Limit

It's been a strange month for me in bloggerland... since I haven't done much. The reason is simple, when the resources to write are not yours, you tend to be a slave to them (work computer, cafe computer, time, other writings, etc.). Find it in your hearts to forgive this weathered hustler.

Instead of posting Bidding Parts 2 and 3, I wanted to put down some thoughts on an ongoing issue in sports: the age limit. All of us come from different sides with this issue, but it seems as if only one side is being heard as of late. NBA Commissioner David Stern has been quite vocal in his desire to set a limit to entrants into the league. The NFL's fight with Maurice Clarett was well documented and paralleled to that of Spencer Haywood vs. the NBA in 1971. There are several factors that make the age limit a big deal before we can even touch upon the more serious issue brought about by Indiana Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal.

One of these issues, the one that is the least mentioned for what the age limit does for the NBA is their prototype minor league, the National Basketball Development League. In its fourth year of existence, the D-League has been criticized by media and officials (if it is even recognized by fans). It's believed by some that the development is not as much as their would be if the players, who are mostly retreads or early-entrants into previous drafts, had attended college for a full four year stay. The NBA, according to this theory, is not in the business of making players better, but to maintain the high-flying act to sell seats. As professionals, there's no need to shoot at 50% like players of old or as their international counterparts.

Stern and the Board of Govenors need to justify the costs of running the NBDL. It was nine years ago that the same group of people founded the WNBA, which has not been a significant revenue generator for the owners that participate nor the league as a whole. Being that the A wants to strengthen their brand of basketball, the most logical means is to funnel as many players as possible to the D-League. Since the D-League is based on try-outs and there is no mandate from the NBA to go, players who have not been called up by NBA teams have bounced in and out of the league, from the CBA (Continental Basketball Association) to the recent incarnate of the American Basketball Association to the USBL and of course, to pro leagues in Europe that bring in cash.

In having an age limit, it would immediately slow the tide of high school players and collegiate underclassmen. Those players are now out in the cold with a decision to make: Should I go to Europe in hopes of making the NBA evenutally while make a few dollars? Not guaranteed since there are many European players (as young as sixteen) and American veterans still hoping to make the show (Chris Gatling is holding the roster spot you want). Should I play in the D-League or the other shows? Will anyone notice me is the question. And the most complex of all: should I go back to college? Well...

The NCAA has had more early defections than Fidel Castro's Cuba. We have heard the reasons. Recently, Sean May (junior), Rashad McCants (junior), Raymond Felton (junior) and Marvin Williams (freshman) have elected to leave national champion North Carolina because they are projected to be guaranteed first-round picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. Scouts have said that in returning next year, they can risk lowering their potential draft positions in the '06 draft. Other reasons: though money figures to be a huge part for the former Tar Heels, money is also key for players who may not be as highly touted. A minimum contract in the NBA is worth $300,000 a year. We have all heard the plight of many of these student-athletes coming from less than nothing to play basketball and receive a college degree. There is no secret that there is money flowing into the NCAA thanks to TV contracts and history of drafted players from many colleges, but the money doesn't come towards the athletes that actually play to create those revenues. Sure, they are receiving a full-ride for their education, but more priority is shifted towards playing than learning... when they have the time or inclination to be in the classroom.

I think of Chris Porter, a former star forward at Auburn from 1998-2000. After two years in junior college, he starred as a tweener forward in the SEC power, leading the conference in rebounding while providing a strong offensive game. While playing in Auburn, his mother was facing foreclosure and eviction from her home. Porter, who was projected to have been in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft, decided to call upon an agent, even though it is against NCAA rules and he had one more year to play in Auburn due to transfer rules. Porter accepted money from the agent in order to avoid forclosure back home. When the NCAA found out, he was kicked out of school, assuming that he had forgone his amateur status. Porter was drafted by Golden State the following June, and played one season before injuries and an arrest curtailed his NBA career. Now, this story may seem sympathetic... and it is.

It is true that there are many "student"-athletes that think of the glitz before they step on the court and there are many willing to push those kids along. Yet, how can college administrators, boosters and NCAA officials cry "college pride" when they are raking in the dollars? How can coaches field endorsement dollars and lifetime multimillion dollar contracts for themselves? What about me, ask the players who were drafted for their total package to only be forced into a coach's system that may or may not exhibit all those skills? What about my dollars, ask the players who can't even get work-study and pick up a book in Division I ball?

David Stern may see these two factors in pushing the age limit. The NBA has been the dumping ground for many players (collegiate, international and high school) who seem to want a few bills. While many may be quick to point out Kwame Brown and Darius Miles as high school players who are immature and heavy on unfufilled potential, no one exactly went ga-ga over Scoonie Penn not making the A. Was Miles Simon (Arizona) ready to take on the top players in the next level? For international flavor, there's Wang Zhi Zhi, who is somehow on the verge of an NBA title with the Heat this season. Those are prime examples I can think of, but there have been countless players who played four years in college who couldn't crack it both on and off the court.

One has to be shortsighted to forget that Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League are vitually founded upon non-collegiate talents. Yes, there have been great players to have come through the collegiate line (Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, Brett Hull comes to mind in hockey). Though both have minor league systems that have been in tact for generations, players from high school tend to miss out (and avoid) "the college experience". What would be spoken of Wayne Gretzky (and the NHL, even) if he had attended college? Maybe he would still be a great player, but would he and hockey have a different fate due to those four years?

Is this really and argument? Not really, since I felt that this was an attempt to explain some of the background noise of the age limit debate. Yet, we are unable to ignore the white elephant in the room nor can we ignore that leagues such as the NBA have to reexamine the impact the limit will make.