Dreams aren't always reality

By Alan Rubenstein Sports Central Columnist

Warmer weather, the NBA and NHL playoffs, and the beginning of the Major League Baseball season are all rights of spring. The NBA's early entry deadline is often forgotten in the shuffle. This year's May 17th deadline made many colleges coach nervous and caught a few off-guard.

NBA riches have taken a lot of focus off the team game as more prep ballers and college underclassmen chase riches and dreams. The problem has become for every Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony, there is a Korleone Young, Leon Smith, and Erick Barkley.

The 2004 early list has 11 players entering directly from high school, 45 giving up their college eligibility, and 38 players from overseas. With only 30 teams and two rounds in the draft, that will leave a minimum of 34 players undrafted if every player picked was an early entry candidate. There has never been draft without a college senior selected. With the direction that basketball is headed in, we might see a day when a draft takes places without a college senior being selected.

Underclassmen were originally allowed to enter the NBA draft. Spencer Haywood blazed the trail for underclassman to be allowed in the NBA early. Haywood had to resort to suing the NBA to gain admission to the league. The previous rule stated that a player must wait four years after graduating from high school to gain eligibility to the league.

The original idea behind player's early entry candidates was for players to declare hardship. This was granted for players who came from extreme economic conditions and whose families needed their NBA paycheck to live more stable lives.

The hardship idea eventually fell by the wayside with early entry candidates morphing into the mainly the best college players. Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, James Worthy, Clyde Drexler, and Hakeem Olajuwon were among future Hall of Famers who gave up their college eligibility early to turn professional. They all entered after their junior season.

The player who might have started the trend towards high school players is Shawn Kemp. Kemp was set to enter Kentucky for the fall of 1988. He wasn't accepted into UK and instead made his way to junior college. Under the current landscape, Kemp would have likely entered the draft after high school. Kemp entered the 1989 draft after a year at junior college.

In 1995, Garnett became the first high school player drafted into the NBA in nearly 20 years. The following year, Kobe Bryant was drafted directly from high school and the trend has continued ever since.

Most of these players have too many voices in their ears. Street agents, high school and AAU coaches, parents, family, and friends all have an opinion on what each player should do and many want a slice of the pie if and when that player reaches the NBA.

This year's crop of NBA hopefuls have players that the scouts consider lottery picks, pretenders, and players who might have to land on the right team or in the right situation to become a solid contributor or wind up becoming an NBA journeyman.

Increasingly, turning pro has not become just about earning a big contract from the team that drafts you. After LeBron James earned big contracts from Nike and Sprite, the players are equally concerned about their income off the court as they are on it.

Sebastian Telfair is projected as a late first-round pick if the Clippers don't take him in the lottery. Telfair told ESPN.com that he signed an endorsement with Adidas worth about $15 million. J.R. Smith who was headed to North Carolina, but has also declared for the NBA draft has also signed a contract with Adidas.

This year's high school class has been tabbed as the deepest in at least 16 years and possibly in 25. Thirteen high school entries certainly illustrate that. The reality is that only Howard and Livingston are certain lottery picks.

The majority of early entry candidates do not make an immediate impact. Jermaine O'Neal, Zach Randolph, and even Kobe Bryant had to wait their turns to become NBA stars. Waiting, going to college to gain experience, and the importance of gaining experience on the court versus on the bench is vital to the growth of any player. Tim Duncan, Kenyon Martin, and Kirk Heinrich all benefited from staying for their senior years of college.

Jameer Nelson is a likely lottery pick this year after attending the pre-draft in Chicago last year and determining he would only be a second-round pick. He returned to St. Joseph this season and earned the National Player of the Year and nearly led the Hawks to their first Final Four in 40 years.

Nearly all of this year's early entry candidates could use at least another year of work on their games before entering the draft. But the potential contracts and endorsement were too great for most of the players to pass up.

Even the lure of national awards and team glory don't seem to be enough to keep players that are already college stars. After being selected as the unanimous Big 10 player of the year, Devin Harris surprised the Wisconsin faithful by putting his name on the list of candidates. Badger fans were looking ahead to a top-five ranking and probably the best team in school history. When Harris made his decision to enter the draft, the faithful of Big Red and the dreams in Mad Town were severely bruised.

At the time, Harris said he didn't sign with an agent and wanted to evaluate his stock before making a definite decision. With his stock rising and the expectation that he will be a lottery pick, Harris is, in all likelihood, staying the draft.

All of the high school players entering the draft need work on their games. The consensus among NBA scouts is that Howard and Livingston are the most ready among the high school candidates. Livingston still needs work on his strength. All of the other prep stars are likely a few years away from making an impact in the NBA. The college early entries include players from a multitude of school that no one has heard of. Included are three community colleges and school like Francis Marion, Georgia Perimeters, Fairfield, and Chaminade.

There have been many proposals to quell the amount of early entries into the NBA. Among those have been age restrictions. That probably won't hold up in court. The best way for the NBA to allow these players time to grow and work on their games is to truly use the NBDL as a developmental league. Minor leagues have worked in hockey and baseball for as long as those leagues have been around and the NFL has seen many stars come from NFL Europe or the Arena League.

If these young players have time to mature without the bright lights of NBA arenas, then everyone will benefit with better basketball.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.