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By Sam Amico / The Amico Report

STATE OF THE DRAFT

What does the Maurice Clarett ruling mean for the NBA?

It means you can probably forget about pro basketball setting an age limit for kids who want to enter the draft.

And that's too bad.

There has been a lot of talk lately of the NBA instituting a rule that would prohibit players from becoming draft-eligible before the age of 20. Much of that talk came straight from the mouth of commissioner David Stern, who once said such a rule “would be good for business and socially responsible.”

Stern has a model to support his theory -- the National Football League. The NFL has never allowed teen-agers in its draft, a statute that's gone a long way in helping that league continue to flourish.

But all that could change as attorneys for Clarett, a talented Ohio State running back, took the NFL to court and won. On Feb. 5, a judge ruled that the league was violating antitrust and labor laws.

The NFL will appeal, but if it loses … well, it will be the most important verdict in pro sports since Spencer Haywood sued the NBA in the 1970s, winning his case and getting permission to declare hardship.

And my guess is, if it turns out that Clarett can indeed make himself eligible for the NFL draft before the age of 20, then the NBA won’t even try to keep high schoolers out of its own draft.

None of this is good news for pro basketball fans.

Yes, I know all about Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady and especially, Lebron James -- three players who came to the NBA straight out of high school, and three players who are among the best in the league. I also know that James is the frontrunner to be named Rookie of the Year, as he’s carrying the once-pathetic Cavaliers to the brink of the playoffs.

But I also know James’ success has a little something to do with the fact the league is full of college-aged kids -- and not grown men.

In other words, James isn’t exactly going up against Michael, Magic, or Bird, or even Olajuwon, Ewing, and Isiah. That’s not to say James wouldn’t be a great player in any era, or to downplay the superb fundamentals he’s bringing back to the game.

Nor do I fault the young men who enter the draft. Why should they care if they’re not ready? If someone offered you a winning lottery ticket, would you turn it down just because you didn’t feel like the rest of your life was in order?

But having teen-agers in the NBA is bad for basketball, period. It’s bad for the NBA and it’s killing the college game. It’s even bad for the sport’s lower levels, as high school stars who accept scholarships are occasionally viewed as failures for not making it to the big time.

More than anything, a pro sports league isn’t a good place for athletes to develop their skills. With so many games and so few practices, athletes should already be suited to play in the NBA once they arrive. Too often, that’s not the case -- James and Denver’s Carmelo Anthony being the rarest of exceptions.

LACKING CHARACTER

Basketball Digest is currently running an entire series on the state of the NBA. It’s not pretty.

You don’t need the magazine to tell you that players are lacking the very basics of the game and attendance is down. All you need to do is visit an NBA arena near you.

We’re not the only ones who see it. League officials are also aware of the decline in fundamentals.

“Our product is dehydrated beyond any recognition right now,” one NBA scout said in Basketball Digest. “And it comes down to more than just that these players are no Michael, Magic, or Bird. It’s that they have no character. But how could they? Where would they learn it?”

When the scout talks about character, he’s partially referring to American society.

As Tom Kertes wrote in Basketball Digest, “People near-unanimously are craving something more meaningful, of higher quality. They believe that these days we are bigger but not better. That we have more material things but less time to enjoy them. That we have more means of communication but communicate less. That, with the advent of 24-hour cable, we are bombarded with more information than ever, but that it’s delivered less honestly.”

So the scout‘s question is valid. Where CAN we expect players to develop character?

How about the classroom?

It’s something that was asked by no less than Hall-of-Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who spent a season as an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers.

“When I was coaching with the Clippers, I noticed that most of the players didn’t even have a legitimate HIGH SCHOOL education,” Abdul-Jabbar said in Basketball Digest. “As early as that, the adults around them noticed that the kids had (basketball) talent so, academics-wise, they let the kids skate by. How can that NOT affect the way guys are playing the game? This is a team game. If you can’t think, you can’t play together.”

Abdul-Jabbar concluded, “All this results in the dumbing down of the pro game. Young guys are trying to learn the fundamentals in the pros. But there is no time for teaching in the pros!”

Believe it or not, when the idea is staying in school, some modern-day players actually agree with the old-timers.

“I’ll say this much, staying in school has done a world of good for me,” New York forward Kurt Thomas said in Basketball Digest. “I got a degree in psychology and economics, it made me well-rounded, and it allowed me to mature as a person and as a player.”

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME

Thomas went on to admit that college isn’t for everyone.

I agree.

Understand that I am a person who loves the pro game with my entire brown, round, and dimpled heart. I also realize that I’m spoiled, having grown up during the NBA’s Golden Era, when Michael, Magic, and Bird, and Olajuwon, Ewing, and Isiah all played in the All-Star Game in the same season. I was served a hearty serving of Chris Mullin, Clyde Drexler, and Karl Malone, the 1987 L.A. Lakers and the 1992 Dream Team.

Even today, I prefer to focus on the positives when watching or talking about the pro game. I admit without a morsel of shame that I still consider the NBA to be Fan-tas-tic. And I could easily support the league’s current marketing slogan by coming up with 1,000 Reasons I Love This Game.

Then again, some things can’t be ignored.

In past newsletters, I’ve suggested ways to improve the game -- from removing the 3-point line to shortening the playoffs to getting rid of the draft lottery (I think I also mentioned something about forbidding athletes under the age of 21 to watch SportsCenter, but that‘s a whole other newsletter).

