Big Ten floats the idea of freshman ineligibility

They make tons more in marketing as rookies when people know who they are from college. Australia's temporary salary bump wouldn't make much of a dent in that.

As for the women, these aren't guys who struggle in that area on a college campus.

 

This is a ploy, with absolutely no possibility of actually becoming a rule.

 

Right, obviously Duke is a better option for Jabari Parker. But for the few guys that do decide to or have their hand forced into going overseas, such as Mudiay, I think I'd be looking at Australia before China.

 

If ADs and coaches agree on this, it MUST be a good thing.

 

This would instantly guarantee that no player with any realistic NBA (and most likely NFL) prospects would ever consider attending a B1G school. Great thinking.

 

A lot of Big Ten coaches (Bo Ryan, ahem) would love that. All about the team, baby! Slap that floor!

 

But what's probably an even bigger deal, because Wisconsin and Michigan State might still be able to do their thing in hoops, is how wide the gap would get in football if other conferences aren't on board. You think Meyer and Harbaugh want to tell the top football prospects in the country there is no way they can play as freshman while all the teams in the SEC are telling them they have a shot to start right away?

 

There was some buzz about the Pac-12 also considering it, but I don't see how any of them go through with it unless all the Power 5 leagues, at the very least, do it. And even if all the Power 5 conferences did it, if I was the Big East I'd be telling all these stud basketball freshman to come on down.

 

Sparty doesn't actually SEND a lot of players to the NBA, but they still recruit a lot of guys who are supposedly top prospects. Izzo specializes in taking guys who are supposed to be borderline lottery/lower first rounders and turning them into second rounders. You can win a lot of college games with NBA second-rounders. Under this rule, those guys will all go somewhere else to play as freshmen.

 

All the NBA would have to do is say it's considering making the age 18 again and this idea dies an even swifter death than it will die in real life. Think about this. Freshmen would be ineligible for the NBA, and also prevented from playing varsity basketball and making a commercially viable name for themselves (to which they are entitled to some compensation now). This leaves the NCAA open to even more and more dangerous litigation.

 

The NCAA should change its rules that any player may return to college unless he is added to the regular-season active roster of a professional team and actually draws a paycheck.

If you're drafted and get cut, or drafted and decide not to sign, you should be allowed to go back to college.

Somebody will immediately pipe up, "but what if a team uses a first-round pick on a guy and he doesn't sign?", and the answer, of course, is "who cares?"

 

Happens in baseball all the time. Signing bonus isn't right and the kid goes to a juco to stay draft-eligible.