Jared Sullinger in favor of college players staying in school for two years


Jared Sullinger could have been a one-and-done player as he was projected to be a first-round pick after his freshman year at Ohio State. Instead, he decided to stay in school for one more year.

From The Boston Globe's Baxter Holmes:

The Celtics forward wouldn’t mind if more college players were in school for at least that long before they could be able to make the same move.

“It would be better for the college game in general,” Sullinger said recently, leading up to Monday night’s 94-89 loss to the Mavericks.

“You’d get to see these guys for two years and they’d become the focal point and you’d see how they develop.”

New NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is of the same mind with Sullinger on this topic, as he's been vocal about wanting to raise the age limit to 20 years old.

Yes, keeping talented players in college would make college basketball more entertaining. And yes, there have been some guys who have come to the NBA straight out of high school that should not have. (James Lang, Ndudi Ebi, and Leon Smith to name a few)

With all of that said, if a player is talented enough to be a top pick out of high school then he should be allowed to. Let the guy get his endorsement deals and that sweet contract with his talent instead of filling the NCAA's pockets. And let's not kid ourselves by saying it would be better to keep the player in college so they can get an education. If that were the case, then the commissioner should push to have all players stay in college for four years to get their degree. That'll never happen. The NBA's owners and the fans will want those top-flight players in their league and won't want to wait four years for them.

It wouldn't be the worst idea to implement a system where players have the option to come out of high school if they want, but if they go to college then they have to stay for at least two years. You still get those "can't miss" guys in the league quicker and the ones that need seasoning would get it.

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