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Reframing the 'freshman eligibility' debate

SPORTS BKC-KANSAS-WIGGINS 3 KC
During a press conference, Kansas Jayhawks' Joel Embiid attends a press conference by Kansas freshman basketball star Andrew Wiggins on Monday, March 31, 2014, in Lawrence, Kansas. Wiggins will enter NBA. (Rich Sugg/Kansas City Star/MCT)

With five minutes to go in the Hyundai Sun Bowl on Dec. 27, the Duke Blue Devils took a 31-30 lead on a trick play that was just one of a series of moments where the ASU football team had been out-coached and unprepared, including a fake punt to extend the eventual scoring drive.

Then, Kalen Ballage did this.

http://youtu.be/JQMt0OIGhKM?t=1h10m

And then, Demario Richard, who turned 18 just 25 days earlier, did this:

http://youtu.be/JQMt0OIGhKM?t=1h11m5s

Imagine an alternate universe where those two players wouldn’t have been allowed on the field — not just in the bowl game, but at any point this season.

Or, you could just take a trip back in time to any year prior to 1972, the first year freshman eligibility was granted by the NCAA.

In May, the Pac-12 sent a letter to the other four members that make up the Power Five conferences: the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC, outlining reform measures suggested by representatives from each Pac-12 School, including University president Michael Crow.

The main issue at hand, of course, is freshman eligibility, which has become a topic of intense discussion among conference officials.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott is a proponent of the concept, which is said to focus on maintaining academic integrity, in an era where schools resort to doing just about anything they can (including academic fraud) to eliminate the audacious inconvenience of attending and passing the minimum nine credits needed to maintain a full-ride scholarship.

The framing of this debate as one centered around eligibility, first and foremost, is an ignorant premise.

StefanModrich2-17It implies that the only way to fix the problem of departing early is to literally force student-athletes to sit out their freshman year, which thankfully is not the only solution.

Interestingly, most Division I programs redshirt players that are either injured or deemed not ready for competition anyway, so I’ll concede that point.

Shameless culprit and Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari bitterly defends to this day his “One-and-Done” campaign that has introduced a discussion over the probability of the undefeated Wildcats beating an NBA team.

A Sports Illustrated piece profiled the “One-and-Done Era” and because of stars like Kevin Love and Kevin Durant, labeled it a success.

But if we examine further the impact of rookies with only one college season under their belt, it reveals a disturbing trend of potential that hasn’t yet been realized.

The Philadelphia 76ers, an embarrassment of a professional basketball team, have a pair of top picks in Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, the latter of which has yet to play a game in his career. Hampered by injuries, the lack of maturity is evident in the health (or lack thereof) of the 2014 draft class.

During a press conference, Kansas Jayhawks' Joel Embiid attends a press conference by Kansas freshman basketball star Andrew Wiggins on Monday, March 31, 2014, in Lawrence, Kansas. Wiggins will enter NBA. (Rich Sugg/Kansas City Star/MCT) During a press conference, Kansas Jayhawks' Joel Embiid attends a press conference by Kansas freshman basketball star Andrew Wiggins on Monday, March 31, 2014, in Lawrence, Kansas. Wiggins will enter NBA. (Rich Sugg/Kansas City Star/MCT)

Washington Post columnist John Feinstein highlighted a point which underscores the glaring dilemma that is the underdevelopment of players in a system jerry-rigged with promise of becoming a lottery pick and a rush to chase fame.

One of the best players in last year’s draft, Jabari Parker, who was at the time the best basketball player in the country aside from eventual No.1 pick Andrew Wiggins, was torched in an NCAA tournament loss to No. 14 seed Mercer by 24-year-old Jakob Gallon, who scored 20 points.

Gallon is now an assistant coach at University of Wisconsin Stevens-Point and Parker plays for the Milwaukee Bucks, but is out indefinitely after suffering a torn ACL in December.

Feinstein advocates for the NBA to adopt a system similar the player draft in Major League Baseball:

The baseball rule: Any player graduating from high school is eligible for the draft. Once he finds out where he’s drafted and what kind of money he can make to turn pro, he then decides whether to turn pro or go to college.

If the NBA doesn’t adopt this, I have to wonder why the D-League even exists. The most progressive and analytical teams, like the Houston Rockets, are reaping the benefits of development, which in case you didn’t know, is what the "D" in D-League stands for.

The rationale for teams not letting draft picks develop in the minor leagues – which is pretty much standard procedure in baseball – is of course about money and marketability.

If I were an NBA general manager, given the track record of draft busts in this era of instant gratification, I’d be hesitant to gamble on someone like Jahlil Okafor, for example.

It’s not just the injuries. It’s about learning the facets of becoming a professional athlete, dealing with the media, staying out of trouble and being an adult.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a player more severely failed by the one-and-done system than Calipari’s Memphis protege Derrick Rose.

Kentucky Coach John Calipari watches his team in the second half as the Kentucky Wildcats faced the Wisconsin Badgers in the second semifinal game of the Final Four at AT&T Stadium Saturday, April 5, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. (Mark Cornelison/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT) Kentucky Coach John Calipari watches his team in the second half as the Kentucky Wildcats faced the Wisconsin Badgers in the second semifinal game of the Final Four at AT&T Stadium Saturday, April 5, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. (Mark Cornelison/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT)

Would things be different had Rose taken an extra year, or heaven forbid, stayed long enough to get a degree? Maybe he doesn’t miss more than 200 games over the course of his six years as a pro.

I’d like to think that in addition to growing into his body, he’d be a little more adept in interviews, and ultimately be a more intelligent player and better person.

Athleticism, flash, star power — that’s all great. It’s also raw and unproven.

I’ll let you draw your own conclusion as to how ASU senior guard Bo Barnes drilled a 3-pointer from 28 feet away against prospective NBA draft pick freshman Stanley Johnson to seal ASU’s upset win over No. 6 Arizona.

You can find a way to explain how the rag-tag veteran trio of Jahii Carson, Jermaine Marshall, and Jordan Bachynski beat Aaron Gordon and Nick Johnson the year before.

The greatest basketball player on the planet didn’t win a championship his rookie year.

The best active player needed nine seasons to win his first title.

As shown, freshman are deserving of an opportunity to make an impact. Rookie successes make for excellent stories. The great beginnings of Ballage and Richard's careers are just that — building blocks.

But would you feel comfortable with Tra Holder and Kodi Justice coming off the bench for your favorite NBA team next year?

If we can accept that every college athlete does not have to be Kevin Durant, we can enjoy them for who they are without undercutting their learning curve and risking their livelihood over a signing bonus.

 

Reach the columnist at smodrich@asu.edu or on Twitter @StefanJModrich.

Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepressport on Twitter.

 


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