LaVar Ball is an opportunist who is using his 3 sons to better his own life. I've said more than a few times that there are a handful of Freshman college basketball players (Bagley, Bamba, and Porter to name 3), who are only in college because they can't turn pro yet. They will leave college after 1 year and be millionaires soon after. The Ball case is hardly a fair example of the average student/athlete, even in basketball.
Originally Posted by SpeedRacerXXX
This is all the NBA's fault. in the old days, in the post ww2 days when the league was just getting started there was no rule about college. mainly because there weren't that many big programs yet. in the 50's you could try out and get signed.
and it was all kool. for awhile. then the NCAA stuck it's nose in it. now that big time programs like UCLA and UK emerged, they wanted these kids to play college ball. and got the NBA to make it hard for players to get in, a rule that became known as the Spencer Haywood Rule. In part, if the ABA had not taken off, Haywood likely would have lost. as it is, he won exactly the right, as a over 18 year adult, fully legal, to skip college and sign a pro contract.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Haywood
note he was in college. after his sophomore year an existing NBA rule prohibited him to join the NBA until his college class graduated, an arcane bs rule of course which under threat of SCOTUS review forced the NBA (along with the success of the ABA for leverage) forced them to settle and let Haywood play.
then for awhile you had players coming in directly. or could at least. as expected only a select few were ready. guys like Moses Malone and Darryl Dawkins. later, Kobe did it. then it all when back to the NBA, under pressure once again by the NCAA, and a new "one and done" rule emerged.
So that's where we are now. over the decade or so, the NBA has illegally enacted a barrier to employ to an otherwise adult. that no one has evoked Haywood shows how few are really ready. Haywood himself and the select list plus maybe < 12 more over time could make a great case. but many decent college level talented players could.
so the NBA now claims they are gonna fix this. ok. we're waiting. interestingly .. my home state program UK is one of the few to feast on the "one and done" as a talent draw. Yet Calipari was not in favor of this new restriction to employment. and yet he's only managed to win 1 title under this plan against 4 final fours. if half of his teams had to return, he'd have won at least 2 more title.
even the hated Puke Blue Sissies and Coach Kididdlehooper (any sports fan knows why UK hates Duke, others .. figure it out! bahaa) got into it after going "stale" on deep NCAA runs. He allowed some top player a one and deal to come to Duke and bagged a 5th for it.
So .. what does the NBA do to fix their own mess?
there's only one thing they can do. Kill "one and done". it wouldn't survive any reasonable court challenge. that no slam dunk Kobe in modern day hasn't doesn't mean it's not essentially an illegal barrier to employment. So get the fuck rid of it. Make the rules that any player 18 years old at the day of the annual NBA draft can declare and come to the NBA combine.
So that fixes the NBA. now how do you fix the NCAA? you don't. have the NCAA acknowledge the NBA's new rule with one out for the NCAA .. the only one that matters. Only if a player gets signed does he lose forever any NCAA eligibility .. otherwise why should the NCAA care if he takes a scholarship?
So. Problem Solved! bahahaaa
interestingly .. LaVar Ball and his kids would be a slam dunk case to challenge the NBA's illegal barrier. He already got one kid drafted highly (too highly but that's the NBA again for ya)
within the current one and done rules, with the middle son despite the recent legal drama did get a D1 scholarship to UCLA, not exactly a nobody. Scouting intel claims that while Lonzo was marginally good enough from an early draft point of view to get in the NBA, LiAngelo isn't at the moment considered NBA worthy.2-3 years from now? maybe. The youngest sone LeMelo is potentially the best of all of them, including Lonzo. Interesting. We shall see.
if these younger two are good enough and put in the work even as non-NBA pro's (Europe, not China for LiAngelo) they'll get enough good scouting reports to get try out for the supplemental draft.
So it'll all sort out by ability and determination, as it always does.
but one question remains ..
What About LaVar's 4th son, LemonJello???
bahahaaa
