The first three picks in the 2008 NBA Draft, and five of the first seven, were college freshmen.
Derrick Rose went No. 1 to Chicago, Michael Beasley No. 2 to Miami and O.J. Mayo No. 3 to Minnesota.
Later, Mayo and fellow frosh Kevin Love were swapped in an eight-player deal with Mayo going to Memphis and Love to Minnesota.
All told, 12 frosh were chosen, including seven in the lottery, topping last year’s mark of 8. Six were picked in the ’01 Draft and three apiece in ’04 and ’00.
With a dozen going this year, you have to ask yourself: What exactly does the NBA age limit do except to keep the top talent on college campuses for a year, helping to make CBS and the NCAA rich while the players often struggle financially?
Read my story from Rivals about how the age limit is un-American.
Meantime, Brandon Jennings may be the first guy to skip college (Arizona in this case) to play for pay in Europe. Jennings was supposed to get his SAT update back Thursday from the NCAA Clearinghouse folks, but his advisor Kelly Williams said there was no news as of Thursday night. We hear he was offered at least one deal in the Ukraine, not exactly Italy, Spain or France for a young city kid looking to spend a year in Europe before heading to the NBA.
Good night, that’s a wrap….Stay tuned Friday for updates from the Steve Nash Nike Skills Academy. Rosters are out and the event feature several big-name area stars, Lance Stephenson, Dexter Strickland, Doron Lamb and Lamont “Momo” Jones.
