One of the most talked about issues to arise from the National Basketball .
Association is the number of high school basketball players skipping college to go .
straight to the NBA. The media and critics have been reporting on the troubles of this .
situation, since Kevin Garnett made skipping college for the big bucks a yearly tradition .
in 1995 (Abrahams). The number of high school teenagers entering the league has grown .
every year since Garnett, was the only one in 1995. Fans, the media, and critics alike .
have mixed opinions on the subject. Some feel that bringing in these younger players will .
make the league more exciting, others feel that most of these youngplayers are making a .
mistake and should go to college. High School basketball players, therefore, should be .
allowed to skip college and go straight to the NBA without criticism or scrutiny. This .
situation, however, is no different than a regular person skipping college to work a full .
time job.
Many veterans of today believe that sports is a luxury and education is the most .
important priority when your young. When these teenagers skip college they neglect to .
receive a degree to fall back on in case of an injury. In doing so, a career ending injury .
would leave a young teenager with little education and a future that will look tough from .
a distance. Though the preceding remarks are very true and eye opening, their still is little .
chance these young players will have a career ending injury. Furthermore, if an injury .
does occur, more than likely the teenager will have already spent some years playing, .
making his bank account more than satisfying. Usually the odds on this gamble will .
benefit the young player more than it will go against him.
In recent years the NBA has expanded its regular season to 82 games (including .
the playoffs). With this long grueling schedule, its tough for some veteran players to stay .
healthy and make it through the season.