Philadelphia is where I look to for my UCLA basketball fix, and it has nothing do with Villanova’s shellacking of its Bruin brethren in the City of Brotherly Love and Home-Court Advantages last March.
On Monday night in Philly, the 76ers hosted the Phoenix Suns in an early-season NBA game. The outcome of the game was irrelevant to me; instead, I was most concerned with the play of former Bruin and current Sixers guard Jrue Holiday, an NBA rookie who would have been the star of this year’s UCLA team should he have returned for his sophomore season.
Holiday played 15 minutes in the game, just the third time he has appeared in this season out of the Sixers’ seven. And while he played well and finished with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, you can’t help but think that inconsistent playing time and lack of trust from the coaching staff will hinder his development.
If Holiday had remained in Westwood, he undoubtedly would have been the focal point of what is a youthful Bruin squad lacking an experienced go-to scorer. Seeing Holiday wallow at the end of an NBA bench brings to mind the endless debate about the opportunity for college basketball’s finest to jump to the professional ranks after a year on campus.
This rule has already been worked on once, with the NBA and NCAA combining to mandate that players cannot go directly from high school to the NBA. This is beneficial to both organizations as the top players coming out of high school can get some additional seasoning for a professional career while simultaneously being showcased on the NCAA’s biggest stages.
Unfortunately for a program like UCLA, it becomes difficult to develop long-term when so much is in the air following each season. If NCAA basketball borrowed a rule from its baseball counterparts, it could implement a clause that requires collegiate players to stay in school for a minimum of three years if they choose to enroll. UCLA has already reaped the benefits of that policy, as sophomore pitchers Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer showed off their talents as freshmen and still have two seasons to go in Westwood.
While there are obvious disparities between baseball and basketball that prevent the latter from implementing a similar rule, it’s hard not to imagine the possibilities of a 2009-2010 UCLA basketball squad comprised of Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Holiday in addition to the current crop of players.
Another recent incident also brings this issue to the forefront when it comes to Bruin hoops. Earlier this week in Washington, Kentwood High School center Josh Smith committed to UCLA for 2010. One of the elite centers in his class, Smith will surely add a low-post presence to the Bruins’ offense when he arrives next fall and could potentially be a program cornerstone. But these days, when you hear about a recruit like Smith committing to a school like UCLA, you immediately begin to wonder about how long Bruin fans will get to enjoy his talents.
There is no definitive answer to this problem. Many high school stars won’t want to commit to multiple years in college when they could get a paycheck in Europe for a year before jumping to the NBA. College players aren’t compensated in a monetary fashion that would make it financially feasible for many of the more needy players to remain in school. The NBA wants instant gratification, and the shoe companies want record contracts.
The benefits to NCAA basketball when the elite players head to college cannot be understated. Carmelo Anthony famously led his Syracuse team to a national championship during his one year on campus, and with the chance to get even just one year out of a top-notch talent, other programs could have similar success.
It just seems like a waste to see someone like Holiday riding the pine pony in Philadelphia when he could be leading an NCAA tournament run back in Westwood. With Smith now onboard, the Bruins could have another one-and-done stud on their hands. Guess they’ll just have to make the one count.
If you think he should make the leap to the L.A. Times after this school year, e-mail Eshoff at reshoff@media.ucla.edu.