This is why I love Mark Cuban....

[TheKid]

Good article, you have to like Mark Cuban he speaks his mind and tells it like it is.


Cuban On Kids
Mark: 'The NCAA Better Watch Out'

By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com
Mavs owner Mark Cuban emails DB.com on Wednesday afternoon with these thoughts on high-schoolers (like Eddy Curry, pictured) and underclassmen in the NBA draft, which include a fanciful plan to start his own college:
There is a huge problem with kids trying to make it in the NBA these days. But the cause of the problem is not the kids – it’s the NCAA. There are always going to be people who reach for their dreams and make it, and those who fail. It doesn’t, and shouldn’t, matter if they are 16, 18 or 42.
Hell, the best scouts in the NBA have a hard time knowing which guys will make it, and which won’t after 4 years in college -- how is a kid going to know for sure if he has the skills or not if he doesn’t try?
The problem is that the NCAA has a 1-strike-and-you're-out policy. Can you name one other industry, other than sports, that follows this approach?
Why not allow kids to have 4 years of elgibility. Period. End of story. Why not?
Subtract one year for every year of professional sports played. You play one year in college, and play one year in the NBA or USBL or whatever, and then you realize you aren’t good enough, or mature enough? Fine. You can come back and play 2 more.
It would improve the college game, which in turn would keep more kids in school longer because the competition would be better.
The NCAA better watch out, or someone like me is going to start a university that is a "fine arts school", academically accredited, but not part of the NCAA for sports, that focuses on preparing athletes for professional life, in their sport and out.
Maybe they could even do a TV show like Fame about it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
Here's a question for you: If Randy Moss goes to grad school, is he eligible to play basketball ala Chris Weinke (going from baseball to football) or John Booty doing the same?
It’s a shame you can try one sport and go back to college and participate in another, but you can’t go back to the sport you may be best at or love to play the most.
If the Olympics can allow professional athletes to participate, so should colleges!
Just my two cents.
Mark

Let’s take all of the above, one at a time:


There are always going to be people who reach for their dreams and make it, and those who fail. It doesn’t, and shouldn’t, matter if they are 16, 18 or 42.
Agreed. Why do people believe it’s so devastating to attempt to play pro basketball but fall short? It’s happens to millions of us. And we survive, right?

The best scouts in the NBA have a hard time knowing which guys will make it, and which won’t after 4 years in college -- how is a kid going to know for sure if he has the skills or not if he doesn’t try?
A key issue, and agreement again. There are too many NBA players selected in the second round who end up making a living at it to assume that anybody is making a mistake by at least attempting to build himself an NBA career.

The problem is that the NCAA has a 1-strike-and-you're-out policy. Can you name one other industry, other than sports, that follows this approach? Why not allow kids to have 4 years of eligibility. Period. End of story. Why not?
Cuban wins again. What would be the downside to a player being tempted by the pros, then allowing circumstances change his mind, causing his return to college? It happens to dozens and dozens of guys every year in baseball.

Subtract one year for every year of professional sports played. You play one year in college, and play one year in the NBA or USBL or whatever, and then you realize you aren’t good enough, or mature enough? Fine. You can come back and play 2 more.
One thing you gotta like about Cuban: He doesn’t just gripe about what’s wrong; he offers a way to fix it, a plan to be implemented. What if, say, Leon Smith could go back to college right now, start over? Who would be hurt by this?

If the Olympics can allow professional athletes to participate, so should colleges!
All we’ve ever been able to figure out regarding the logic here is that the NCAA loves to peddle it’s “amateur’’ crap, even though, of course, very, very little about Division I major sports is amateur in any way.

The NCAA better watch out, or someone like me is going to start a university that is a "fine arts school", academically accredited, but not part of the NCAA for sports, that focuses on preparing athletes for professional life, in their sport and out. Maybe they could even do a TV show like Fame about it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
He’s kidding. We think.

Just my two cents.
Mark, your two cents – or any inflated amount – is always welcome here.

[MFFL]

I like Cuban's concept. 4 years of eligibility and you lose one per year of professional play.

[LAM0015]

Don Nelson is the genius among the group. He did bring us a future MVP. DIRK. He also likes a future has been, but we don't need to name any names.
Peace, I'm out