Was reading an article about some high school players who were declaring for the NBA draft, and from what it was saying they had failed the academic test to get into College (which if they are Athletes surely can't be much harder than spelling your name correctly and showing some potential that you can speak in the third person) and funnily enough declare for the the draft. Stay in School Fools ------------------
I'm sorry but anyone who turns down millions of dollars for a diploma is the fool. You can always get a degree later in life but not an NBA contract.
Damn straight. Couple that with the fact that many of these people are poor and it's an easy choice, at least it would be for me. ------------------
I agree with Outlaw. What does Rashard get paid? If he managed his money right he'd have more than enough in a very short period of time. Get your degree when you're a retired multi-millionaire and 35 years old. ------------------ I need a new signature. 302
Crisco know third person. Crisco wish Crisco had flunked out and gone pro. Crisco could use money!! ------------------ Cato is 7 feet tall.
Thank you. Finally some people who got their heads on str8. Aint no damn reason to go to college if you have guaranteed Millions waiting 4 you. go check out the Stromile Swift thread where I am having a hard time convincing TexSalsa. ------------------ "We need to fockass".....Dream back in the day
Trouble is most of these guys have spent their millions by the time they retire. They have no concept of money, they trust agents to handle it. (what little of it remains after the players family is done with it). It boggles my mind that someone who can dribble a ball while running full speed can make a million $, guess it just shows you how out of whack this society has become. ------------------ You just want to be on the side thats winning.
smeggysmeg is right education should always come first. if you go pro and you suck you could end up getting paid the minimum or stuck in the cba, and no offense, but those kind of salaries aren't necessarily going to keep you secure for the rest of your life. yeah, kevin garnett will be fine for the rest of his life, but he's making over 100 million dollars. alot of players don't see that kind of money their entire careers. and taxes take away alot of that money. it's not like they actally walk away with all of it. and even if they retire when their 35, that leaves another good 40 to 50 years of life to support yourself and your family with for ALL expenses. if you become a bonafide superstar then you're probably all set, but if you just become a "good" player, like Christian Laettner or something then you better hope that you don't get injured or start to suck in the NBA because then you're going to wish you had that education when you retire. nobody wants to be 35, have a family, and need to finish highschool and then go to college for another 4 years just to get an undergraduate degree so you can support yourself. ------------------ if you are reading this signature because you are looking for something funny or witty to make you chuckle you have been fooled because this is the most unfunny and unwitty signature ever but i find it absolutely hilarious that you've read it this far
what if you get injured while IN school? you lose your shot at making any NBA money. Look at Randy Livingston. He was rated as highly as Jason Kidd coming out of High school but injuries at LSU killed his stock. The NBA minimum is like 300K, which is nothing to sneeze at. Plus there are other leagues around the world you can join and earn money if you can't make it there. And first rounders get 4 years guaranteed whether they suck or not.
if your body is so fragile that it can't make it through 4 years of college then that's probably a sign that it won't make it through a 15 year career in the NBA. yeah, you might get a deal in the beginning, but when your body breaks the money is gone. you might as well go through 4 years of school, get an education to fall back on, and see if your body is strong enough to handle another 15 years of banging, than to sign a contract as an unproven potential star and not meet the expectations and lose the money. if you're body is meant to make it, it will. if not it won't. it's just a matter of when you find out. if you find out early as in college or your second year in the NBA, then you're screwed. period. but at least if you're in college you have a head start at a degree. which will carry you a lot farther than you're body every will. ------------------ if you are reading this signature because you are looking for something funny or witty to make you chuckle you have been fooled because this is the most unfunny and unwitty signature ever but i find it absolutely hilarious that you've read it this far
hey one doens't need to be fragile to be injured. freak accidents do occur. the point is if you're gonna play and get hurt you might as well get paid for it. How long would it take a person with a bachelor's degree to even earn $300,000? Maybe 10 years? Even if you played just one season you could take that money and invest it and be set for life. [This message has been edited by outlaw (edited May 06, 2000).]
invest $300,000 and be set for life??? i'm sorry, i don't mean to hurt you since i don't know you, but you have got to be kidding me! first off, a big chuck of that disappears due to taxes, i'll guess a third, since i know someone who makes 200 and walks away with about 120. that leaves 200 thousand dollars. no offense but 200 thousand dollars is not going to buy you fifty years of insurance, a home, food, entertainment, and education for your kids. ------------------ if you are reading this signature because you are looking for something funny or witty to make you chuckle you have been fooled because this is the most unfunny and unwitty signature ever but i find it absolutely hilarious that you've read it this far
well i didn't mean just living off the money directly. I'm not that stupid. I meant investing it in a business or stocks. $200K is enough to open up a nice store or restaurant.
