Читать книгу Alternative Models of Sports Development in America. Solutions to a Crisis in Education and Public Health онлайн
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Parker played basketball at all levels of the education system in Chicago, Illinois, most notably at Simeon Career Academy, a public high school in the city’s South Side neighborhood that has long been noted for its ability to produce elite basketball talents such as Parker, Nick Anderson, Ben Wilson, and Derrick Rose, to name a few.9 Parker only played one year of college basketball as what is now commonly called a “one and done” player—usually a highly elite prospect who will play college basketball for one year to make it to nineteen, the minimum age to declare for the NBA draft. This minimum was instituted in 2005, ostensibly to prevent high school players going directly to the NBA, as was increasingly being done by influential young superstars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. The thought behind the rule was allegedly to encourage, if not mandate, that elite basketball athletes go to college even if only for one year, in order to have some exposure to higher education before jumping to the NBA. What cannot be ignored is that this is also a prime year of athletic development and maturity for many athletes. Theoretically, this NBA rule was governed by the most recent collective bargaining agreement between the National Basketball Players Association (the NBA players’ union) and the owners. While that is technically correct, it is hard not to notice the monetary and competitive benefits for both the NCAA and NBA to having a rule like this. The NCAA gets superstars, if only for a year, and the NBA gets players one year older and one year better after playing in a very good and competitive development system.