Professional basketball relies on the collegiate basketball programs for players. Generally, players who excel at the collegiate level are drafted by professional teams, and college basketball programs often provide scholarships to those players with outstanding potential. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of players who move to the professional level without finishing their undergraduate degrees. This movement can have long-term effects on college basketball programs as well as on the lives of those players who do not succeed at the professional level. This research examines the literature currently available regarding this trend and the research methods used within the literature.
Of prime significance to this topic is the effect that a rule passed in 1994 by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has on underclassmen considering leaving school to enter the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. Under the rule, underclassmen can retain their college eligibility so long as they have not signed with an agent or participated in tryouts with a professional team. The eligibility can be retained for 30 days after the NBA draft. The rule applies only to basketball, not to the other sports that the NCAA oversees, and is designed to provide a safety net to those players who are not drafted or who decide not to accept a spot with a professional team.
According to Blum (1994, p. A36), 74 underclassmen have entered the NBA draft between 1990 and 1994; of these, only 29 were drafted. The other players did not return to school, but did not have a professional contract. Some went to Europe to play while the fate of the others is not made clear. This indicates that entering the draft results in players not returning to school if they are not offered contracts within the NBA. The eventual fate of these players is not disclosed, due in part to the fact that the system has not been in existence for long...