What is wrong with college basketball today?

I know this is a week late, but I saw a clip of the Florida press conference where Corey Brewer stated that he was declaring for the NBA because "he has accomplished everything he can in college." How about an education and a degree?

Why does it seem that when it comes to basketball, players come to be athletes, and school is just something they 'have' to do? It happens in football, but not as much. Should the NBA raise the minimum age for players?

Look at Jay Williams. He left Duke after his sophomore year, almost died in a motorcycle accident, and had nothing to show fall back on. Now he spends his time trying to get back into the NBA.

Thoughts?.....................

What is wrong withcollegebasketball today?nba standings

You are right on target.

It used to be that you went to the university to get a degree and get a good corporate job. And while there, you also went out for sports. Sports was really a back-door way to meet the alumini who would offer you a non-sport job.

These days - you are shooting for a multi-year deal with the NBA that will make you a millionaire overnight. So you are in school just long enough for your name to be on the draft list.

Problem is - look at the numbers. In high school, maybe 1 out of 100 kids are on their high school teams. Then, of the ones who graduate, 1 in 100 qualify to go tocollegeand to play on acollegeteam. Considering all of the universities and colleges, maybe 1 out of 1,000collegeatheletes get drafted by the NBA. Of those selected, a small percentage make the NBA team. Of those making the NBA team, most are gone within 3-4 years. And then what do they do?

Many kids see the sport figures as heros - and something to shoot for. But they do not look at the odds of making it to that position. These inexperienced kids, listen to the high school andcollegecoaches who's job depend on having a winning team. These coaches want the kids to focus on practicing the game and will put pressure on those kids to take easy subjects and pressure on the teachers to "just pass them". Once the kid's eligibility is up - what does the coach care?

A lot of high-school andcollegehot-shots who just knew they would be drafted by the NBA are left setting there having used up their scholarship to pursue majors in "sports management" or "basket weaving". There was a big scandal a few years ago about the University of Oklahoma State (?) doing this. To settle the dispute (and get rid of the publicity) the University gave the kids an extra year or 2 of scholarship aid to complete their degrees.

Its sad - it seems like everyone wants to work at "winning the lottery" - becoming an instant "rich person" - thru the NBA, NFL, music, etc - but you seldom hear about the people who just want a good job, decent health %26amp; retirement benefits, and are willing to work for it.

What is wrong withcollegebasketball today?nba referee ,nba teams

There's nothing wrong with College Basketball. The question is - why does the NBA suck so bad, compared to ten years ago?
tru to the fullest i don't see how or let me put it like this, these days kids lives are revolving around basketball, say if you go to the nba, turn out to be the next mj, then you break your back, now you're trying to get a job but, no degree at all the nba should raise it up until you at least get a miniture degree in anything because you wanna know what jay williams is doing now? but don't talk cuz i live about 20 minutes away from where he was born but hes at a dayjob working for some team in *nj* after being waived by the autin toros because of another injury
Since the Bulls honored his signing contract (they didn't have to, but showed class by honoring it) he still pulled down big bucks. He still has the option to go tocollegeto complete his degree. What's wrong with that? I suppose you could say the same thing about Bill Gates - he leftcollegeafter his freshman year to start this little company (he and two friends) called Microsoft.

I agree with you that there are too many leavingcollegebefore they are ready for the pro game, but if you had the lure of millions of dollars and could get paid doing something that you are not only good at but really like to do... would YOU stay incollegeor go do the job and take the $$$? I know for a fact that I'd go for the $$$.
Its only hurtingcollegebasketball. The teams that are good this year won't be next year because their stars only came for one year and out. But it does help some players such as Kevin Durant because now hes a top 2 pick and if he would have came straight from high school he would have been a late first rounder. This may make the NBA better because pros get a better understanding of how the player plays so then we don't have any more Kwame Brown incedents. Overall its a ok thing it just depends on your perspective.
If you recall the NBA just raised the age limit this past year to 19 unless you have completed one year ofcollegebasketball. The only reason to play sports at the collegic level is to win a championship. If you've won one why wouldn't you go pro and get paid rather than risks injury next season? Now Jay Williams is a special case. He was just pain stupid riding a bike w/o a helmet, he was a 1st round pick so he had guaranteed money in his contract, and he's only trying to play now because he wants to not because he needs to. He actually was offered a NBA commentator job while he was rehabbing from his accident. But you're right you never know what is going to happen in your career or life for that matter... which is why these guys are going for the big bucks ASAP. Truthfully school isn't even something they "have to do". My sister had a math class at UNC with Raymond Felton and he was never there. John McCargo, former NC State DT, would show up for attendance purposes but would turn in tests and homework with just his name on them. Money talks, even the former Oklahoma QB went tocollegeand was doing well but got kicked off the team for accepting $35K more than he earned while working for a car dealership over the summer. When you're one of the greatest athletes in the country and the greedy pro owners are going to throw you a guaranteed $10M - $30M and you can earn up to 2X or 3X that if you play your entire 5 yr contract do you really need an education, or a good investment banker? And a lot of pros make more off endorsements and don't even spend need to spend their salary checks. And some of these kids came from the hood where the only way out was basketball and all they know is poverty and education was never really an option. If you're in an inner-city or country-*** school with no funding and imporper materials how are you gonna get educated? It's true, education is the key, but in sports it's a business.
ESPN has created an insatiable thirt of a monster.....go for a walk or take ur kids fishing.....basketball is irrelevant
I really think we should look at the NBA rather thancollegebaskeball. 15 -20 years ago, the NBA was basically king of pro sports. You had Kareem, Magic, Bird, McHale and a few years later the true emergence of MJ and Pippen. the past 5-10 years the NBA has lost so much fan support, and respect as a "major" sport as compared to MLB and the NFL. Even the NHL seems to have better ratings at times than does the NBA. The NBA encourages the younger kids to go to the draft ealier. (Yes the NFL does allow for undergraduates as well, but not the to the degree the NBA does.) College baskeball is still very exciting. The true winners incollegebasketball are the ones that may not quite make it in the first round of the NBA draft. These are the ones that tend to stay in school more often, get their degrees, etc. Even Shaq went back to finish his degree!! The kids who think they need the $$$ so bad that the NBA and agents encourage them to forgo a longer lasting investment (education) are the ones that are losing out. Sure they get the big contracts and lots of $$$, but money can run out if you're not careful and frugal with your riches. (college can teach these kids how to properly invest and save some of thier millions of dollars...think about that one!) the problem is not the colleges. the problem is the NBA in overpaying these high school kids to play basketball in their "high profile league" which is losing interest quickly. Also, time for D. Stern to step down and let some new blood run the league.