Tweet
Not too long after I post this, Michael Beasley will announce his decision to either stay at K-State or go to the NBA.
I've listened to a lot of talking heads up in KC this weekend as I drove around for family and work. Almost everyone I talked to and listened to thought for sure he is the #1 overall pick. His stock can not get any higher. He is going to get a big fat check and even if he took K-State to win the national title next year, that check isn't going to get that much bigger.
However, a few people have claimed to be K-State insiders, and say that he and Walker want to come back. They enjoy being at K-State and enjoy Martin and all of that stuff.
Ok, so must of us here know this.
What I wanted to talk about is how those of us here feel about players leaving early to go pro.
Personally, I am all for it. I'm glad Gal is going to go get paid to play.
I also hate that the NCAA penalizes these guys for going off and getting a paycheck.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to a post secondary education. Some say it should be pure job training. These are the people that think someone bound for a law degree shouldn't be taking the Psychology of Women as it is a waste of time and money. Others think that time spent at a university should be mostly focused on personal growth and that you gain more from a broad liberal arts education then you do in just job training.
To me it seems like for some, athletics is just an extension of the job training mantra. For others, it is part of a broader liberal arts education. Athletics fit both ideas! Get your job training or learn how to be a team player and apply that to the rest of your life, or both!
What really bugs me is this whole idea of penalizing a program because people make their own decisions. I don't see how it is the coach's (or the school's) responsibility, and yet the NCAA makes it that. How can a coach say "Son, I know they are offering millions of dollars but if you stay at K-State and finish your communications degree and you blow out your knee and we will stop paying for this education, you could maybe make tens of thousands of dollars instead!"?
Even guys who leave early and wash out of the NBA (or the NFL, or the MLB, or the NHL, or the WNBA) likely make more in their limited time at the pros then they would have made in the same amount of time with a genuine degree. Also, the school isn't going anywhere! Those credits are still good.
If Michael Beasley leaves K-State after his freshman year, he will also just be one of many freshman at K-State that will not be back next year. A selected few have made connections at K-State and have proven themselves in one year to be offered a good job somewhere. Others are just failing out because they did so well at Aggieville. This same story can be told at any university in the country. Yet the NCAA (obviously) doesn't penalize K-State because Joe Schmo took a job at Cargil doing IT work because it will pay the bills.
What say you, oh shocker of nets.
I've listened to a lot of talking heads up in KC this weekend as I drove around for family and work. Almost everyone I talked to and listened to thought for sure he is the #1 overall pick. His stock can not get any higher. He is going to get a big fat check and even if he took K-State to win the national title next year, that check isn't going to get that much bigger.
However, a few people have claimed to be K-State insiders, and say that he and Walker want to come back. They enjoy being at K-State and enjoy Martin and all of that stuff.
Ok, so must of us here know this.
What I wanted to talk about is how those of us here feel about players leaving early to go pro.
Personally, I am all for it. I'm glad Gal is going to go get paid to play.
I also hate that the NCAA penalizes these guys for going off and getting a paycheck.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to a post secondary education. Some say it should be pure job training. These are the people that think someone bound for a law degree shouldn't be taking the Psychology of Women as it is a waste of time and money. Others think that time spent at a university should be mostly focused on personal growth and that you gain more from a broad liberal arts education then you do in just job training.
To me it seems like for some, athletics is just an extension of the job training mantra. For others, it is part of a broader liberal arts education. Athletics fit both ideas! Get your job training or learn how to be a team player and apply that to the rest of your life, or both!
What really bugs me is this whole idea of penalizing a program because people make their own decisions. I don't see how it is the coach's (or the school's) responsibility, and yet the NCAA makes it that. How can a coach say "Son, I know they are offering millions of dollars but if you stay at K-State and finish your communications degree and you blow out your knee and we will stop paying for this education, you could maybe make tens of thousands of dollars instead!"?
Even guys who leave early and wash out of the NBA (or the NFL, or the MLB, or the NHL, or the WNBA) likely make more in their limited time at the pros then they would have made in the same amount of time with a genuine degree. Also, the school isn't going anywhere! Those credits are still good.
If Michael Beasley leaves K-State after his freshman year, he will also just be one of many freshman at K-State that will not be back next year. A selected few have made connections at K-State and have proven themselves in one year to be offered a good job somewhere. Others are just failing out because they did so well at Aggieville. This same story can be told at any university in the country. Yet the NCAA (obviously) doesn't penalize K-State because Joe Schmo took a job at Cargil doing IT work because it will pay the bills.
What say you, oh shocker of nets.
:yahoo: 
Comment