College Basketball vs. NBA
The National Basketball Association is a corporate powerhouse with installments in nearly every major city in the United States. With the exception of European soccer, professional basketball generates more money per season than any other sport in the world. NBA superstars carry as much authority in the entertainment business as the most popular actors, comedians, and musicians. Even the guys who are last off the bench are making more money in one season than the average middle-class worker makes in five years. Corporate America sells its images, logos, slogans, ideas, and viable goods by employing NBA stars to speak publicly on-behalf of their materials. More and more NBA players are showing up in commercials, in magazine ads, on billboards, and in movies. They have their own radio talk shows, their own clothing and shoe lines, their own video games, and even their own restaurants. Essentially, turning pro opens the door to a lifestyle of undeniable prestige, comfort, and public adornment. NBA players can commit the harshest of criminal violations and get off with minimal penalties. NBA players can have just about any woman they want! Enough said. Thankfully, it takes an incredible amount of skill and determination t
High school athletes typically lack the mental sharpness playing in the NBA demands, but college recruiters and coaches have not been able to successfully sell the benefits of education over the big pay offs agents guarantee. We brainwash our younger generations with images of the NBA lifestyle, the fan favor, and the glory. The public loves to see the young versus the old, and the NBA loves to make money off these kind of situations. Supporters of this trend say high-school athletes have the right to select their own path, while their opponents argue that high-school athletes miss-out on a remarkable education opportunity by overlooking the college experience. In my opinion, the National Basketball Association should construct a minor-league like the one in place under professional baseball. Besides earning a substantial degree and being able to find a job after the basketball years have passed, college allows athletes to physical and mentally mature in their roles as leaders on and off the court. Agents also commonly point out the difficulty in managing educational tasks and basketball over a four or five year time frame. Eighteen and nineteen year-old professional athletes should not have to deal with the stresses the NBA unleashes on its new inductees. "Why would you want to study? Don't you just want to play ball? You're not getting paid to study!" These are an agents blue-chip pitches! Thus, it seems college basketball is being beaten by greed. In the last twenty-five years only a handful of high-school athletes have skipped college and gone straight to the big show. The NBA game is as much mental patience and court understanding as it is physical domination. Oddly, we never see images of what professional basketball players are doing after their careers are over. Young guys see big checks, draft-day, shoe deals, and fancy cars, and the idea of college gets thrown out the window. College coaches argue against professional coaches, writers and reporters argue against sporting agents and advertising executives, and parents squabble with their blue-chip prospects. Some of these young men built enduring careers and some were washed out before they reached the legal drinking age of 21.
Common topics in this essay:
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Basketball Association,
Kwame Moreover,
high-school athletes,
professional basketball,
college basketball,
nba players,
National Basketball,
national basketball association,
video games,
basketball association,
money season,
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