As the University of Kentucky continues their quest for a historic undefeated championship season against West Virginia University, the sports world is once again hotly debating if potential NBA prospects should be forced to attend one year of college before entering the NBA draft.

Kentucky coach John Calipari’s golden strategy for recruiting players to Lexington has been the opportunity to prepare for the toughest competition in the world. Calipari is well aware that he is the ringleader of the college-to-NBA factory, and some analysts project that up to nine of Kentucky’s players could be drafted to the NBA this season. Although Calipari’s tactic requires him to recruit an entirely new team each year, he has enjoyed unprecedented success, as the 2012 Wildcats won the National Championship and last year’s team was the runner-up.

Coach Rick Pitino of Louisville recently said he believes players should be allowed to make the jump directly to the pros from high school, which added an even bigger spark to the conversation.

Many believe the NBA should adopt a modified version of MLB’s system. The MLB gives the player a choice — either he can enter the draft straight from high school, or he can choose to attend college but has to stay at least three years before declaring for the draft. I think NBA prospects should have the choice to enter the draft right out of high school, or to attend college for two years.

There is simple logic behind this opinion, which is very popular among commentators and sports analysts. It is inconceivable for an organization to disallow a player from joining a profession he’s been working for his whole life just because of age. Players risk career-threatening injuries every time they suit up for a game or a practice. If LeBron James went to college and tore his ACL, he wouldn’t have been drafted first overall and would have lost out on millions of dollars. This generation may have missed out on the greatest player it will ever see.

Josh Frohlinger, a freshman in SPS, thinks that players should be able to make the direct jump.

“There’s no good reason why they shouldn’t be able to go straight from high school to college,” Frohlinger said. “I don’t think it’s necessarily a sound business decision, but if a player wants to take that risk, the NBA shouldn’t be able to tell him he can’t.”

The system worked out just fine when players were able to jump straight to the pros — as evidenced by Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and LeBron James. Of course, some draft busts like Kwame Brown, who the Wizards took first overall in 2001, make the wrong decision in foregoing the college experience. What would differentiate this system from the old one is the mandatory college term of two years, should the player decide to go to college. Recent top picks almost always need one or two years to learn how to play in the NBA because they are still only 19 or 20 years old. But a coach can do wonders with a prospect knowing he has two years of work to do. Also, this idea puts less stress on the players, as they don’t have to think about their life-changing decision until after their sophomore season. Ian Hollenberg, another freshman in the SPS sports management program, thinks there are going to be issues with any system in place.

“The whole situation is too complicated,” Hollenberg said. “Players should have the ability to decide what they want to do with their lives, but there were issues with the high school-to-NBA system. If a player goes straight to the NBA and flops, he has next to nothing. For every LeBron, there’s a case like Sebastian Telfair.”

On the academic side, completing half of a college education can influence students to earn and complete their degree much more than just going for one year. The NCAA should consider this proposition so they can avoid blame for ruining an athlete’s alternate career. Athletes are less likely to sue the NCAA if they are given the chance to make money right away.

Any proposal will face issues and critics. For now, though, every college basketball fan’s eyes will be glued to the television as Kentucky’s nine potential one-and-dones fight for a legendary conclusion to what has already been a historical season.

Email Brad Waldstreicher at [email protected].