This season's NCAA's impact on the NBA's future
If there's one team that David Stern will be rooting on during this NCAA season, it's Florida. A great season from the Gators will significantly improve his stance on not allowing high school players to make the jump straight to the NBA. Another thing in his favor is Greg Oden who has said time and again that he wants to stay in college and not just be a one-and-done. If everything works out for Stern, the Gators will win and the young freshman will show that they aren't ready for prime time.
On the other hand, if Florida falters and the players who opted not to test the waters don't improve, Stern could have some trouble on his hands. Right now, three of the top seven prospects in the 2007 draft are freshman. Some sources have even more freshmen able to break the top of the lottery. And as has been the case, coming out early still looks like a viable option. Shawne Williams had a disappointing season and still went #17 to Indiana. Rajon Rondo was out of place in Kentucky, rather than transferring and sitting out a year, he was drafted at #21 and is earning praise for his summer league play. Even Daniel Gibson, who slipped to the second round, wound up in a perfect situation in Cleveland. The problem with this, of course, is that it shows top prospects that even a disappointing season can't stop them from reaching their NBA dream... if they come out while their potential is still high. This is an issue because it won't help the NBA from stopping the incoming underdeveloped talent and it might also convince more players who clearly aren't ready (ala the undrafted Memphis sophomore Darius Washington) to come out early rather than continue to struggle on the amateur level. Also, any player who strings together a solid season on a small conference team will likely roll the dice on their potential after seeing Patrick O'Bryant fly up to #7 in this past year's draft.
This should be an interesting season of college basketball for the NCAA's. Hopefully, juniors and seniors will step up their games while the young players improve but aren't ready. If not, more people might see college as a one-and-done venture and the future of the NCAA could take a real hit.
