What I Would Do If I Were Noel

[Voice of Reason]

Per Goodman, several NBA executives have said Noel is still a top 5 pick this year (probably a good year to wreck your knee.)

 

If that's the case, and Calipari will be able to tell him if it's true, I go and look forward to a year of rehab with a paycheck.

 

If that's not the case, I hire an agent but do not declare for the draft. I take my insurance payment (which is likely substantial) and I make out this itinerary:

 

1) Flight to Alabama. There's only one guy who will touch my knee with a knife.

 

2) Flight to Germany for Kobe's knee and blood guy.

 

3) Flight to Coral Gables to 'consult' with the strength and conditioning coaches at the U.

 

4) Flight to San Francisco to meet with Barry Bonds. Get his autograph.

 

5) Fly out to meet with Lance Armstrong to 'train' for a triathlon.

 

And so on.

 

I think you get the idea. I would take a year to fix my body with the marvels of modern science outside of any sanctioning body or league's supervision.

 

Remember how Huggins spent a year outside of the NCAA's jurisdiction? How would this be different?

 

Would you blame him? I wouldn't.

 

Yes I would blame him. Not to mention the stupidity of it. That has worked out so well for Bonds, Armstrong , et. al.

[jolmstead]

If I were Noel, I would start attending classes and taking my grades very seriously. I'd have a long talk with Sam Bowie.

[02Ram54]

Yes I would blame him. Not to mention the stupidity of it. That has worked out so well for Bonds, Armstrong , et. al.

 

You think that for every Bonds there isn't, say, five others?

 

It's worked out pretty well for ARod. And Ray Lewis. And so many NBA stars coming off injury that we don't know about because their testing is singularly pathetic. I mean, look at the explosion of older players in the NBA. We ignored it once in baseball, why are we ignoring it now in basketball?

[Voice of Reason]

You think that for every Bonds there isn't, say, five others?

 

It's worked out pretty well for ARod. And Ray Lewis. And so many NBA stars coming off injury that we don't know about because their testing is singularly pathetic. I mean, look at the explosion of older players in the NBA. We ignored it once in baseball, why are we ignoring it now in basketball?

 

Sorry ... character matters. I despise every one of those guys. If you only care about money at any price and risk, rock on.

[02Ram54]

Sorry ... character matters. I despise every one of those guys. If you only care about money at any price and risk, rock on.

 

Way I see it, Noel was done dirty by a system that hinges on a technically legal but morally bankrupt rule. One and done forces him to risk his future in an unpaid internship for a corporation which makes millions from his work. I don't see any moral difference if Noel were to take a year to recover outside the testing system.

 

Not everyone recovers from an ACL like Adrian Peterson. Noel has a history of knee issues. His career is on the line before it even gets started, and that's as a result of a risk he was forced to take despite the fact that if he wrote software instead of blocking shots he could already be paid for his labor.

[ColonelCrazy]

Way I see it, Noel was done dirty by a system that hinges on a technically legal but morally bankrupt rule. One and done forces him to risk his future in an unpaid internship for a corporation which makes millions from his work. I don't see any moral difference if Noel were to take a year to recover outside the testing system.

 

The "one & done" rule is an NBA rule, not an NCAA rule...

[Voice of Reason]

Way I see it, Noel was done dirty by a system that hinges on a technically legal but morally bankrupt rule. One and done forces him to risk his future in an unpaid internship for a corporation which makes millions from his work. I don't see any moral difference if Noel were to take a year to recover outside the testing system.

 

Not everyone recovers from an ACL like Adrian Peterson. Noel has a history of knee issues. His career is on the line before it even gets started, and that's as a result of a risk he was forced to take despite the fact that if he wrote software instead of blocking shots he could already be paid for his labor.

 

I agree with you on this but that doesn't justify Noel throwing his own character and values out the window.

 

On one and done, it should be changed. IMO, just let guys be drafted. No need to submit your name to the NBA. Let the NBA do their job and draft you if they think you are an NBA player. If you don't get drafted, go play college ball. Don't make these kids have to decide. Let the market tell them where they truly stand. If the NCAA really cared about the student athletes, they would create an advising center that kids could go to for advice and cut the seedy side of agents out of this part of the process. So if you think you are NBA worthy, let the NCAA and NBA tell you where you truly stand. Then let the kids be subject to the draft with no restrictions. The market and the players' ability will determine the rest. I see no reason for the one and done rule and no reason why a player should be forced to pull their name out of the draft. NCAA baseball players get drafted and don't sign all the time. It should be the same for the other sports.