One and Done? Get Out of Lute Olson’s Face.

Bill Plashke and others have different opinions on the rule of the “you must be 19 and one year removed from high school to enter the NBA draft”. Many athletes have gone the college route and most of the top prospects have left after one year there. But Brandon Jennings could help change things. He decided to take the overseas route instead of going to a place that recruited him, The University of Arizona. And Lute Olson is deciding to change his whole aspect on recruiting because of it.

“It’s a situation now that if someone’s a ‘one-and-done,’ we’re not going to pursue them anymore, no way,” Olson said from his Tucson office. (LA Times)

Lute Olson wants the rules to change. Either enter the NBA draft out of high school or spend no less than two years in college. He no longer wants to deal with the one and done athletes. Of course he could be reeling from losing two potential point guards for next year. Jerryd Bayless who left after one year to enter the NBA draft and Brandon Jennings who was on course to attend Arizona. But there are others who feel differently.

“We don’t know who’s going to go,” Boeheim said. “You try to get the best 11 players you can. Guys will leave . . . it’s a fact of life . . . but you still have 10 guys. When we recruit, we try to get the best one we can and hope he’s good enough to win you a national championship, like Carmelo Anthony. But you have to be prepared for guys leaving, like Carmelo did. (LA Times)

Some might find it noble to hear that Lute Olson is doing this. But can you really tell whether or not a player is going to leave early? Yes there are some like Greg Oden and O.J. Mayo who would have been able to be a top pick out of high school. But some of these athletes really do need that year in college. Imagine if Kwame Brown went to college. Do you really think he would have been the #1 player in the NBA draft that next year? Him being a #1 NBA draft pick probably had something to do with the NBA instituting this rule.

We all know that this rule helps the NBA with their overall talent. But everyone has different opinions on whether or not this is good for college basketball. The rule is the rule at least until 2011. Will it change then?