Remember how your parents and teachers would tell you that you must go to college if you want to make tons of money? Remember how they told you that a high school education wasn't good enough?
What would you do if I told you that they were a bunch of liars, considering it's very possible to make a six-figure salary with only a high school diploma?
Did I get your attention?
Brandon Jennings, a 19-year-old basketball player from Compton, Calif., has defied the odds, causing many people across the country to want to follow in his footsteps.
After high school, Jennings made the decision to forgo a year at the University of Arizona to play professional basketball overseas in Rome.
The decision to go overseas was a direct result of NBA Commissioner David Stern and the NBA Players Association, who created a law three years ago that disallowed players to enter the league under the age of 19. Another stipulation in the law said players were to be one year removed from high school.
I can't figure out why colleges are in agreement with this rule. It must be difficult to build a sports program around a star that does not plan on being at their school for four years. Would the University of Florida win back-to-back championships if, after the first year, all of their stars decided to go professional?
The rule was intended to promote high school students to go to college for at least one year, but people like Jennings proved that high school students are smarter than we give them credit for.
Granted, with Jennings signing with the Italian team, he is expected to make an undisclosed amount of money. But it is reported that whatever amount both sides agree to will have no less than six digits in front of the decimal point.
There are a lot of haters out there ridiculing Jennings for his decision to go pro. Many feel he should go to college for an education, then leave and pursue his dreams.
Do people not realize he doesn't need an education?
Let's be serious; even if he did go to Arizona for one year, how much learning would occur? Nearly none. While he's in a pointless sociology class, there would be images of basketballs dancing in his head.
Another incentive for him is that, in one year of professional basketball, he will make more money than doctors and lawyers who spend eight years or more in college.
Mr. Stern, have you forgotten that a few of your all-stars, like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James, never received a college education? They seem pretty articulate to me, wouldn't you say?
For those who argue that for every James and Bryant there are 10 high school players who don't make it, save it. The majority of those 10 players slacked off in high school anyway, so why waste their money in college?
Even if they don't become stars, they will be making more money as a practice player or an NBDL player than they would working at McDonald's.
My parents told me that if I don't go to college, I better get the best paying job I can with my high school diploma. That is all Jennings is doing - getting the best job he can without going to college. So what if it involves playing basketball?
So Dave, how does it feel to see your almighty plan backfire right in your face? Because of you, all of the good high school talent, including Jennings, will not be playing in the NBA, but instead enjoying a semester abroad.
Bon voyage!
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
