This is the moment when college basketball players (and even some high school players) have an opportunity to throw their names into the hat for potential selection by NBA teams. College stars who have played well during the past year declare themselves as eligible for the NBA draft. If they align themselves with an agent they have removed themselves from the possibility of coming back to the college scene as a player. If they remain independent in the process, there is a window of opportunity to back out of the selection process and return without jeopardizing their eligibility as a college player. It is a bittersweet process. It is also a crap shoot.
Only a handful of those who declare themselves eligible for the draft will find themselves on the court, playing in front of tens of thousands of people on a regular basis, and earning a fabulous salary. I’m talking tens of millions of dollars in a short period of time. Most will labor in the minor leagues of NBA basketball. Some will head overseas to play in a semi-lucrative league in Greece, Spain, or some other country where the hope of being snagged back into the NBA is ever constant.
Those chosen for NBA teams immediately will be showered with huge salaries and advertising benefits which will make them very, very wealthy overnight. If they stay healthy and keep their noses clean off the basketball court, they can amass great wealth and fame and become a legend. Some will go on to become successful in other ventures after their early retirement at the age when most people their age are just beginning to taste the rewards of hard work and professional success.
Others will mess up their lives with drugs, gambling, alcohol, crime, or wasteful spending. Derrick Coleman, a former Syracuse star who left for the NBA and had a lucrative career, retired four years ago. Now he is filing for bankruptcy, having amassed several million dollars in debt through failed investments. Over the course of his short career he earned more than $85 million in less than ten years of play. In his case, it was a noteworthy attempt to benefit his hometown of Detroit which drained his bank accounts. His mayor, Dave Bing, came into the NBA when salaries were a lot smaller, but still did well financially, stayed clean, invested his money in a company which was well managed, and was elected Mayor of Detroit a year ago. He has a full plate trying to bring that troubled city back into some sense of health. So it can happen. But for many, the quick money is an albatross around their neck.
I am one of those who hates to see an NCAA basketball player give up a college career for the NBA eligibility game. It is clear to me that for some the college thing is the only chance they will have to become successful. The stories of inner city kids who do the one year in college and then depart for the NBA are many. There is a racial component to this story, and it would be negligent to ignore it. For many young, marginally educated black kids, this is the one and only chance they will get. Products of inner city public education, their chances of being successful academically are nil. Even if they are pushed along in a college by faux academic coursework and the “generosity” of university faculty members, their ability to “make it” in the real world outside basketball is limited. Some, like a Carmello Anthony, come into the college scene knowing that it is one year in and then out to the NBA. His talents were visible, his aspirations were clear, and his contribution to Syracuse University basketball led to an NCAA championship. Two years ago he contributed $3 million back to Syracuse University to thank them for the springboard they provided him.
But take the case of Wesley Johnson, who played well in the NCAA this year, suffered a couple of injuries, and had some down moments of play. Overall he was a star, and his outgoing, pleasant personality made him a sought-after interviewee on national television. My suspicion is that Wesley Johnson has a career ahead of him on and off the basketball court. He bounced around in colleges before landing at Syracuse this past year, and would be a senior if he returned in the Fall. In my opinion, Wesley Johnson would benefit from one more year in the NCAA, rounding him out and giving him a chance to work on some of the flaws in his game. The risk, however,is the potential of injury which could scuttle his NBA career. The lure of the money is significant, but I don’t get the feeling that it is the sole reason he is bolting for NBA eligibility. The uncertainty of another year in the NCAA and his high profile right now made it hard for him to say no to eligibility. He will probably do well, but I regret that he has to make that decision this year. (As an obvious SU fan, I regret, also, that he won’t be starting for the Orange next year.)
As I said earlier, it is a crap shoot. There is no simplistic answer to this question. I put a lot of emphasis on the advice given to a player by his coaches. Hopefully they have the intestinal fortitude to tell a player that he needs another year of NCAA play before he is ready for the NBA. Or, that they are selfless enough to encourage NBA eligibility if the college scene isn’t the right answer.
I’m happy to say that everything that I have just said about the dilemma for NCAA Men’s Basketball is now experienced by women in the WNCAA. It has taken a long time, but the transition is the same. Now, about the disparity in the salaries….
Photo Credit: S.U. Basketball
