Concerned that the NBA is suffering from a rash of unprepared high schoolers jumping to the league, commissioner David Stern is pushing for an age limit that would require players to be at least 20 to be eligible for the draft.
Kansas University senior Wayne Simien, 22, is not sure that is a good idea.
“It’s tough to say,” said Simien, whose status as a possible lottery pick is weakened every time a U.S. high schooler or young international player puts his name in the NBA Draft pot. “You look at the all-star game this year, and some playoff teams … they have high school phenoms in there.
“It is good for the game in some aspects. The age limit in basketball is like the BCS for football,” Simien said, referring to the controversial nature of college football’s Bowl Championship Series.
KU coach Bill Self has flip-flopped positions on the minimum-age issue.
“I used to think yes,” Self said of wanting a minimum age of 20 for the NBA. “I don’t personally believe the 20-age rule will really do much, because I assume there’s to be an exception to the rule.
“I’d assume the guys who you spent a ton of time recruiting … you’d get them for just one year. They’ll hurt recruiting the following year, because you can’t recruit another good player with those (NBA-type players) already on campus.”
Self thinks he has a better idea than an age limit.
“If you go to school, you’ve got to stay two years. That would be the perfect deal for me,” Self said. “That would eliminate bad decisions. I’ve heard the players are using that (age-limit issue) as leverage on the collective-bargaining agreement to raise the salary cap. There are some negotiations going on.”
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NCAA rules meeting under way: The men’s basketball rules committee will meet from today to Wednesday in Indianapolis. The group is expected to endorse the moving back of the three-point line from 19 feet, nine inches to the international distance of 20-6. Also to be discussed is widening the three-second lane from 12 to 15 feet and installing a no-charge zone that would extend in a two-foot radius beneath the basket.
“I hope the lane stays the same,” Self said. “If they want to change it to the trapezoid (bigger lane), then let us work with our guys year-round to develop skill. If they want everybody to be European-type skill level, then let us work with the guys year-round. That, to me, would be the benefit of having the trapezoid lane.”
The no-charge zone is meant to encourage scoring by driving to the basket.
“What it does, even if it is a legitimate charge, it encourages guys not to take charges under the basket,” Self said. “To be honest, I think it’d help officiating. I think the block-charge call is the hardest to make.”
Self is OK with moving back the three-point line a bit. Nine inches isn’t expected to make much of a difference.
“I think the three-point line is good, and the game has evolved to the point people are relying on the three-point shot even too much. Pushing it back might create more of an in-between game,” Self said. “People once thought the three-point line itself was not good. I think it changed the game in a positive way.”
