Morgan and more

LSU has released 6-foot-10 center J'Mison Morgan and there's wide speculation that he will land at UCLA.

This is huge news for the Bruins because they need somebody to fill in for Kevin Love (assuming he goes pro). Alfred Aboya may leave for graduate school, but, even if he remains, Morgan seems likely to get plenty of time on the court. He's ranked as one of the top centers in the nation and joins a recruiting class already considered the best in America.

As much as this is a sigh of relief, it's still frustrating to see what the NBA has done to Ben Howland's team this last month. It's not just that players are leaving early, it's how they're leaving early.

In football, players commit a minimum of three years to the college ranks. The brutal nature of the sport makes it unlikely that an 18-year-old would be physically developed enough to play in the pros, anyway. But basketball is a different story. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and, to some extent, Andrew Bynum have proven that not all basketball players need to spend time in college.

It's no surprise when a player like Love makes himself eligible for the NBA draft. He reportedly wanted to turn pro right out of high school. Though "already" a sophomore, Russell Westbrook also stands to be one of the younger faces in the 2008 NBA draft. Add in juniors Josh Shipp and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and the Bruins have four underclassmen who will be gone next year.

Or not.

Thanks to the way the NBA and NCAA have everything structured, a player without an agent can pull their name out of the draft and return to college.

None of the four have an agent yet, so Howland technically doesn't know what his roster will look like next season.

If that's not frustrating enough, how do you recruit a guy like Morgan when Love might actually come back? Nobody really expects the All-American, Pac-10 Player of the Year to walk on the court for free next year, but what if? UCLA fans would be thrilled.

Kansas fans might be thrilled too. The Jayhawks are still a viable option for Morgan, and I wouldn't be surprised if he waits until the deadline for Love to withdraw from the NBA draft before making his own decision public.

I don't hold anything against players who want to cash in. They've got the skill and they deserve to go. But this one-year rule isn't healthy for the sport. Either "let the market decide" and allow kids to turn pro out of college, or increase the number of years they have to stay out. Under the current system, the NBA is hedging its bets and the only loser is the NCAA.

Comments

[Hans]

What does this sentence mean?:

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and, to some extent, Andrew Bynum have proven that not all basketball players don't need to spend time in college.

Is that Trojan English?

[NOTE FROM ADAM: Just a copy/paste mistake while writing. It's been corrected. I'm pretty sure the meaning was still clear.]

[Nico]

Haha, Trojan English..

[VA Blueblood]

2 points, related only in theme of professionalism:

1) The NBA/NCAA system is what it is, with every party simply looking out for themselves. What can the NCAA really do, other than be subject to the NBA rules? And on that note, you have to give Howland and select other coaches (Williams, Self, Calipari to name a few--notably off this list is Coach K) serious credit for doing quite a job with a system stacked against their success...

2) I think the "You're a Trojan, so eff off" line of comments on here is getting real old. I agree that if the Times wants a quality blog for both schools, they need separate reporters. But at the same time, Trojan Rose here is just trying to do the job he's given. If nothing else, this page provides a little more in-depth reporting than you get on the main sports page, and it is what it is. The guy is just trying to do his job, and I think most of us can relate to that.