It is the time of year millions of basketball fans look forward to; the anticipation surrounding this day creates extreme excitement. This day is the NBA draft day. The NBA draft day consists of the best college basketball players of the previous season being selected to play in the NBA. The draft gives players a chance to be in the professional leagues by presenting them to every NBA team at once to determine where they will go. There is a lot of joy for the young men being drafted during this time because they get to go on to make millions.  But, because of this system, anxiety develops alongside the happiness.  This anxiety stems from the fans and coaches uncertainty of whether or not the team's best players will still be at playing their college team. The draft is open to all college students who play basketball, and many of the players are freshman. Freshman who declare for the draft use a rule known as the one and done rule. The one and done rule states that any basketball player that completes one year of college can then be eligible to declare for the NBA draft. People across the United States believe that this rule should be changed, but why? I, along with many others, believe that this rule detracts from educating the players in college, that the rule prevents crucial development of the player's skills, both on and off the court, and that the rule detracts from college basketball all together. As of now, the rule states that an athlete only needs a single year of college completed to declare for the draft. That means that these freshman whom declare for the draft only have to pass out of college. In light of all of this, the rule needs to be changed. The one and done rule should be changed so that students may only declare for the draft every other year of college and if they are maintaining a 3.0 GPA. The draft eligibility should start at sophomore year and if players do not get drafted then they must wait until their senior year. 

One of the biggest concerns with the one and done rule is its detraction from education. With the one and done rule being implemented in 2005, hundreds of basketball players have been forced to attend college. Some of these players want to go to college which is great, but many of the top prospects only go because they have to in order to be eligible for the draft. In addition, some basketball programs even cheat the education system in order to maintain their athlete's eligibility status. For some universities in the country student comes second in the term "student athlete." Two big name universities in the basketball world that have cheated to keep players in their programs are the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Syracuse University. While Syracuse was drastically penalized for its actions, UNC Chapel Hill received just a slap on the wrist for what they did. Ted Sherman of The NJ.com describes UNC's violations as "steering athletes into GPA booster classes to keep them playing..." that has been "a cheating scheme that went on for 18 years ... " (Sherman 1). In the past 10 years there have been 26 cases of basketball programs cheating (Sherman 1). The one and done rule has made it necessary numerous college programs to make sure that their players pass classes in order for them to stay eligible to play on their teams and ultimately be eligible for the NBA draft. One and done players who from the beginning of their freshman season only strive to be drafted into the NBA do not care as much about school. In an interview with Nathan Hatch, president of Wake Forest University, conducted by Bill Littlefield, an National Public Radio (NPR) sports analyst, Littlefield was asked about a statement he had made earlier about the one and done rule: "[The] one and done phenomenon makes a mockery of our hope that student athletes are receiving an education..."(Littlefield 1).  Hatch elaborated on this and stating that he does believe some athletes truly do come to universities with the single intent of being drafted for the NBA.  They recognize that they only have to pass a semester of classes since the basketball season ends before the final exam period. 

With this fact in mind there are always outliers to these one and done programs such as Duke University. Despite many believing that this program has become a one and done program, Duke does not allow their students to only play basketball. Many of their players have shown great academic achievements and truly strive for their education. For example, from the years 2005-2013, the players in the Duke University basketball program had a 97.2% graduation rate (Featherston 1). The coaching staff made sure that their players got an education while playing. But the fact of the matter is, that Duke still has one and done players, even if they attempt to make them stay and get their education. Some of the notable Duke one and done players include Austin Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers, Jabari Parker who plays with the Milwaukee Bucks , Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers. The one and done rule still detracts from education in college. But if the rule were changed so that every other year players would be eligible for the NBA if and only if they maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher during their time in school, then the players would be able to get an education. To make them maintain a 3.0 GPA would ensure that they get an education while waiting through the gap year. If they were eligible for the draft after their freshman year and every year after that, then they would do just enough to make sure they stay eligible for the time that they are at their respective colleges. Considering that some schools cheat to make sure that their players remain eligible to play, can cause issues to this idea. But with the gap year rule, the players would not be eligible until their second year so during their first year, they would have nothing to do but play basketball and study. If the athletes did not study and get their respective GPAs equaling 3.0 or greater, then they would not be eligible. Education is the most important reason as to why the one and done rule should be changed, but another reason that it should be changed is so that the athletes have the ability to develop their skills, on and off the court.

