To qualify to enter the NBA you have to be at least one year removed from High School. Then you can enter the NBA draft. So where does this leave the NCAA and their rules..... in a real bad place. The NCAA rules are as follows: To qualify to play on a basketball team and get a scholarship you have to take one class and pass it with a D or better. Yep, that's right....D as in Dumb Rule.

The NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement was amended in 2006 to state that anyone wanting to enter the NBA had to be at least 19 years of age and one complete year removed from High School. That doesn't mean a kid has to go to college to enter the NBA. He can go play overseas and play for a year and then he would be eligible.

The rule was changed in agreement on all sides. Everyone wanted to have better talent on the floor and wanted better representation off the court as well. Everyone thinks about Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Kevin Garnet when debating on being able to enter the NBA right out of High School. That is because no one remembers or hears about all the failures. For every success story here there are 3 or 4 failure stories to go with it. Do you remember Lenny Cooke? Taj McDavid? Darius Miles? These are some of the failures that thought they could play in the NBA right away out of High School and didn't need any more basketball experience.

Let's take a look at the last year a player could go from High School to the NBA. There were 8 players that got drafted out of High School. Here they are:

2005 NBA DRAFT:

Martell Webster (Seattle Prep, Wa.) --6th Overall pick (first round); by Portland

The Scoop: In His first season with the Trailblazers Webster did a lot of sitting on the pine averaging only 17.5 minutes and only 6.6 points per game. A couple of years in college would have really helped him develop his game and he would have probably been a star from his rookie season. In the 2009-2010 season he is still only averaging 10.8 points per game while playing an average of just over 28 minutes.

Gerald Green (Gulf Shores Academy, Houston, Tx.) --18th Overall pick (first round); by Boston

The Scoop: Although he was the eighteenth pick, Green might have been the most talented prep player and the best athlete overall in this year's draft.  Green won the McDonald's All American Slam Dunk Contest in 2005. After being drafted by the Boston Celtics, Green was stuck on the bench behind veteran players. He was involved in the blockbuster trade between the Celtics and Timberwolves to get Garnett to Boston on July 31, 2007. Green saw limited time there as well. The highlight of his professional career in the NBA was the Slam Dunk Contests during halftime at the All Star games. In the 2006-2007 Slam Dunk Contest he won it with some amazing dunks. In 2007-2008 he came in second to Dwight Howard. He actually came up with the Birthday Cake Dunk. He placed a cup cake with candles on the back of the rim and blew the candles out as he dunked the ball. In 2009 Gerald Green signed with the Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia and is no longer in the NBA.

C.J. Miles (Skyline, Dallas, Tx.) --34th Overall pick (second round); by Utah

The Scoop: From the same high school as Larry Johnson, Miles is one of only two player in the history of Skyline High School in Dallas, TX to have his jersey retired. The other is Larry Johnson. Miles was selected to the McDonald's All America team after averaging a double-double his senior year in High School (23.5 pts per game and 10 rebounds). Miles is best known for the post game interview involving Coach Jerry Sloan where Sloan said about C.J. Miles: "If he is going to be on the NBA floor he has to step up and get after it. We can't put diapers on him one night and a jock strap the next. It's just the way it is."  While not playing a vital role he still got a 4 year 15 million dollar contract in July of 20078 to stay with the Jazz.

Ricky Sanchez (IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fl.) --35th Overall pick (second round); by Portland

The Scoop: This Puerto Rican native is currently not in the NBA. He's actually never played one second on and NBA court during an NBA game. He is one of Puerto Rica's most talented basketball players ever and started professionally at the age of 14 in the Puerto Rican league.

Monta Ellis (Lanier, Jackson, Ms.) --40th Overall pick (second round); by Golden State

The Scoop: Ellis was named Parade High School Player of the Year his last year in High School. He was thought to be a steal at the 40th pick. All the analysts picked him to go in the first round.
Ellis is now considered "The Future" for Golden State after 3 not so good years he has come into his own. 2009 - 2010 season he is averaging 26.5 PPG and 5.5 APG.

Louis Williams (South Gwinnett, Snellville, Ga.) --45th Overall pick (second round); by Philadelphia

The Scoop: With the concerns that Williams would not have enough size or natural point guard skills to make it in the NBA, it's only natural the Philadelphia 76'ers took a chance on him. Williams has been decent so far in the NBA averaging 9.8 ppg and averaging 20 minutes per game as well so far in his career.

Andray Blatche (South Kent Prep, Ct.) --49th Overall pick (second round); by Washington

The Scoop: Blatche started off with some real bad luck. He got shot in the stomach during a carjacking after the draft. He made a full recovery and was able to play in November of his rookie year. While playing much of his time in the NBA Developmental League, he is still on the Wizzard's team and starting to contribute nicely.

Amir Johnson (Westchester, Los Angeles, Ca.) --56th Overall pick (second round); by Detroit

The Scoop: The 2005 CalHiSports.com Mr. basketball State Player of the Year. Johnson played most of his career in the Developmental League as well. When he was on the court with the Pistons his career average is below 4 ppg. In 2009 he was traded twice. No playing time so far this year.

Doing the research for this article I found out that many of the guys that went straight to the NBA out of High School are doing well. They are making a good living playing very little time. I guess that is better than being in a 9 to 5 and making under 50K a year. But where would they be right now if they had gone to college for a year? They might have ended up staying in college and actually getting a paid for education.

The NFL has several rules of eligibility for players wanting to enter into the draft. First of all they have to be removed 3 years from High School. It is very rare that an NFL team will draft someone that has not proven them self in college football for the full three years. A player drafted does not actually have to play college football but it is very unlikely that someone would ever be drafted that doesn't. Also, players entering the draft must have an agent. This rule is in place for several reasons. This is a very large business and the NFL is very concerned about their reputation and the people that work within the organization wheather it be a player, coach or office worker for a team. The NFL knows that having at least 3 years of college experience will give a young man more time to mature and be a better representative of the NFL.

About 90% of the players that go straight to the NBA end up playing in the NBA Developmental League for several years. If they would have went to college they would have been much more prepared for the NBA and would have created themselves a lot better opportunity to be successful.

While I don't agree with the one and done rule, it is better than none at all. There are a lot of players that would have entered the NBA draft out of High School if the rule did not exist. Just think.... These guys might just enjoy getting a free education and if they don't make it in the NBA they will have some sort of college experience to fall back on. Some college is much better than none at all.

I believe the NBA should change the rule even more. The NFL has the right thoughts in mind.... 3 years of college and then you can apply for the NFL. The NBA might want to look at the best sports business in the world (the NFL) and follow suit. While the NBA has been working more on their reputation, maybe making it a little tougher to get in would make it easier for them to make sure they are drafting the right person. College has never hurt anyone and can only add value to the life of the person that goes and participates fully. I am not saying that you should graduate from college to be able to play in the NBA but the experience someone gets from college is a lifetime experience and one that will only add value to you and your future employer.

The NBA should hire someone from the NFL corporate office and get this right. It will not only help the players it will help the NBA as a league as well. - Bob Bearden

Bob is a regular guest contributor on sports talk radio in the Southeastern United States. Bob's views and opinions on professional and college sporting events can now be found right here on the MC3 Sports Media's family of websites.

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