On the night of Monday, April 2 2012, the men’s basketball team of the University of Kentucky, the Wildcats, won the 2011-12 NCAA championship. It was the culmination of a season where we saw a team of freshmen, sophomores and a senior, play together as a team to dominate their opponents and win the ultimate prize in college basketball. Since their win, their fans have been ecstatic – it’s been 14 years since the Wildcats won their last basketball trophy. In a state that passionate about basketball, it felt like a century.
Amidst the glee, I hear some voices that speak of the win in disdain. These voices gripe about the fact that John Calipari, the Wildcats coach, is exploiting the “one-and-done” rule set by the NBA.
A little background here. In previous years, kids could go straight from high school to the NBA, totally bypassing college. Examples include Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard. These are the successful examples. There were some busts too (Kwame Brown). To prevent these kids without much experience from destroying the quality of the product the NBA offered, it was agreed to stipulate a year’s wait between high school and entry into the NBA. So these kids go to college for one year and bolt for the NBA. Academicians argue that these “one-and-doners” are using colleges as a mere stepping stone for getting to the riches of the NBA and neglecting getting an education. So-called basketball purists point out that even if these kids are talented enough, they are not mature enough for the professional league. They argue that a true college basketball team should be riddled with experienced juniors and seniors.They feel that irrespective of how good one may be, a college player should stay in college till graduation.
The reality of the situation though is that there are kids who are that good and want to enter the NBA straight from high school. They risk loosing a lot of money if their college career is ended by an injury or they do not perform well in their subsequent years in college. The “one-and-done” rule however prevents them from going from high school into the NBA. So, what is the best way out?
That is where John Calipari comes in. This past season, he probably recruited the two best high school players in the country in Anthony Davies and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. He combined them with another freshman, Marquis Teague, two sophomores in Jones and Lamb, and a senior, Miller, to create a powerful basketball team. In the process, he taught them teamwork, discipline, patience and working towards a goal. He taught them the principle of the sum of the parts being greater than the individual. He got them to pay defense and share the ball. In less than a year, he sold them a dream and helped them achieve it. He got them to play some amazing basketball.
Now I don’t know about you but I find that to be an amazing feat. I also find it really great that these young men got to be taught these life principles. Who can argue that what they learned in the last seven months will not be beneficial for their professional careers or even life?
We send kids to college to get a degree so they can join the workforce and earn a living. However, does college really prepare our children for life, real life? I dare to say NO! Qualities such as discipline, teamwork and patience are things you are supposed to have learned at home or in high school or somewhere in-between. Colleges spew out men and women who are ill-prepared for the journey called life, irrespective of how many degrees they may hold. Isn’t it then commendable that a coach seeks to imbibe great life qualities in these young men in the little time he has with them?
The “one-and-done” rule is neither good for for the teams which get these kids nor the kids themselves. A two to three year stint in college may be the way to go, and in that I see the frustration of the academicians. Instead of just railing against the situation, maybe colleges should have one year programs for these kids that are geared towards their life as professional basketball players and could include courses on money and time management, public speaking and leadership, the business of sports, ethics, to mention a few. To the so-called purists, note that all we have is the “one-and-done” rule and I think coaches should do their best to help these kids. Instead of hiding behind the veil of the “purity of the sport”, coaches should think about how best to use the little time they have with these kids to groom them for life. I find it hypocritical to blame Coach Calipari for making the most out of a bad rule. Instead of seeing it as an exploitation, maybe these purist need to admire what he tries to do for these kids. Maybe they should appreciate the fact that these young men are going into the real world with qualities that may help them deal with their professional careers and life.
I really wonder if any of these purists would complain if Coach Calipari was doing this at their institution and getting them far into the tournament each year. I wonder if they would complain if their son, who was a possible “one-and-doner” had the chance to be on this Kentucky team. I sincerely doubt it!