I was just thinking. why don't we have a draft system more like baseball and really start using college ball like it was the minor leauges. draft everyone out of highschool but keep the age minimum. everyone has to go to college for a year or two and then they have the option to turn pro.

if we make it so the rookie salary scale has something to do with how many years you're in school couln't we encourage kids to stick around. say you start rookie contracts with the draft position. and then after you have been in school for two years they add on 10% three years 15% and so on. Also once you have been drafted the NBA team could cover your scholarship and some basic living expenses, say 20k a year (if you got a dorm and a meal plan already that should be plenty of cash to have a good time in college on). I know this won't happen, but what if?

their rights are already owned by teams from the time that they get into college so they will be assured that they will get an nba paycheck someday. And those kids who develop in college but went drafted out of highschool can be drafted over the next few years. we could also add a rule that limits the number of NBA players per team, similar to limiting scholarships. I don't want to totaly destroy the duke programs of the world but it would be nice if more teams had a featured player.

I also think that this would bring a lot more interest and excitement to the college game. suddenly those of us who only watch the tourniment would have a real reason to watch a lot more college ball.

what do you think?

I know this won't happen, but I think that it would make a lot more sense than what we have right now. it might keep most kids in school a little longer, compensate them better and bring excitement to the college game. it would be better from both a ncaa and nba perspective as they would finally be really working together, and all of the money changing hands would be above board. maybe we can lessen the incentive for these student-athletes to take money from agents if they already have a guaranteed nba contract.