By
Ryan Finley
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Three days ago, just two players in the history of the UA basketball program had left school early to enter the NBA Draft.
That number has doubled since late Saturday night, when junior forward Richard Jefferson announced he will forego his senior season. Junior forward Michael Wright followed suit yesterday.
In the week since Arizona's 82-72 loss to Duke in the NCAA Tournament title game, 10 underclassmen - including Wright and Jefferson - have ended their college careers to pursue a dream of entering the professional ranks.
According to two UA assistant coaches, the high-paying world of the NBA has led to a trend of players leaving early for the pros.
"It's a sign of the times," undergraduate assistant coach Josh Pastner said. "It's a new age of basketball. It's the ultimate dream of basketball players everywhere. (Turning down the money) is easier said than done. When you're that close, it's hard to say no."
Leaving the college ranks for the NBA is nothing new - from Shaquille O'Neal to Allen Iverson to Mike Bibby, most of today's elite professional players have left college early to pursue the money and fame that comes with signing a professional contract.
However, UA associate head coach Jim Rosborough said he is bothered with the increasing amount of high-school players entering the draft each year. With the success of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett - two NBA all-stars who shunned college to go pro - more high-schoolers are passing on a college career to take their chances at age 17 or 18.
"The thing that's irritating is the whole culture of elite-level basketball," Rosborough said. "It's sick. It's flat-out sick. I got into (coaching) in 1974. You never heard of (leaving early) then."
Perhaps the most hyped of the underclassmen to declare for the draft is 7-foot-1 center Tyson Chandler, a senior at Dominguez High School in Compton, Calif.
Chandler was at the center of a Sports Illustrated article last month that painted major high-school basketball as a money-driven competition between privately funded traveling teams and shoe companies, many who compete for the right to equip some of the nation's top teams.
"Back then, it was never an issue," Rosborough said. "Now, it's all these traveling teams, the AAU teams, the exposure and the money. "
Pastner, who helped coach an AAU team in high school, said that Rosborough is allowing the downside of some AAU teams to outweigh the positives.
"First of all, a couple bad apples in AAU ball doesn't mean everyone's bad," he said. "It's just like coaching. There are some coaches out there who cheat, but that doesn't mean everyone out there does."
While Chandler is predicted to be a top-five pick, Pastner said the college experience - no matter how long it is - helps players grow and learn within a system. Elite high-school players, on the other hand, often play in offenses custom-made to fit their talents.
"You can never have those college years back," he said. "Whether its interacting, having team meals, living in the dorms or learning to pay bills, the maturation process is not the same. If you go straight into the NBA, you're being fed to the wolves. But then again, if a guy's a top-five, top-10 pick out of high school, it's hard to say no."
Rosborough said college helps promote a work ethic and toughness within a system.
"You see Michael Wright and Richard, they've come in and worked their butts off," Rosborough said. "You're (former UA guard) Khalid Reeves. Your percentage chance of (going pro after) getting prepared under our staff and with our style of play is as good as you can get.
"There are six or eight schools out there that constantly turn out kids that get ready (for the NBA). That's a great compliment to our program. We can't help the fact that we get good kids."
In the end, Rosborough said, talented players will always feel the pull of the NBA, regardless of their ages. Rosborough, head coach Lute Olson's longtime confidant, said Arizona basketball is just like any academic program on campus.
"It's no different than a kid coming here for our business school," he said. "Once players make their minds up (to leave), there's nothing you can say. There's nothing you can do."
