Time for Stern, NBA to fix age rule

Former Indiana Pacers and current Miami Heat forward Jermaine O’Neal had it right when he said 18-year-old men who are old enough to go overseas to fight and die for their country should be allowed to play professional basketball.

Now, a mere four years later, NBA commissioner David Stern still can’t seem to figure it out.

The NBA’s age restriction on entering the draft, requiring players to be 19 years old and a year removed from high school, hurts pro franchises and colleges who benefit and suffer at the same time by the presence of one-and-done superstars.

Sure, attendance and revenues at the Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, were boosted by the presence of freshmen sensations Michael Conley Jr., Greg Oden and Daequan Cook during the 2006-07 season en route to the Final Four. IU’s athletic department felt the monetary boost in 2008 thanks to Eric Gordon Jr. deciding not to cross the Indiana-Illinois border.

But it goes deeper than purely athletics, which is what Stern is either not seeing or turning a blind eye to.

Why require a future NBA superstar who could care less about an education to take up an enrollment spot at a well-respected university, when it could be used for an up-and-coming mind that has the desire to succeed in facets of life wherein an education is needed?

In no way am I trying to stereotype by saying all one-and-done guys are only focused on basketball after high school, overlooking academics. Take Oden and Conley for example; both of whom are currently in Columbus taking summer school during the offseason. But, again, there are plenty who might as well list their major as Hardwood 101.

The appealing thing about the Hardwood 101 majors is that no one goes to class after the NCAA tournament.

From the athlete’s perspective, there’s really no point to spending a year in college, either.

In today’s game, signing bonuses coupled with endorsement deals can cure any financial worries that top picks may have for the rest of their lives, pending common sense when it comes to money management.

Ever hear the story about LeBron James’ kind gesture after he gained some spare change from Nike during his senior year? The story goes that after James signed his $90 million deal with Nike, he bought his St. Vincent/St. Mary’s High School classmates’ lunch the next day.

That was even before he was formally drafted as the No. 1 overall pick by Cleveland back in the summer 2003.

You can say all you want about how invaluable an education is. While that is very true, athletes of James, Oden and Conley’s caliber are also invaluable to professional franchises and outfitters.

If James wasn’t, would Phil Knight and Nike have invested that type of green in the King? That’s the world in which we live.

What troubles me the most is Stern not seeing what damage this could do to American ball, with respect to professional and college hoops.

The thought has been brought up, and I couldn’t agree more from a player perspective, of an athlete leaving the country for a year to play pro ball in Europe or Japan. After the year is up, he heads back to the United States just in time for the Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago. That way, he’s got some cash under the belt in addition to having already played against some of the best competition in the world.

Why make that option available to high school stars when some of them may consider going to college for two, maybe three years? It would take away from future faces of the month of March and the pageantry of college basketball.

And then there is O’Neal’s argument. Why should someone be allowed to put his life on the line for this great country and not be allowed to live the American Dream at the same age? Sorry to say, but eight months in college probably aren’t going to make a kid come back to school when there are millions of dollars and fame waiting just down the road.

Commissioner, why not make this easier on everyone, from prospective college students to players and fans?