Doug Hardin
07-11-2006, 03:50 PM
I can't copy and paste the article since it's an Insider article, but I'll summarize it.
The initial answer to this question is, "No, the NBA passed a minimum age that makes everyone go to college for a year."
But Ford says that Walker and Mayo might be able to get in the draft and bypass college on a technicality. The language of the CBA requires entrants to be 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft (both will be), and requires that, "At least one NBA Season has elapsed since the player's graduation from high school (or, if the player did not graduate from high school, since the graduation of the class with which the player would have graduated had he graduated from high school)."
In a nutshell, the question Walker and Mayo can raise is what the language "class with which the player would have graduated had he graduated from high school" really means.
Walker can say that since he was ruled ineligible for the 2006-07 season because he should have been a senior last year, all of his high school eligibility has expired, so he "would have graduated" in 2006 but for the transcript mix-up between Rose Hill and North College Hill, and a full NBA season will have elapsed between May 2006 and the June '07 Draft. Mayo might also have an argument, though his would be less convincing since he was held back early in his education.
Ford cites an NBA spokesman who says that running out of eligibility isn't the same as graduating, so neither player would be eligible for next year's Draft. He also cites Michael McCann, a well-known sports law scholar, who thinks Walker should be eligible for next year's draft and that the NBA probably doesn't want Walker to sue them and challenge the age minimum.
This could get interesting.
The initial answer to this question is, "No, the NBA passed a minimum age that makes everyone go to college for a year."
But Ford says that Walker and Mayo might be able to get in the draft and bypass college on a technicality. The language of the CBA requires entrants to be 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft (both will be), and requires that, "At least one NBA Season has elapsed since the player's graduation from high school (or, if the player did not graduate from high school, since the graduation of the class with which the player would have graduated had he graduated from high school)."
In a nutshell, the question Walker and Mayo can raise is what the language "class with which the player would have graduated had he graduated from high school" really means.
Walker can say that since he was ruled ineligible for the 2006-07 season because he should have been a senior last year, all of his high school eligibility has expired, so he "would have graduated" in 2006 but for the transcript mix-up between Rose Hill and North College Hill, and a full NBA season will have elapsed between May 2006 and the June '07 Draft. Mayo might also have an argument, though his would be less convincing since he was held back early in his education.
Ford cites an NBA spokesman who says that running out of eligibility isn't the same as graduating, so neither player would be eligible for next year's Draft. He also cites Michael McCann, a well-known sports law scholar, who thinks Walker should be eligible for next year's draft and that the NBA probably doesn't want Walker to sue them and challenge the age minimum.
This could get interesting.