The Blessing In Disguise Of The NBA Age Limit

The 2007 NBA draft class was the most hyped and highly covered of any draft class in the last five years and maybe even this decade - and 9 of the 10 first picks were still teenagers. Something very profound has occurred in the NBA in the past two years due in large part to the new rule that disallows any high school student from entering the NBA draft until they are 19 years old, requiring that they spend a year in the NCAA at a college of their choice before they make the big jump. The 2008 draft class is looking to be infinitely deeper than last year's as a result with freshman like Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, and O.J. Mayo shaping up to be some of the most exciting college freshman in years.

New Rules, Unexpected Results

David Stern's assertion that the NBA will no longer draft players fresh out of high school came as a bit of shock and upset many basketball owners, players, and fans two years ago. Essentially, his goal was to reduce the number of players who were drafted at 18 only to sit on a bench for four years making seven figures while they "developed" into the player everyone thought they could become.

The results have been multi-fold. Beyond creating some of the most exciting draft classes in recent memory, the new rule has revitalized college basketball and turned it into a high flying, epic sport of showmanship and superstars that might not have ever played a day of college basketball if they were give a chance to enter the NBA draft.

What this Means for Basketball

Now, when a superstar like O.J. Mayo or Derrick Rose graduates from High School, they don't actually have a choice in what they do next. They have to go to college. The NBA won't have them for another year, so they allow the slew of college recruiters to invade their living rooms and talk up their parents with scholarships and perks and eventually they commit and suit up for a college they only intend on staying at for one year.

But something very interesting happens in that one year - some sink and some don't. And this is why the new age limit is so genius. Take Chase Budinger fore example, a sophomore at Arizona. Two years ago, he would have entered the draft out of High School if he could of. He had the raw talent that scouts used to look for, hoping to find the next big high school superstar.

Unfortunately, only some players are actually as good as High School makes them look. Sure, LeBron James looked incredible and at 18 years of age was incredible in the NBA - he adjusted fast. But Budinger made the NCAA and discovered he was not NBA ready - he was hardly NCAA ready. He had had it too easy in High School, making him look much better than he was.

So, he stuck with college and will likely finish out his four year career there, becoming better and readying himself for a possible shot at the draft.

Long Term Results

While the players may not enjoy the prospect that they must wait on that seven figure contract for four more years or maybe even not at all, but the results are incredible for basketball.

As a result, no longer do we see the draft littered with bust picks of players who had all the potential in the world but who had never been tested. The college ranks are better than ever at showing what a player might be able to pull off in the NBA and thus the freshmen who average 25 points a game and get drafted at 19 actually deserve to be drafted. Throw in a few international stars from a growing worldwide pool of talent, and the draft is getting stronger every year, making basketball better and more enjoyable for every city to watch and what more can you honestly ask for than that?