Madison22 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 Two 2015 McDonald's All Americans from the Midwest and how they're both out of the NBA by age 22. Go IU. https://madison.com/wsj/sports/basketball/professional/tom-oates-nba-story-of-diamond-stone-henry-ellenson-a/article_00160071-912b-571e-8cbd-525ad6291357.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGIUAndy Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Madison22 said: Two 2015 McDonald's All Americans from the Midwest and how they're both out of the NBA by age 22. This is my first post, so if the link doesn't work, can someone help me please? I'm pretty sure there is not a paywall. Go IU. https://madison.com/wsj/sports/basketball/professional/tom-oates-nba-story-of-diamond-stone-henry-ellenson-a/article_00160071-912b-571e-8cbd-525ad6291357.html I don't disagree with the concept of the article, but saying "...where do you think a player develops faster, playing pressurized games in jam-packed college arenas alongside players fully committed to a team concept or playing games before 1,000 people in some G League outpost with teammates who are out for themselves only?" is pure opinion. There are 351 Division I college basketball teams. Most D-1 players aren't playing in front of jam packed arenas, nor have "great" coaching. Is it the best "basketball" decision to leave early? I don't know. But every player has a different reason for leaving: family/friend pressure, money issues, bad advice, poor grades, coaching changes, etc. Cherry picking "failures" (and I wouldn't call players that actually got drafted and made millions failures) isn't telling the whole story. For all we know these guys may not of been drafted any higher by staying in school. The system is flawed, people are flawed. Most players that have legitimate NBA talent, good health, and maybe most importantly, killer work ethic, can make it whether they leave after one year or four. As many (if not more) guys who play four years are out of the league just as fast. It's not about leaving early or staying, it's about getting drafted, luck (getting drafted by a decent organization), and hard work. Look at guys like Thomas Bryant and Noah Vonleh. Should they have left early? Nope. But it's hard to say things aren't working out for both of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Madison22 said: Two 2015 McDonald's All Americans from the Midwest and how they're both out of the NBA by age 22. Go IU. https://madison.com/wsj/sports/basketball/professional/tom-oates-nba-story-of-diamond-stone-henry-ellenson-a/article_00160071-912b-571e-8cbd-525ad6291357.html Welcome aboard. As far as the article, I found it very well written but very biased and concentrated only on two players. I find myself in Andy's camp on this one and further more could say that in Stone's case the NBA rule cost him money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonialcrester Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazin Hazin Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 Another thing to keep in mind....many of us view college as a great time. For many of us....college is the first time we've actually fit in. For some of these guys, college is the complete opposite....a time where they don't fit in. They're not strong academically. They don't feel like they belong in class and are just hoping that the facade doesn't get exposed. The idea of getting a degree and participating in the professional world with other college graduates is just an extension of that facade. They don't fit in socially- most of their friends/family didn't go to college. They think college is just a purgatory prior to professional basketball and just hoping it doesn't ruin them in some way. Have you ever been to a meeting, job, class, or been part of a group when you just wanted the hell out? Perhaps you weren't prepared... Maybe you didn't fit in...Maybe you just hated doing whatever you were doing. I think that's how a lot of athletes feel in college. I don't know if that applies to Stone or Ellenson, but I do think people overlook the this angle in players' decisions to stay or go pro. This isn't a "lets pay college athletes" commentary, nor a "college athletes are victims" view. There's a lot of 22 year olds who worked really hard, got a degree, and have a lot of debt. They would have loved to gone to college for free...even if it means having a grinding practice schedule that college athletes have. And I don't think a $1000 a month stipend solves the problems I mentioned. Still, people seem to overlook the simple fact that some of these college athletes are not suited academically or socially for college. The question is "what is best for these athletes?", not "have you ever heard of players like Diamond who failed?". I wish people like Tom Oates would cover that angle, rather than smugly write about players like Diamond to an audience that smirks because it confirms that they knew he would fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zlinedavid Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 "As a rule of thumb, players shouldn’t leave school just because they’ll get drafted." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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