TrollyMcTroller
Well-Known Member
The NBA really isn't that much different from the rest of the jobs in America.
Contrary to what's been pounded into your skull since you were 6 years old, the vast majority of "good" jobs really don't need a college degree in the traditional sense. Doctor? Yep. Lawyer? Yep. Engineer? Yep. Academia? Yep. And that's about it. Most other jobs can be learned through OJT, or from a trade school. This myth that getting a liberal arts degree, will somehow make you a top candidate for a job simply doesn't pass muster. College is a 4 (okay... 4 to 7) year detour, that creates the illusion of having improved your skill set, but really all it's done for a lot of people is fulfill the biggest unspoken requirement of any job. "We don't want to hire an 18 year old to do anything that involves more responsibility than swiping a customer's credit card through the cash register." Basically, after college, you're older and more mature than you were after high school. That is ultimately what makes you more employable. And college basketball is not really that much different. From the players perspective, they'd get just as much benefit from going to a trade school (aka the NBA D-League, or FC Barcelona) as they would from going to college. I'd guess for about 80% of the people that are working on their undergrad degree right now, it's just a huge waste of money. (but damn, it sure is fun isn't it?)
That being said, I think most players that stick around and play in college for 3 or 4 years, are much more polished and likely to make an immediate impact in the NBA, but I'm not about to tell some kid who grew up in the projects that he should wait a few extra years, and risk getting injured, before going after that 7 figure paycheck because he's 15' jumper still needs a little work. If you can go get paid, more power to ya.
Contrary to what's been pounded into your skull since you were 6 years old, the vast majority of "good" jobs really don't need a college degree in the traditional sense. Doctor? Yep. Lawyer? Yep. Engineer? Yep. Academia? Yep. And that's about it. Most other jobs can be learned through OJT, or from a trade school. This myth that getting a liberal arts degree, will somehow make you a top candidate for a job simply doesn't pass muster. College is a 4 (okay... 4 to 7) year detour, that creates the illusion of having improved your skill set, but really all it's done for a lot of people is fulfill the biggest unspoken requirement of any job. "We don't want to hire an 18 year old to do anything that involves more responsibility than swiping a customer's credit card through the cash register." Basically, after college, you're older and more mature than you were after high school. That is ultimately what makes you more employable. And college basketball is not really that much different. From the players perspective, they'd get just as much benefit from going to a trade school (aka the NBA D-League, or FC Barcelona) as they would from going to college. I'd guess for about 80% of the people that are working on their undergrad degree right now, it's just a huge waste of money. (but damn, it sure is fun isn't it?)
That being said, I think most players that stick around and play in college for 3 or 4 years, are much more polished and likely to make an immediate impact in the NBA, but I'm not about to tell some kid who grew up in the projects that he should wait a few extra years, and risk getting injured, before going after that 7 figure paycheck because he's 15' jumper still needs a little work. If you can go get paid, more power to ya.