Against the Wall: Colleges must end ‘one-and-done’
I have never liked one-and-done. I have detested, actually. The practice mocks higher education; it allows basketball players with no academic bent to attend college for one or two semesters and then leave campus with nothing more than a stronger hoops resume.
One-and-done is a bad bargain for both sides.
Think about it: What did John Wall, Derrick Favors, Derrick Rose,‘Melo Anthony and Greg Oden gain academically from spending a single year or less in college? What did their presence do for the concept of a student-athlete? Did their early exit prove dismissive of the term?
I understand that some athletes are gifted enough to play in the NBA earlier than others. I don’t begrudge them that talent. God blessed them with this splendid gift, and a man has a right to profit from it. But I also know that for college coaches to waste a scholarship on a player who cares not a whit about what happens in the classroom is the sort of wrongheaded practice that debases higher education.
Are Wall and Oden any more prepared for the real world and all its complexities after one year of college?
