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Show me the money
What would happen if education and athletics were given equal footing?
By Moryt Milo
A few weeks ago one of my editors handed me a unique assignment. The story required that I interview several Duke basketball players. One of them was Shane Battier.
I confess, at the time I had no idea who Shane Battier was. I don't follow college basketball. I don't get into March Madness. In fact this year was the first time I watched the NBA playoffs.
When I asked my brother if he knew this Battier guy, my brother replied, "Are you kidding!" That's when I realized this wasn't going to be your every-day telephone interview.
My friends couldn't believe I was treating it all so nonchalantly. Several of them said "Do you know how many times this guy has been in Sports Illustrated?" My response, "No, I rarely read Sports Illustrated unless I'm killing time in a doctor's office." In fact, a better analogy to my ignorance would be those Steve Young Toyota commercials. The ones where whomever Steve is talking to has no idea who he is-that's me.
I'm bringing this up because of the recent NBA draft. Normally, I wouldn't have given the draft any notice. But I had just interviewed Battier and heard the "experts" picking him to go somewhere in the top three. I was curious about his future. I knew he'd captured practically every award, including NCAA player of the year. He also managed to succeed where many young athletically gifted people fail. He finished college and earned a degree.
What impressed me the most about Battier was not how he performed on the court, but how he handled himself off the court. He had every reason to act like a superstar but he didn't. Instead I found a poised and mature 22-year-old. An attitude enabling him, as he said, "to step up into the next level" with confidence. A confidence he gained by taking the time to discover a bit of the world, while playing ball at Duke. A seasoned individual who became a gift pick for the Grizzlies, when he wasn't chosen until sixth.
Those above him, the first three picks (fourth was from Spain, fifth from Michigan State) were all high school graduates. It's a first for the NBA, drafting high schoolers at the top. I'd bet my last dime, that although these youngsters may come from tough neighborhoods they are still naive when it comes to handling many of life's pressures. These young men might be the tallest and brimming with talent, but it won't amount to much if they can't handle the emotional aspects. And here's where I think things have gone haywire.
Drafting players right out of high school is certainly becoming the nature of the business. But is it good business? Only time will tell if this push to find the best is fair to the players. Without going to college, these young guys have nowhere to develop themselves. There isn't any kind of mentoring or support system in basketball. (At least in baseball they have AAA league.) These high school kids have to be incredibly self-assured when they make the leap. At 18 there will only be the exceptional few and if they incur early career injures, what then?
My husband argues, "Maybe these guys don't want to go to college ... that playing professional basketball has always been their only goal. I say it's because the system pushes them in one direction, toward the big bucks.
If they didn't turn pro right out of high school, most would receive college scholarships. They'd play college ball and not rush their futures. Dealing with the pressures of playing college ball is still big business albeit on a smaller scale. But it's a good training ground. A place where some kids, given the chance, may even discover an interest beyond the courts.
It leaves me asking: What would happen if education and athletics were given equal footing?
Maybe more of today's professionals wouldn't become screwed up. Maybe the quality of the game, and those who play it, would go up a notch in sportsmanship, and just maybe there would be more young men like the one I was fortunate enough to interview.
"Show me the money" will always be a lure. But "show me the degree" offers a roadmap to the future.
Moryt Milo is a frequent contributor to The Sun.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
