Should high schoolers be allowed to directly enter the NBA Draft? If Rick Pitino made the call, they would.
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The Louisville Cardinals head coach was asked about the NCAA's "one and done" rule on Sunday, and by all indications he's no fan of it. The rule requires talented pro prospects to spend a year in college before making the leap to the pros (or they can go play abroad).
"I'm very much in favor of high school kids going pro," said Pitino, per ESPN.com. "I had six young men commit to me out of high school that didn't go to college, that went to the pros. I'm very much for that because they didn't want college. They wanted to go to the NBA.
"And if they go to the D-League, that's fine with them. But the six-, seven-month education, online classes second semester. I don't know what that does for a young person."
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Pitino then added: "Now, I'm different than, probably, the coach of Kentucky, who is having so much success with that," a shot at his in-state archrival, John Calipari.
A lot of college coaches have decried the effect a "one and done" rule has had on NCAA basketball, but most of them are in favor of making them stay a second year, not abolishing it altogether. Pitino's opinion is as unique as it is notable.
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