Garnett Factor

Should the National Basketball Association eliminate the confusing rule that was passed in 2006 stating that a High School Player can attend college for minimum 1 season prior to entering the NBA draft unless that specific player was 19 years old during that calendar year of the NBA draft. Unmistakeably, the 2 best NBA players are Cavaliers LeBron James and Lakers Kobe' Bryant both of whom entered the NBA draft directly out of high school. Another outstanding NBA player that gets publicized but not like James and Bryant is 6'11" 253 pound Low/High post Celtic star Kevin Garnett. Garnett came directly out of high school leaving his stomping grounds out Mauldin, SC HS and transferring to Farragut Academy in Chicago, IL for his final high school season. Being a basketball scout at the time, I attended a National AAU Tournament in Twinsburg, OH in Spring of 1995. Kevin Garnett was on an AAU team that participated in the tournament just 2 months prior to the NBA draft. You could easily observe that he had great potential. He played with great ease, ran the floor like a gazelle, had explosive dunks with either hand, could pass like a guard, and had a soft feathery touch from inside 20 feet. I remember standing under the one basket next to Coach Bob Huggins and Coach John Calapari watching Garnett and everyone was shaking their heads about how good Garnett was. Getting back to my initial statement, should the NBA go back to drafting players directly out of high school. After seeing Garnett and LeBron James play in high school in Akron, OH, I say Yes. The age factor may come into play drafting a 17 year older but Hockey does and so does Baseball. Being an "Athletic Student" rather than a Student Athlete is not the purpose of going to college.