But none of the changes would be as important to this pro basketball fan as forcing high school players to grow up before letting them set foot in the NBA. In all honesty, I don’t really care if athletes attend college before playing professionally -- a true minor-league system, like the one in baseball, would be fine by me.

No matter what happens, the league simply can't afford to stay the same.

“The NBA has become a game of very young athletes who don’t know how to shoot or move without the ball,” one scout told Basketball Digest. “An 18- or 19-year-old simply doesn’t have the knowledge of the nuances, or the off-the-ball fundamentals of the game. High school and AAU coaches all have enormous pressure on them to win, and win now, in order to keep their jobs. So they don’t want to alienate their stars by spending too much time on the ‘boring stuff.’ They basically just let the kids shoot threes and do 360 dunks.”

And while that stuff is fun, there’s a lot more to basketball than that.

Even if some judge who’s never cared about pro sports fails to realize it.

FINAL DRAFT THOUGHTS

-- Like I said, the players aren’t the ones at whom we should be pointing the finger. The biggest reason high school kids enter the NBA draft? Because the owners demand that their general managers and coaches draft them. “It’s like a rotisserie league,” the scout said. “You get paid the big bucks for points, points, and more points.” In other words, why WOULD young players care about things like moving without the ball or playing defense?

-- Having written all of that, it appears that the No. 1 pick this summer will again be a high school player. His name is Dwight Howard, a 6-foot-10 center out of Atlanta. Most scouts feel he’s not ready, but as has been the case recently, someone will choose him anyway.

-- Lakers great Memphis general manager Jerry West is another big supporter of the 20-year rule. “I just think it would serve the kids well,” West said in Basketball Digest. “And more importantly it would save the league from further deterioration. In the long run, the most important thing is to preserve the integrity of the game rather than continue to add players who need so much more work and so much more care.”

ALL-STAR THOUGHTS

-- I’ll never be sold on the idea of letting fans vote for the All-Star Game starters, especially when you consider most of the people at NBA games aren’t true fans. Most are people who work for large corporations who have their tickets bought for them, and most vote for the players who are campaigned for by the home team. That’s why guys like Houston’s Yao Ming and Steve Francis are starting, and why guys like Peja Stojakovic and Jason Kidd are coming off the bench.

-- My All-Star starters in the East would be Jermaine O’Neal and Vince Carter at forwards, Kidd and Baron Davis at guard, and Ben Wallace at center. In the West, it would be Stojakovic and Kevin Garnett at forward, Ray Allen and Sam Cassell at guard, and Shaquille O’Neal at center.

-- Kobe Bryant has been injured too much to start, and Francis doesn’t even deserve to be on the team. LeBron James should at least be coming off the bench in the East, as he’s already more consistent and simply a better all-around player than Paul Pierce.

-- And how can Sacramento, the team with the best record in the league, not have anyone starting in the All-Star Game?!

-- Cleveland made a push for Zydrunas Ilgauskus and Carlos Boozer to be named to the Eastern squad, but one thing to remember: The Cavs are 19-30. That’s just three more wins than Atlanta, and one less than disappointing Golden State. Anyone can be a good player on a bad team. Winning should be a prerequisite to even getting on the ballot.

-- Steven Solomon (Detroit) writes, “Lang Whitaker of SLAM online wrote that the NBA’s over-the-top festivities and hype surrounding the All-Star Game is everything that’s wrong with people’s perception of the NBA. Do you agree?” Dear Steven, actually, it’s not what’s wrong with people’s perception of the NBA, it’s what’s wrong with the NBA. If the league isn’t careful, it’s going to have a Super Bowl halftime-like incident at its big event. The All-Star game should be family entertainment, an opportunity for people of all ages to watch the world's best basketball players take the floor at the same time. So do us all a favor and lose the lip-syncing pop stars. The game is all we really need.

QUICK RANDOM THOUGHTS

-- The best sign seen at an NBA game this season was displayed by a Kings fan in Arco Arena and directed at Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who was without any of his key players. The sign read: “Hey, Phil. No Kobe, No Shaq, No Karl … No Karma.” Good stuff.

-- How can a guy who led a team to the Finals two consecutive years get fired? You especially have to ask that when you consider New Jersey was the laughingstock of the East before former coach Byron Scott got there. Obviously, Jason Kidd had more to do with the Nets’ success than anyone, and I admittedly never was a big fan of Scott's. But that doesn't justify canning the most successful coach in franchise history. I like Nets GM Rod Thorn because he always returns my calls, but he blew it on this one.

-- It’s starting to look like the old Jordan (Michael) was better than the new one (Eddie) at running the Washington Wizards. Team owner Abe Pollin promised season-ticket holders a partial refund if they weren’t pleased with the offseason changes -- and if I’m a Wizards fan, I’m figuring now would be a good time to call the ticket office. The only thing that would keep me from doing so is the inspiring play of guard Larry Hughes, who deserves at least a little consideration for Most Improved Player honors.

-- That’s it for this week. Next week I promise to get back to writing only nice things about the Greatest League Ever, and answering your e-mails in the Reader Feedback section. In the meantime, thanks for reading, and keep an eye out for my regular free supplement to this free newsletter, Talkin’ NBA. Until then, enjoy the games.

CONTACT ME

You can e-mail me your thoughts at amicoreport@hotmail.com. You must include your full name to be considered for publication. Also, please include your hometown, as I love to see where the e-mails are coming from.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!