Star center for the Kentucky Wildcats Nerlens Noel suffered a torn ACL Wednesday in a loss to 9th ranked Florida.
Nerlens Noel has been looked at as the number one overall pick in this upcoming 2013 NBA draft for awhile. A talented, agile center that is an elite shot blocker and has a great low post game, and gives it his all every time he's on the court.
As unranked Kentucky played 9th ranked Florida on Wednesday, the Wildcats looked lost and didn't resemble a confident team at all. Throughout the sub-par game, Noel was the only player on the team that looked like he wanted to be there. He was doing his best, trying to keep his team in the game with his presence on defense and doing what he could of offense.
As Noel went up to block a shot, he came down awkwardly on the court and his knee gave out. Right when Noel tumbled to the floor, screaming in agony, it was clear that this was a significant injury.His coach John Calipari could only watch as his best player was carried off of the court.
As terrible as this injury is, it's fitting that Noel get hurt hustling after the ball to swat it away, because it shows that Noel is a scrappy, hungry player that strives to win every game.
Noel was the number one high school recruit a year ago given his size and athletic ability, which is extremely hard to come by. After being sought after by numerous schools and received hundreds of phone calls from coaches, Noel went to the NBA producing machine in Kentucky.
The NBA eligibility rule states that a player must be 19 years of age, which restricts players from being drafted straight out of high school. In 2005 there was a new CBA(collective bargaining agreement) that was created and thus the 19 years of age draft eligibility rule was created.
It was implemented in 2005 for a few reasons. One is that David Stern wanted teams to be able to evaluate players for atleast another year because high school players can fool a lot of scouts and some kids haven't even stopped growing yet. Another reason was Stern and other league executives didn't want teams throwing millions at 18 year old kids that haven't even proven themselves collegiately yet. Stern is running a business so that reason makes sense.
Next time this rule is questioned, there will be a large photograph of Nerlens Noel tearing his ACL to be viewed. While I'm not positive on this, Noel probably would've declared for last years draft if he had the opportunity and been one of the top 5 picks.
But instead since there's an unnecessary rule in place, Noel, along with dozens of other high school athletes are forced to endure a year of college basketball. Numerous talented high school athletes would gladly declare for the draft right away to ensure a financial future for themselves and their family. But having to play at the college level for a year risks a potential injury that could derail their career and take away all the money they would've made.
College players who are all over video games and ESPN are dirt poor while in college and have to scrap for money just to buy meals every week while they could be making millions as a professional. There's no need for this rule considering that players tend to not even try in their classes. An 18 year old adult should be able to perform a job, just like an 18 year old farmer, violinist, dancer, or almost any other profession.
The NFl has a similiar rule that players need to stay in college for 3 years, but football is a full contact sport and throwing kids against the likes of Brian Urlacher and Clay Matthews is a disaster wating to happen.Player being drafted out of high school has worked before and it'd probably be more successful now with advanced scouting and training camps.
This rule needs to be abolished, and Nerlens Noel's injury emphasizes this point even more.
Here's a picture to show what can potentially happen to a gifted young player(Look at his leg)