my point is this. yes, there are stars like tim duncan, kevin garnett, shaquille oneal, and steve francis who will most likely make shmuck loads of money during their career and not have to work for the rest of their lives. but, their are also players in the league who play for the minimum and who will most likely have to get a job of some sort after they retire. the thing is, even if you have shmuck loads of potential, i would think a team would want you to prove yourself first before they shell out the big bucks. look at jonathan bender in indiana. he was a top pick in the draft and he's sitting on the bench. maybe he will be awesome, but then again sitting on the bench isn't teaching him anything. my thought is that coaches like the idea of taking a hs phenom or an early entry college student because they are young, but they also are probably weary of their inexperience. i've been watching the playoffs and especially coming to mind is the bucks and pacers game 5 where they had a fould to give and ate up clock because one of their players couldn't decide whether to foul reggie or not. but it didn't matter because they had a fould to give. the game is mental, just as much as it is physical. as a coach, you have to try to teach these young guys something that's not easy to teach when you're trying to win games in the NBA, and it's called EXPERIENCE. experience often can end in losses, not always, but often. the transition to the NBA is difficult for 4 year college graduates. a senior year can mean a lot for a player. a hell of a lot. i can understand why people declare early. i honestly can. money is nice. but i just personally don't think it's a good idea. college is not just a time to learn about academics, it's a time to learn about your body, your mind, your soul, your self. not to sound mushy, but it is. it's a time of self discovery in many different and special ways. and i don't think one should deny oneself that part of one's life for anything, even a million dollars, because you can never get that time of your life back. but even if you break your ankle and you don't make an NBA superstar of yourself at least you'll get your degree, a job, and be able to raise a family even if it's in a little bit of a smaller house than you had once anticipated. look at how stardom destroyed macauley culkin and drew barrymore. they pretty much had their childhood taken away from them and were exploited by hollywood. don't take that example too seriously, i'm just trying to say that money isn't everything. and sometimes i don't think these early entry players know what their giving up by entering the draft early is getting a couple million dollars and losing a part of their life which to me is priceless. ------------------ if you are reading this signature because you are looking for something funny or witty to make you chuckle you have been fooled because this is the most unfunny and unwitty signature ever but i find it absolutely hilarious that you've read it this far
WHAM An NBA player needing a second job? Are you serious? ------------------ I need a new signature. 302
Outlaw, If you get hurt while you're in school, you have a guaranteed scholarship and the benefit of an education. Lose your knees, develop your mind. There is nothing stupid about forgoing your entry into the NBA for an education. For every Kobe Bryant or guy who leaves early to enter the draft there's a Ricky Moore, a Harold Minor, a Kenny Walker, so on and so forth. What you're saying is that the gamble is worth it. I disagree. Staying in school benefits the mind and the athletic skills. Besides, guys that get hurt don't go back very often. They toil around in the CBA or Europe, and there's a story about a guy that used to play for the Bulls that now cleans the United Center for a living. Try to get him back in school. There's more to life than Beemers and (pardon me ladies)b****es. An education lasts longer than an NBA career ------------------ Wanna play in the clutchcity.net game? Got some ideas? E-mail me at philip_w_moore_jr@hotmail.com and I'll send a batch e-mail with details as they develop.
Well articulated! I agree with the supporters of college careers... and just wanted to emphasize one thing. Money is nice... but it's not everything. College, as someone pointed out, is learning about yourself, and how you perceive the world. I think college is a unique environment that facilitates introspection and thought, and going straight to the NBA denies players this opportunity. Many of them might never take advantage of it... but some will, hopefully ------------------
The main point y'all are missing is this: the majority of athletes will not get a meaningful college degree whether it's at age 18 or 35. Many cannot even get into college, can't get a minimum score on the SAT or ACT. Whether it's their own fault (too lazy, too caught up in the athletic hero ego trip to think about classes, just plain below average intelligence), or from external factors (a school system that sucks and/or offers "social promotions" to its athletes to keep the ADs and Boosters happy, parents who don't encourage or help their children, the "hangers-on" who exploit these kids, etc.) - bottom line is that many of these kids have minimum, or below-minimum, scholastic skills. Can't read, can't write, can hardly sign their own names. Who'll manage their portfolios or businesses (ask Micheal Ray Richardson about agents). The top of the pyramid (role player to superstar) is narrow and hard to reach. The real issue is improving education in America (not just pumping more money into bankrupt school systems, but real reform). In the meantime, I can't blame a kid for trying to make a buck or a million. Unfortunately, it all too often ends quickly. Owners, GMs, coaches, peers, and especially we fans don't have the patience or altruism to settle for less than outstanding performances. All too often, we get situations like the kid from Chicago who was drafted and let go by the Mavs. I don't have any answers - wish I did - but I do feel badly for the student-athletes who are used, abused, and then unceremoniously discarded for the next newer, faster, stonger kid. ------------------ "Who Wants To Be A Rocket?" - and probably a millionaire as well. The off-season will be interesting!
Bobby makes a great point. We're not talking about people that are graduating with electrical engineering degrees or med school grads here (although there are several exceptions). Most of these guys graduate with things such as communication degrees or in the case of the Great One, Michael Jordan, geography degrees (can't wait till you try to find a job specifically related to that major). I'm not knocking communication majors, but most of these guys that leave basketball just end up looking for commentary jobs afterwards anyway. Regarding "introspection" and gaining the like from college, that's not true for everyone. Most of these athletes are working their butts off on the court, then maybe working other jobs (if they're not getting paid by the university on the side, lol!). I used to be of the opinion that you should complete your degree first. I'm slowly changing my mind because to me it makes no sense. It just happens to be "the right thing to do" based on society's expectations. If you're going to be a first round draft pick, go for it. Just manage the money you acquire wisely. ------------------ ?
DoD I'll have you know the Globetrotters recruited Jordan heavily out of college because of his basketball skills and knowledge of world Geography.
