Have you ever been watching college basketball, and thought to yourself, “Damn, that guy is still playing?” I got that feeling the other night while watching No. 2 Villanova. Wildcats senior guard Scottie Reynolds was on his way to another productive game and continued to pad his resume for what looks like a reasonable shot at a Player of the Year trophy. This shouldn’t have been a big deal, yet I had to keep reminding myself that Reynolds is only 22 and that he in fact was not eligible to fight in World War I.
You see, the Wildcats are an anomaly — their best player is an upperclassman! They have what the traditionalists call leadership and experience. They have legitimate title hopes and appear to actually focus on winning. On Senior Day, Reynolds will be honored louder than any other Wildcat in the history of the Villanova program.
Unfortunately for the majority of Division I men’s basketball programs, Senior Day has been thoroughly bastardized by the NBA’s age limit. Instead of spending an evening honoring four-year starters and record setters, fans are left deciding whether or not they should applaud, let alone stand, in commemoration of the walk-on that is known more for his impossible-to-pronounce Eastern European last name than for his skill on the hardwood (Matei, be prepared).
You see, college basketball just ain’t what it used to be. The NBA’s age limit, which states that a player must be 19 years old and at least one year removed from high school before entering the draft, has flooded the college ranks with hoards of one-and-done future NBA stars. We’ve heard about these guys, the Derrick Roses, the Kevin Durants, the Carmelo Anthonys, and we’ve heard people like me bitch about them for years. They are incredible basketball players; it’s impossible to deny that. What is possible, however, is to deny them the honor of “one of the best college players ever.” If Durant stayed four or even three years at Texas, we could have that conversation — but he didn’t and we can’t.
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino recently said that the NBA should adopt an age policy similar to that of Major League Baseball — players can enter the draft immediately following high school, but if they opt for college, they must stay for at least three years. This seems so rational and beneficial for both parties.
For one, college basketball would finally be able to regain some of the consistency it once had. I guess you could provide a counterargument that this is one of the beauties of the game — we grow with the kids, fall in love with them and then wish them well in their future endeavors. This is great, but since the age limit was instituted, players abandon teams more frequently than Mel Gibson abandons sobriety. The freshman phenoms are incredibly fun to watch, but we often forget that they are still very, very raw basketball players. A Kansas vs. Kentucky championship game this year would be intriguing, but nowhere near what a Final Four with Durant, Beasley and Rose would have been.
On the flipside, the NBA would be unaffected by this rule change. If high school kids want to jump to the NBA, they can. We won’t have to wait for the next LeBron to put in three years at school, and Kansas State won’t become a one-year powerhouse. For the players that do decide to enter school, they will be able to enter the Association with three years of experience, weight training and maturity. All three are incredibly invaluable, and we see the consequences of college basketball deprivation on a nightly basis in the NBA. Oh, and three years of college education — be it ballroom dancing at USC or MS&E at Stanford — can’t hurt either.
The age policy has just completely changed the nature of the college game. Kentucky freshman John Wall, dubbed the unanimous No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, is already complaining about his coach, John Calipari (as a side note, Calipari is a scumbag and I’d complain about him too, albeit for very different reasons). He’s 19 years old and already has the ego of an NBA star. If he wants to be a diva, let him dance with the best, and if he is able to compete, more power to him. However, I for one don’t want this type of attitude to be condoned in college ball. For those of you who claim that NCAA basketball would suffer without these players, you can watch them on the Nets and Clippers.
The NBA age limit probably won’t change because, well, it’s the NBA. In the meantime, we have to refrain from putting the one-and-doners on too much of a pedestal and give our seniors their well-deserved props. Without them, college basketball would be a disorganized mess of big egos.
Plus, who would take the brunt of our gray hair jokes?
Zach Zimmerman is trying to make excuses for his problems with people’s last names. Find out which last names he has trouble with at zachz “at” stanford.edu.