UNC basketball coach Roy Williams said Wednesday that while he is excited to see the NBA draft, he would prefer that the rules for going pro were the same as baseball – which would mean that Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Kendall Marshall would be playing for the Tar Heels next season.
“If I had a magic wand, I’d probably go the baseball route – go straight out of college (to the pros) or go to college for three years,” he said. “I think it’s not going out on a limb to say that most players would benefit from going to college.”
I’ve said for some time that the baseball rule would be a good one for college basketball. The hot shots like Labron James and Kobe Bryant can go pro immediately, as they did. But guys like Duke’s Austin Rivers probably would never have gone to college with that rule. I think that’s good as Rivers had no intention to spend more than a year in college before going pro. But Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he was glad to have Rivers for a year.
“We’re proud of the fact that the kid is here for a year, especially if he can go pro and he’s a lottery pick; he’s a high pick,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s good for your program.”
Williams, speaking on a national radio program, agreed. “i’m excited,” Williams said about going to the NBA draft to see his three underclassmen along with Tyler Zeller get selected. “We’re going to have four guys drafted. It’s good for them and good for the program.”
But wouldn’t it be better to have a solid starter for three or four years rather than a superstar for one season? “I’ve had guys four years that I’d wish had gone after one year,” Williams said with a laugh.
“But I don’t think it’s wrong to be a kid a little bit longer instead of getting out there in the business,” he said.
That’s exactly right especially today when you can get insurance policies to protect you in case of injury. So many of today’s players dream of playing in the NBA. I remember when I was a kid more people I knew dreamed of playing at Carolina (or Duke or State) rather than for the Knicks, the Lakers or the Celtics.
Still, Williams said he didn’t even recruit Lebron James because he was such a man against boys that he knew he’d go pro. He made a call to Kobe Bryant but didn’t pursue him either because he felt he would go straight to the pros. Good for them – that’s obviously what they should have done. But there are guys that go pro too early and very few who stay too long (conventional wisdom is that Donald Williams stayed a year too long at Carolina).
“There’s no one rule that fits everybody,” Williams said. “How can anyone say they made a bad decision but then there are a bunch of guys that make that decision and it is bad. I don’t tihnk going to college for one year is bad but I think going to college two years would probably be even better.”
I actually do think it’s bad to go after only one year. It shows that you have no real interest in education and that you just want to increase your draft spot. Plus, being a part of a school tradition should mean so much more than just a brief stepping stone.
Williams said he’s only told one player that he thought it would be a mistake to go pro and that nameless player stayed. He generally simply asks players what they want to do and he’ll support that decision. He has told four or five players that it was probably time to go pro.
If college basketball had the baseball rule, he’d probably have almost none of those conversations and college basketball fans could enjoy having the same players on their team for a while.