Eli Sommers

Ms. Colvin

English Composition II

25 March 2020

Literature Review

My topic is why High Schoolers should be allowed to go straight to the NBA and Skip

college. There are many pros and cons that come with high school athletes making the jump

straight to professional leagues. This has been debated for many years as high schoolers were

once able to go straight to the NBA, such as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Garnett.

Throughout all 5 of my sources, they all state how money is one of the main reasons

why they should be able to make the jump. Also, they all talk about how if an athlete is ready,

why make them wait, because you never know when they may get injured and might not ever

get to play again. Also, all of these sources focus on the benefits that come with college, getting

an education, as well as becoming stronger and more mature. Lastly, all the articles state how

there are time restraints on how long an athlete can work in college because of their classes.

Although all my sources had similarities between them, they all hit different points and

caused disagreements between each source. For example, in Fred Carters “Pros and Cons of

HIgh Schoolers Going Pro”, he states how work ethic could be an issue with high schoolers

going straight to the NBA. While in Bill Chappell’s “NBA Should Open Draft to High Schoolers”,

he states how it could benefit both the NCAA and the high schoolers as it would eliminate the

one and done rule. Lastly, in Sean Cunningham’s “Let High School Players Go Straight to the

NBA”, he states how high schoolers don’t need the time to mature in college, and follows up

with how some of the greatest to ever do it in each sport didn’t go to college.
 There are many misconceptions about this topic. One example of this could be

that this would ruin college basketball, which it wouldn’t. Another misconception is that these

athletes may not be ready, and they could go undrafted ruining their chances of going to

college.Another misconception would be that no high schooler will succeed in the NBA, and that

Lebron James succeeding was a one time opportunity. Many athletes have made the jump to

the nba successfully and had a great career.

Another misconception is that they don’t have the work ethic to succeed in the NBA.

The last misconception is that this would end the illegal payments made to athletes from college

coaches. This will still go on because of coaches wanting to be successful and win a national

championship.
 Works Cited

Carter, Fred. Fred's Points: Pros, Cons Of High Schoolers Going Pro. Published April 11, 2018.
http://assets.espn.go.com/nba/columns/carter_fred/1537641.html​ ​Accessed on
March 1, 2020.

Chappell, Bill. Nba Should Open Draft To High Schoolers, Ncaa Commission On College
Basketball Says. Published April 25, 2018.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/25/605680809/nba-should-open-draft-to-hi
gh-schoolers-ncaa-commission-on-college-basketball-sa​ ​Accessed on March 1, 2020.

Cook, Bob. Since High School Ball has Become College Ball, NBA is Ready to Draft
18-Year-Olds Again. Published on February 27, 2019.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2019/02/27/since-high-school-ball-has-become-co
llege-ball-nba-is-ready-to-draft-18-year-olds-again/#1631005d28e2​ Accessed on March 1, 2020.

Cunningham, Sean. Let High School Players Go Straight to the NBA Again. Published March 1,
2018.
https://www.insidehook.com/article/sports/let-high-school-players-go-straight-nba
Accessed on March 1, 2020.

Gardner, David. High School Players May Soon Return to the NBA Draft, and that’s Good for
the NBA. Published June 2, 2017.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2713174-high-school-players-may-soon-return-to-the-
nba-draft-thats-good-for-the-ncaa​ Accessed on March 1, 2020.