Athletes who take advantage of the one and done rule potentially ruin their chances of developing crucial skills to better themselves, both as a professional basketball player and a professional person. Many revere college as a time to grow up before entering the "real world." College provides the opportunity for young adults to get all of their childish behavior out of them. For some players, going to the NBA does help them to grow up since they can be mentored by older teammates who help to guide them through their young adult lives. They can learn how to act around others and how to communicate at a higher level because of the businessmen and women involved with the background work for the teams. They can learn a lot off the court, but for many players, being able to communicate well does not give them what they really want, which is to play professional basketball. For many players, if they are not one of the best players in the draft, then they will most likely not be played on the starting five or even subs. They will most likely be benched and lose valuable time on the court. Not being able to play in real games can detract from a player's skill and knowledge of playing basketball. For example, Austin Rivers and DeAndre Jordan are two players whom in their first year of college were the best of the best. They played like they were ready for the NBA, but once they got to the NBA their performance was drastically decreased. Rivers in college was averaging 16 points per game (PPG) and Jordan was averaging 15 PPG. Rivers seemed to have emotional issues transitioning which led to his performance dropping; Jordan's issue was the fact that he left before all of his skills as a basketball player were mastered(Diaz 1). Two players in the most recent NBA Draft, D'Angelo Russel and Jahlil Okafor, have had trouble maturing as well. D'Angelo Russel, 2015 LA Lakers draftee, has recently come under scrutiny for videotaping a teammate during a private conversation. Russell breached the trust that was between him and his fellow teammate by filming their conversation and posting it on the internet (Holmes 1). Jahlil Okafor, 2015 Philadelphia 76ers draftee, assaulted a man outside a club after the man insulted him and his performance for the 76ers (Uribarri 1). The lack of maturity and self-control caused Okafor to lash out at the man and potentially jeopardize his career. Perhaps this lack of maturity can be traced to the fact that they all left college after their first year. If Jordan and Rivers had stayed in college they may have been able to perform better in the NBA. If Russell and Okafor stayed in college to mature then they would not be in career jeopardizing situations. All of this is because of the one and done rule; these players wanted to play in a professional league when they weren't ready. They lacked the physical, emotional and mental skills needed to be able to match the level of play and maturity in the NBA. If the rule was changed to where these athletes had to wait to be drafted until their sophomore year, they could have had the potential to perfect the fundamentals, learn new skill moves to perform at a higher level, and to grow as people instead of just basketball players. If these players got to their sophomore year and needed more time to grow physically and mentally, then they would be able to make the decision to stay with ease because of their extra year as college students.  Developing the skills to become a professional both on and off the court is a great way to show why the one and done rule needs to be changed. Another way to show why the one and done rule needs to be changed is by showing that the rule detracts from college basketball as a sport.

The players who take the path that leads to them being drafted normally only go to a college that offers a great opportunity at being drafted after their freshman year. They only look at the basketball program that the university or college has to offer. Brandon Ingram is a perfect example of this. Brandon Ingram, star freshman for the Duke Basketball team, arguably the best player in the country right now, almost did not play for Duke. The reason being is that he was expected to be recruited by Duke's number one rival university, UNC Chapel Hill (Carter 1). Ingram grew up following UNC basketball, he attended their games, wore their memorabilia, believed he was going to be a Tar Heel. But, a few months before Ingram had to make his decision, the NCAA opened up an investigation of the Tar Heel football and basketball teams' based on certain allegations (Carter 1). These alleged that the university created a fake class to boost the athletes GPAs. Ingram grew fearful and chose the next best option for playing in basketball, Duke. Both of these teams have become the two best teams in Men's College Basketball. Ingram knew that he wanted to go to the NBA, so he made sure that he could by choosing from two of the best teams in the nation (Carter 1). Ingram was looking out for his best interest in finding a suitable school to where he can show his skill and hopefully be drafted after his freshman year. As of now he is predicted to be a lottery pick in the draft, which means he will be one of the first five to be picked (Carter 1). What this shows that players whom believe that they can be drafted after their first year of college only look to attend the best programs in order to be seen by NBA recruiters. Another player whom blatantly showed that he did not want to go to college for any other reason but to play basketball was Malik Newman. Newman was a Mississippi State commit who told news reporters that "he did not want to take any college visits ... " (Setter 1). This statement shows the apathy this athlete had towards college. He just wanted to play basketball in the NBA but he could because of the rule that being forced him to be in college for a year (Setter 1). Many players feel this apathy, they only choose what college to go to with the mindset that it can help boost their chances of going to the NBA. They do not want an education, they want to be a professional basketball player. With the rule being changed to athletes having to wait two years, this attitude could be drastically changed. Having these athletes stay in college until their second year while maintaining a 3.0 or higher GPA would make them have to study and develop their skills which would force them to have an attitude change. If some of these college basketball players continue to be apathetic to their academic and athletic college careers, it would clearly show through their grades and performances on and off the court. It would then create repercussions that would demand an attitude check. The one and done rule is a rule that truly detracts from the sport of basketball. It forces apathetic players to attend college when they do not want to, it allows immature athletes to enter a mature environment where a childish persona is not permitted, and most importantly, the one and done rule takes away from the education of athletes. To change the rule is absolutely necessary, but the way to change it needs to be discussed. But why does it matter if this rule is changed? This appears to only effect the basketball community, and while it does effect the basketball community, it also effects the non-basketball community. To have hundreds of athletes attend different universities on full ride scholarships, only to then leave after using one year of that scholarship, creates a problem for college education. For universities, they have to pay for these students to attend their college, when those players do not want to be there, wastes money. To professors, teaching students who do not want to be in their class, but are because they have to be, wastes the professors time because they cannot spend that teaching on someone who wants to be taught. To the students in these universities, they have to share valuable time learning with these athletes who do not care if they are learning or not. This rule hurts not only the players, but everyone involved in the universities that house these players. The players need to understand that college is there to help them. Some athletes can go to the NBA and become great like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, but for many, they need to develop their skills. That is why the rule needs to be changed, because the players, the university faculty and student body, and everyone paying for the university are affected by this rule. To make the players actually get an education and use their scholarships allows the players to gain social and basketball skills that they would not be able to develop in the professional environment.

