drafted should be allowed to play straight out of high school. If a player doesn’t get drafted, then he should be allowed to attend college. Once he enrolls, he should have to play for a minimum of two years before making himself eligible for the draft again. Case closed.
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Posted in: College Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, NBA Finals
Tags: NBA age-limit, Stan Van Gundy
See what I have to say about the NBA’s one year rule.
http://www.playtowinthegame.com
The NCAA has nothing to do with that rule. Although I can certainly understand SVG immediately wanting to change the subject from his epically horrendous coaching performance in Game 4.
His blasting of the NCAA was a separate issue.
John,
Don’t miss the third benefit of the one-year rule: marketing purposes. Kevin Durant going pro after winning every college POY award is a bigger sell than Kevin Durant going pro from high school. I’m still convinced this is the main reason the NBA passed the one-year rule to begin with.
And I’ve always agreed with your proposal. If a player isn’t drafted out of high school, he should be allowed to go to college or elsewhere (like the D-League) for two years, at which time he can re-enter. I don’t know why Stern hasn’t considered this. It is up to the NCAA to let the undrafted players retain their eligibility… and we can never count on the NCAA to do something sensible like that.
Marketing is not something I had thought of, but you’re right, Durant entered the NBA with a much higher profile having played a season at Texas.
Stern originally wanted the age-limit to be 20, but compromised to 19 as part of the last CBA.