Basketball Needs Fixing Professional and college basketball has become very popular in the hearts and minds of many Americans. Millions of dollars are spent each year on clothing, tickets and television, all generated by people's love of basketball. But over the past two years, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball have lost a substantial amount of their competition and have drawn widespread criticism for it. At the heart of this problem is a single cause: greed. Basketball has become about money rather than the game and its fans. This problem needs to be addressed, and the best place to start is with college players, or more specifically, the NBA draft. Draft rules and guidelines are largely responsible for the downfall of college basketball and the NBA and they need to be changed before the game comes down to nothing. The changes that need to be made are simple, underclassmen should not be eligible for the NBA draft; or in other words, if you have years of eligibility remaining, you should not be eligible to be drafted by an NBA team. What problems would this solve? The answer lies in most of the problems in basketball today. First, college basketball paid dearly by losing its most talented players to the NBA up to three years earlier. This has not only led to an overall decline in play, but has also, in some circumstances, caused the downfall of once-great basketball programs. That's how it goes, colleges recruit players based on their needs or what they will need in the future. So let's say a school has a large core of second and third year players for the upcoming season. Coaches have neither the need nor the space for many new blue-chip players. So all the top recruits find other schools to go to. Next, let's say the large core of players leaves for the NBA, leaving the team with mediocre players and a horrible season to look forward to. As the next recruiting period approaches, the school's reputation has taken a hit, as have its chances of recruiting top recruits. This continues until the school's proud basketball tradition is a thing of the past. This situation isn't just hypothetical, schools like UNLV, Georgetown, Seton Hall and Hous...... middle of paper ......ard spiral. This is how player salaries reached absurd limits. No one noticed the problem when it was happening, but now that it's a problem, there's no real way to fix it. In 1996, the NBA implemented a salary cap for rookies to limit starting salaries. Certain measures are therefore taken. It's a start, but it's not the answer to the problem. If freshmen weren't allowed out early, high rookie salaries wouldn't have to be as high, and players would likely accept less money than most rookies currently receive, which would help to solve the general problem of money. in the NBA.The NBA and college basketball seem to be in a rut. And as stated before, their reason is that first graders are leaving school early to make money in the NBA. So what is the solution? Easy, don't let college players enter the NBA draft early. This would benefit everyone in the future. There would of course be a transition period, but the losses would be short-lived and the effects..