By Marc J. Spears,
PORTLAND, Ore. – High school hoops phenom Austin Rivers can’t go a day without someone telling him that they’re looking forward to seeing him play in the NBA. He’s already getting harassed for tickets.
With the next NBA collective bargaining agreement up in the air, it’s also up in the air when the 18-year-old son of Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers will be eligible to go pro.
Several high-ranking NBA team executives told Yahoo! Sports they wouldn’t be surprised if the age limit in the new CBA is pushed to two years in college and 20 years old by the end of that calendar year. One NBA general manager says about two-thirds of teams are in favor of that change. The current CBA states that an American must be out of high school for at least one year and be 19 years old by the end of that calendar year before entering the draft.
Austin Rivers, Rivals.com's top-ranked high school player, has committed to play for Duke.
(NBAE/Getty Images)
(NBAE/Getty Images)
Rivers, a Duke-bound shooting guard, says he is in no rush to leave for the NBA, but is disappointed about potentially losing the opportunity to make a choice.
“I don’t think it’s fair to a lot of guys who are ready to go,” Rivers said Thursday after practice at the Nike Hoop Summit. “We’re going to have guys in our class that are going to be ready to play after one year. There are certain people that are able to make that jump and you’re trying to tell them they can’t make that jump and they have to wait another year, risk another injury or something like that? At the end of the day it should be up to the player. It’s his life. It’s his choice. …
“You got baseball kids coming out of high school. [Basketball players] at least have to go to college, which we should. High school kids should go to college and get an education. But from there you should let them decide whether they are one or not.”
The 2005 NBA draft was the last year American players could arrive straight from high school. That draft included Andrew Bynum,Martell Webster, Gerald Green, Monta Ellis and Louis Williams.Current NBA stars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett,Dwight Howard and Amar’e Stoudemire all came straight from high school.
Rivers would be a top-10 prospect if eligible for this year’s draft and the No. 1 prospect next year, said two NBA general managers. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard averaged 30 points as a senior for Winter Park High (Fla.) this season. Rivals.com’s top-ranked player in the Class of 2011 is playing Saturday for Team USA in the Hoop Summit, which pits the top American high school seniors against the top international teens.
Doc Rivers has coached high school-to-pro players such as Green,Kendrick Perkins and Sebastian Telfair. He calls their journey to the NBA a “tough life.” But if the old rules were in place and Austin was eligible to go pro now, what would he suggest to his son? Rivers sounded conflicted.
“I do think college is important and basketball is important,” Doc Rivers said. “But growing up and maturing is really important for a kid. And guys [that] come out miss that part of it. For me, that would be a tough one. Having said that, if they’re good enough and they want to come out and go through with the draft, it’s hard to tell them no. In any other walk of life, the government, you get to go at whatever age you are accepted. But for us, there is an age limit.
A look at top 10 NBA draft picks who went from American high schools straight to the pros between 2000-2005. | ||
| Year | Pick/Player | Team |
| 2005 | No. 6 Martell Webster (Seattle Prep) | Blazers |
| 2005 | No. 10 Andrew Bynum (St. Joseph, N.J.) | Lakers |
| 2004 | No. 1 Dwight Howard (S.W. Atlanta Christian) | Magic |
| 2004 | No. 4 Shaun Livingston (Peoria, Ill.) | Clippers |
| 2003 | No. 1 LeBron James (St. Vin.-St. Mary, Ohio.) | Cavaliers |
| 2002 | No. 9 Amar’e Stoudemire (Cy. Creek, Fla.) | Suns |
| 2001 | No. 1 Kwame Brown (Glynn Academy, Ga.) | Wizards |
| 2001 | No. 2 Tyson Chandler (Dominguez, Calif.) | Clippers |
| 2001 | No. 4 Eddy Curry (Thornwood, Ill.) | Bulls |
| 2001 | No. 8 DeSagana Diop (Oak Hill Academy, Va.) | Cavaliers |
| 2000 | No. 3 Darius Miles (East St. Louis, Mo.) | Clippers |
“I agree with the limit and I think it’s good for the kid to mature. College is important for the simple fact that for the first time in your life you’re alone with no money and you got to figure it out. I always thought it will help me and help all these kids. But if you’re good enough and someone wants them now, it’s tough to argue against that as well. I can see both sides.”
Austin Rivers played pickup ball against such young NBA starting guards asTyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings,John Wall and DeMar DeRozan last summer in Los Angeles while preparing for a high school all-star game. That experience gave Rivers confidence that he has what it takes to compete in the NBA now.
“I really do feel like I can play against anybody,” Rivers said. “I’m not saying it in a cocky way. I’m not saying I can beat anybody. … I feel like I can go up against anybody and I’m not scared to go up against anybody. That is how my father raised me to be.”
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