Hold the Mayos

I could have used any number of appellatives to start this post, as Mr. Mayo's name gives me a limitless amount of available options. However, I feel the above is both appropriate, and in its own way, humorous.

At this time, the NCAA is currently investigating reports of whether Mayo accepted gifts and money from a sports agency in return for his promise to allow them to represent him when he turned pro after his freshman year at USC. And while the reports

are being adamantly denied by both Mayo and the agency, who he eventually signed with after declaring for the draft earlier this month, this should come as no surprise to many sports fans. Mayo has been projected as a NBA first rounder since his junior year in high school, only going to the NBA wasn't a possibility due to the NBA's rule saying that all incoming players must be one year removed from high school.

So there in lies the problem. In creating such a rule in the first place, the NBA is forcing draft eligible players to go to college, which in turn encourages them to try and circumvent the system to get what they feel they deserve. This puts colleges in numerous difficult situations, the least of which is the possible infractions, such as the ones Mayo is accused of, that are a direct result of the player trying to circumvent the system. The colleges in turn serve as nothing more than a developmental league for the NBA, harboring players who the league feels need one more year of maturity and skill development. Is this really what the NCAA desires? I don't think so.

So in the end, an assessment needs to be done on whether this rule is actually helping the NBA, the NCAA, and the student/athlete. In the short time that it has been in affect, the answer would seem to be that it has been detrimental to all of the above.

First off, the NCAA is unfairly having to commit scholarships to kids they know are going to be one and done players just fulfilling their obligations prior to entering the draft. This takes educational opportunities away from other kids that are interested in both the educational and athletic aspects of going to college. If you want to encourage these students to stay in school and get a full education or at least the backbone of one, make the scholarship a loan unless at least three years are completed. If they fulfill their obligations as a student, great, the money doesn't need to be repaid. Otherwise, make them have to pay tuition like every other student who isn't gifted enough athletically to take a one year vacation on someone else's dime.

Secondly, the NBA already has a developmental league, set-up to help those that aren't ready for the big show to mature into prime-time players. It would seem to me that it would be more beneficiary to have top flight high school talent become gate attractions at that level and pump money into the league rather than thrust them upon universities. Instead of making them go to college, make it a requirement that they play one year in the developmental league. This way they're still getting paid, the NBA is benefiting from the investment it is putting into the league, and everyone can accept whatever gifts they choose to, without penalty.

At the end of the day, the rule needs to be lifted, plain and simple. Neither party could possibly be happy under the current system and neither is prepared to deal with its shortcomings. Let those that feel they need the economic support to seek it where it is meant to be sought, not by circumventing a broken system.