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An Interesting Loophole - Dec 12, 2006
posted by: Josh
Kentucky basketball student-athlete Randolph Morris is once again making headlines. This time it’s not because he made an ill-advised attempt to jump to the NBA, but instead because of a unique loophole that could make him a rich man quite soon.
After Morris went undrafted in 2005, the NCAA withheld the Kentucky center for 14 games during his sophomore season before allowing him to take the court in a Wildcat uniform again. Morris has improved steadily since that point and has emerged as a bona fide NBA prospect early this season. Here’s the thing: the NBA only allows you to go through its draft one time and since Morris had made himself eligible for the 2005 edition, he can no longer be drafted by an NBA team. In effect, the starting center for the Kentucky Wildcats is now a free agent. I have to admit that I am caught off guard by this rule; I had no idea it existed and am not quite sure what to think. Conceivably, Morris could sign with an NBA team during the college basketball season, give up his amateur eligibility and finish the season as a millionaire on an NBA bench. I hope he doesn’t do that, but just as Marc Isenberg at Money Players asked in his post this morning, how can you begrudge Morris if he leaves? If anybody else had an offer on the table for millions of dollars, they would jump in a heartbeat? Why should we expect this kid to stay? I hope Morris does stay – for himself, for his teammates and most importantly, to finish classes. While he has already shown that his desire for a professional basketball career supersedes his educational pursuits, I hope that this time around he chooses the latter. Either way, it’s his decision to make. 
CommentsWow...that is an interesting rule. He is from the Atlanta area, and I would like to see him finish this year at Kentucky. I think he'd regret it if he left now, and he could earn even more money in the future if he keeps improving and maybe has a good NCAA tournament. While it appears zany at first, it’s not totally shocking, or bad. Baseball players do it all the time, right out of high school. He would be better suited to stay for the remainder of the season, if only to show that he can be consistent in big games. I think an interesting question out of this story is, what if high school kids get smart and go straight to overseas or developmental competition for their one-year hiatus? They can't get drafted, but anyone can be signed to any deal as a free agent. O.J. Mayo contemplated it, but decided against it. We'll wait and see. You know, I wouldn't mind kids going straight overseas or into the developmental league. If they just want to play basketball, that's what they should do. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the NCAA shouldn't be a minor league. There are alternatives to playing big-time college basketball and I'd rather see kids go from high school to Europe then pretend to care about going to class. Randolph Morris is 6-11 and 260 pounds. Right now he is playing at a very high level averaging 15.9 points and almost 8 boards per game. Kentucky isn't even ranked in the top 25. I wouldn't be opposed to him leaving early. He obviously has his sights on eventually playing in the NBA, so why not now? Look, if you are a "blue chip" player, then you already know the objective is to get to the next level as soon as possible. Student-athletes who can play at the professional level go to college for two reasons, 1) to win a national championship and 2) to wait until they're eligible for the draft. Everyone already knows Morris is headed to the NBA eventually, so let him get signed today. Kentucky doesn't need him right now, because they can't win it all with him anyway. So, they can at least look to rebuild with players that will be there for the next two (at least) years. With the new age requirement for basketball players to be drafted, the skill in the college game will take a huge leap forward. Just think, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, and Chris Bosh could still be in college somewhere. Instead, they are multi-multi-millionares. Why hold Randolph Morris back from realizing his dreams...and collecting a paycheck?! Post a Comment |
  
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