The announcement came fairly quietly, but 2009 NBA lotter pick Brandon Jennings announced he was foregoing his opportunity to play at the University of Arizona, and honing his game in Europe.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. College Basketball is one of my favorite sports, but the creation of the mandatory one year rule for prep stars might do way more damage than help as many thought it would.
The arguments were allowing players to become more NBA ready, giving the college game an opportunity to have these athletes for at least one year, and make teams stronger throughout the NCAA. Also it was said that it would give young athletes a chance to further their education, to become more ready for the real world.
Opponents have said that this isn't true, and that renting a player for a single year does more damage to a program than it helps.
It is not as if a player has to do much at school as it is anyway. They have to pass two classes with a D average for the fall semester to be eligible for the basketball season. That is it. This doesn't sound like great preparation for the real world to me (Although, for the record, according to the end of Animal House, John Blutarsky did become a U.S. Senator).
So Brandon Jennings becomes the pioneer, the first one to say "Piss off college basketball, I was only coming for a booty call anyway." And as long as he is remotely successful, be prepared to see this happen again and again.
Sporting News: Arizona recruit Jennings opts to play in Europe
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