A change for college basketball?

MEMPHIS – It’s rare that Memphis lawmakers make the news for something good.

Usually, it’s for an indictment or a sting operation with the FBI.  

But now, Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen is asking to meet with NBA officials to discuss the 19-or-older age requirement the league compels players to follow.

Cohen points out that the players talented enough to go to the NBA usually only stay their freshman year before bolting for the draft.

While NBA Commissioner David Stern would be interested in extending the age requirement to 20, Cohen wants the league to reconsider the rule, which expires in 2011.

The rule doesn’t just affect NBA teams looking to get a lottery pick. It also affects coaches and recruiting. Do they go after players like Memphis’ Derrick Rose or IU’s Eric Gordon – those good enough to skip college basketball – or do they recruit players who will help the team for three or four years? How do they choose between talent and longevity?

They can’t.

In the case of Memphis and IU (and USC and UNC and any other basketball-crazy school) they choose the one-and-done player, the one who will bring them preseason rankings and sold-out stadiums and spikes in merchandise sales.

How can they resist?

The coaches recruit the players for marketing and a chance to win. The players go because they have to.  

Cohen’s right. The NBA’s rule restricts the player’s right to choose where he wants to play. There’s no rule enforcing me to go straight from high school to whichever assortment of odd jobs I can find.  

Why should talented players be forced to sit through finite math because a 66-year-old law-school grad decided that 18-year-olds are not ready for the 82-game NBA season?
Maybe Stern will listen to Cohen, a 60-year-old law-school grad.

The NCAA would benefit if the NBA rescinded its rule. The college game would become more focused on the strength of teams than that of individual players. Coaches would not have to worry about their star players only using college as a pit stop before the June draft.

When the rule was enacted, Stern wanted to make sure players coming to the league were ready to handle its rigors. But he didn’t consider that all those standout high school seniors would become freshmen who would change college basketball.

Before the age requirement expires in 2011, Stern and other league officials need to figure out what’s better not only for the NBA, but also for the NCAA.