Thank you, NBA!

I would personally like to thank the National Basketball Association for making college basketball more exciting. The recently proposed rule imposing an age limit in the NBA has practically forced certain players to remain in school rather than leap to the NBA. As of the 2006 NBA Draft, a high school player is eligible for the draft one year after his graduating class has finished high school as long as he is 19 by the end of the calendar year of the draft.

Personally, I prefer to watch college basketball over professional, but many spectators argue that the level of experience in the NBA makes those games more exciting. Yes, it’s true that most NBA players have more experience than college basketball players, but I would rather watch a Division I college game any day. In the NBA, many players unfortunately just play for a paycheck. In college basketball, athletes are not allowed to accept payment for their participation in the game. Most college players play for the love of the game, to impress NBA scouts or to keep a scholarship. In the NBA, many players have already reached the pinnacle of their careers and strive mostly for more fame and more money.

It is unfortunate that many college basketball players leave college early to pursue professional careers. Imagine if Carmelo Anthony spent four years at Syracuse University or if Sean May stayed one more year at the University of North Carolina. I think it’s safe to say both of these teams would have drawn a lot more attention from the media if these key players decided not to jump to the NBA.

Perhaps the two freshmen most expected to forgo their remaining eligibility and enter the 2007 NBA Draft and be among the top picks are Greg Oden of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Kevin Durant of the Texas Longhorns. Oden and Durant were widely regarded as the top two high-school basketball players in the 2006 recruiting class. It is expected that one of these two will win the Freshman of the Year award. There are numerous Web sites dedicated to these players, and many fans are already discussing their NBA careers even though they have yet to leave college.

From a public relations perspective, this is simply wonderful. When college players generate this much excitement, the NCAA and many universities reap the benefits. Games featuring the most popular players are often televised, which only creates more publicity for the universities and their athletics programs. Without the new age rule in the NBA, some current college players would have skipped college and headed straight for a professional career in basketball, but this new rule ensures that the excitement over younger players will remain at the college level at least until they reach a certain age.