ONE AND DONE RULE

Impact of "One and Done" rule to the basketball player

Impact of "One and Done" rule to the basketball player

Introduction

Since being implemented by the NBA in 2005, the 'One-And-Done' rule has taken its share of criticism. Many believe that one year of college ball will not improve a player's skills, and those who are good enough to go pro should be able to. They call the rule a mockery of college basketball and education, but does this rule really harm college basketball? Since this rule has been in place, college basketball fans have been able to see many phenomenal players that we would have not been able to see without it, and the NCAA Tournaments have become increasingly more exciting (http://rushthecourt.net). What makes college sports - and basketball in particular - a favorite sport among many is the excitement of the game? On any given night, a team can win, and there is a pure joy and excitement amongst the players when they are victorious.

Back when UCLA was at its peak, nobody stood a chance to beat them. Every year for seven-straight years the Bruins won the National Title, and won 10 in 12 seasons and at one point they won 88 straight games. Indiana went an entire season without losing a single game. Those feats will never be replicated, thanks in part to the one-and-done rule. The One-And-Done rule not only allows college basketball fans to see some of the best players in the country that they may not have seen otherwise, but it has made the game much more exciting and increased the parity in the game. Never again will we see a dynasty like UCLA or dominate teams like UNC, Duke or Indiana (www.usatoday.com ). With the rule, teams get a stellar player - almost a rent a player of sorts - who helps them win, then promptly leaves for the money and fame of the NBA. In turn, when these teams lose their prized player, other teams now have the opportunity to win. Back when players stayed three or four years, the teams had time to build chemistry, cohesion and they had experience playing with each other.

Discussion and Analysis

College basketball is suffering due to the one-and-done rule. Proponents of the rule say that fans of college basketball would miss seeing the best talent in college basketball if the rule did not exist. Freshman phenoms like Derrick Rose and Greg Oden would never have played in the Final Four if the rule was not in place. College fans would have been robbed of seeing the clutch shooting antics of freshman, Brandon Knight, during the 2011 NCAA tournament, or the upset of the overall number 1 seed, Ohio State, led by freshman Jared Sullinger. The fact that this freshman define the state of college basketball, is proof that play in college basketball has attenuated greatly. Knight and Sullinger are talented basketball players and will play professionally, however, they are not the dominant players that Rose and Oden were in their freshman ...