For a long time, I’ve been troubled by high school kids making the jump to professional sports by completely foregoing college. While there are a few exceptions, most of these kids don’t have the emotional maturity to enter a society of adults. They don’t have the basic life skills to cope with adult matters like time budgeting, financial discipline, and losing.

The Salt Lake Tribune published a wonderful article on the subject. Author Steve Luhm examines the increasing tendency for high school students to enter the NBA draft. These kids only see fame and fortune, not hard work, pain, mental anguish, and the like – things you learn about and develop life strategies for in college:

Like wild-eyed participants in a modern-day gold rush, today’s best high school basketball players charge into the NBA draft with dreams of unimaginable fortune dancing in their heads.

They don’t worry about the hard work it will take to succeed.

They don’t think of the inevitable pitfalls they’ll encounter before their gamble pays off.

They just pack their bags and jump.

Ready or not.

Luhm notes that not every early entrant into the draft has the maturity of Tim Duncan, and that this trend toward younger, less disciplined athletes is removing a lot of professionalism from the NBA game. This is, in turn, creating a league that is incresingly poor as a “gold standard.” This is no longer the league of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Dr. J, Michael Jordan, or John Stockton. Danny Ainge, former star player for BYU and the Boston Celtics – as well as a player not known for having an even temper – notes the folowing in Luhm’s article:

“There are a lot of things you see throughout the league… I just feel we need players who are going to respect the game more, respect their teammates more – respect the coaches, the media, the ballboys, everybody. There is too much of a lackadaisical attitude and that’s frustrating. There’s just not enough respect for people or the game itself.”

This kind of attitude rubs off on the fans, as well. As I noted back in May, the modern NBA audience shows little in the way of decorum or maturity. To my mind, this is a more-or-less direct result of the “immature punk factor” on NBA basketball. The NBA, of course, sees this as a way to attract new fans. To me, this is also serving to alienate long-time fans who remember a game that was just as exciting, just as physical, but a lot more civil.

And going back to Ainge, his on-court antics look downright tame compared to some of the actions of modern NBA stars. He didn’t, after all, grab his coach in a chokehold (Latrell Sprewell) or call his teammates a bunch of invalids (Kobe Bryant). Ainge, while whiny and prone to small tantrums, knew that it was the team and the fans who mattered, and that he had to respect that.

If I called the shots in the NBA, I’d go further than the recently-forged collective bargaining agreement stipulation of 19 years old as the minimum age to play. Indeed, I’d require that a player have at least an Associates degree from a 2-year college (or the equivalent certification) or be 22 years old to play in the NBA. I’d also create a real code of conduct for players and coaches, one that has teeth and little tolerance for thug play, offensive trash talk, drug use or temper tantrums. As professionals, they need to show respect for their teammates, their coaches and management (i.e. their bosses), and the fans.

These players, whether they like it or not, are seen as role models in the public eye. Kids tend to emulate their heroes, whether these heroes are benevolent or bratty. While many adults can tell right from wrong, kids and teenagers aren’t always as capable of making such determinations. The players need to step up and show some responsibility.

Kudos to Steve Luhm for writing such an insightful article.