For many NCAA athletes, college is simply a brief stop on their way to a professional career. Lately, basketball players have jettisoned to the NBA after a year or two of playing college ball. Up until 2004, the NBA willingly accepted players straight out of high school before eventually changing their policy to require at least a one year gap before being allowed into the league.
From the perspective of a highly touted high school player, college may seem like a waste of time. If they know for certain that they are putting every last ambition into becoming a professional athlete of some kind, why bother risking an injury that would hurt their draft stock? Why bother getting settled in a college if they’re only going to stay for one or two years at the most?
Many do not understand that college is not entirely about academics or studying a certain major. College is a place where you transition from adolescence into adult, a place where you can make mistakes and learn from them in order to become a better person.
Recent trends show that a growing number of athletes are opting to duck out of college sooner rather than later. For example, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving played a total of 10 games for his college, Duke University, before quickly waltzing his way to the NBA. Former Portland Trail Blazers big man Greg Oden left for the pros after two years at Ohio State. Irving was picked first on draft day in 2011, Oden was picked first overall in 2007.
While Irving and Oden are both phenomenal athletes and dominant when healthy, each have sustained their share of injuries throughout their careers. Irving missed 23 games this past season, and Oden has played in about 82 games throughout the past six years, hampered constantly by bad knees. Undoubtedly, Irving and Oden will aim to recover and come back stronger, but what if they simply can’t over the course of their careers?
Take Jeremy Lin for example. Lin made it to the NBA the hard way, going undrafted and working his way through many teams before erupting with a monster season in New York. Plus, should anything ever cut Lin’s basketball career short, he has a degree from Harvard to fall back on; not too shabby huh?
Another prime example of this scenario is with Robert Griffin III. Though he shed his final year of eligibility, Griffin graduated with a degree from Baylor University and possesses many other skills beyond just football. He can fall back on his education if he needs to. Like Lin, Griffin has the option of pursuing other career paths in the event of catastrophe.
Unless you’re a superstar that is guaranteed to play immediately following college and are heralded as the next LeBron or Michael Jordan, there’s no need to rush the transition to the professional level.