Dukies in the NBA 2019-20

[budwom]

I'm sorry I can't generate an appropriate level of sympathy, but this sounds like Wile E Coyote:

"The daredevil "Mad" Mike Hughes was killed in a rocket launch gone wrong ...
It was the third launch for Hughes in one of his homemade rockets and part of his eventual plan to be able to determine for himself, up in the sky, if the Earth was as flat as he proclaimed to believe.
A steel ladder was attached to the rocket's launch ramp to make it easier for Hughes to enter the rocket's cockpit. But when the rocket launched, it ended up hitting the ladder and setting the launch on course for disaster.
"It ripped off a parachute can, which deployed the parachute, which got caught in the thrust of the rocket and kind of took the rocket off course a little bit," ...
The steam-powered rocket wobbled and did a huge arc before crashing less than a minute later.
"He went way up in the sky," ... his goal was 5,000 feet. Then it did an arc and then came straight down and nose-dived into the desert floor about half a mile away from the launch pad."

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/23/80864...omemade-rocket

The article actually paints a sympathetic picture of a lonely man, age 64, whose exploits as a stuntman he feared were forgotten. The entire accident was filmed by the Science Channel.

yes, sad but truly imbecilic...we used to give guys like this the Darwin Award...

[JasonEvans]

And Allen falls where?

He's easy to forget about because he was at Duke for such a short time compared to pretty much every other Duke in the NBA right now

-Jason "Grayson, Mason, JJ, Amile... not many 4 year Dukies in the NBA... sign of the times" Evans

[sagegrouse]

He's easy to forget about because he was at Duke for such a short time compared to pretty much every other Duke in the NBA right now

-Jason "Grayson, Mason, JJ, Amile... not many 4 year Dukies in the NBA... sign of the times" Evans

Quinn (and Quin). Plus Seth with an asterisk (freshman year at Liberty). A double asterisk and a provisional DQ for Semi, who left Duke: he spent four years in college but sat out a year after transferring to SMU and only played three seasons.

[Steven43]

Tatum, Allen, Kennard, Frank Jackson, Giles... 2nd round exit
Bagley, Carter, Allen, Trent... Elite Eight exit
Zion, RJ, Cam, Tre... Elite Eight exit

Yes, yes, I understand anything can happen in the tournament. But those teams were STACKED with NBA talent. And the furthest any of them got was the Elite Eight? Sigh...

Thanks for reminding us.

[Kdogg]

He's easy to forget about because he was at Duke for such a short time compared to pretty much every other Duke in the NBA right now

-Jason "Grayson, Mason, JJ, Amile... not many 4 year Dukies in the NBA... sign of the times" Evans

This has me wondering: How many college graduates are in the NBA? I would guess less then a quarter so we are probably inline maybe a bit ahead.

[bundabergdevil]

This has me wondering: How many college graduates are in the NBA? I would guess less then a quarter so we are probably inline maybe a bit ahead.

According to this site, it's about 20%. Any one want to guess which of the major professional sports has the lowest percent of college graduates?

[Tappan Zee Devil]

According to this site, it's about 20%. Any one want to guess which of the major professional sports has the lowest percent of college graduates?

would guess hockey and then maybe baseball

[MChambers]

According to this site, it's about 20%. Any one want to guess which of the major professional sports has the lowest percent of college graduates?

I remember Dave Winfield writing to his college teammates, saying how lonely it was to be a college educated man in a professional baseball dugout.

[bundabergdevil]

would guess hockey and then maybe baseball

I remember Dave Winfield writing to his college teammates, saying how lonely it was to be a college educated man in a professional baseball dugout.

According to that article, y'all are right, it's baseball. Seems reasonable given baseball's drafting system. I don't pay much attention to baseball but I'm not sure I've heard anyone bemoan the lack of education in baseball the way I have basketball.

Also according to the article, NFL is about 50%.

[budwom]

A lot of pro athletes went to college but didn't necessarily get any meaningful education.

[Indoor66]

A lot of pro athletes went to college but didn't necessarily get any meaningful education.

You talkin' 'bout da cheats?

[jv001]

A lot of pro athletes went to college but didn't necessarily get any meaningful education.

Ohh, I see where you're going there(Chapel Hell?) and I see why baseball would be the pro sport that has the least players with college degrees. Baseball allows players to go pro right out of high school. The NBA doesn't allow that. I think the NFL does but most high school seniors don't have the body or strength for that.

GoDuke!

[sagegrouse]

Ohh, I see where you're going there(Chapel Hell?) and I see why baseball would be the pro sport that has the least players with college degrees. Baseball allows players to go pro right out of high school. The NBA doesn't allow that. I think the NFL does but most high school seniors don't have the body or strength for that.

GoDuke!

For the NFL:

From the Houston Chronicle: "While there is no minimum age for professional football players, the NFL mandates that you must be out of high school for at least three years before you are eligible to play. If you graduate at 17 years old, that means you must wait until you are 20 to enter the NFL draft."

[budwom]

Ohh, I see where you're going there(Chapel Hell?) and I see why baseball would be the pro sport that has the least players with college degrees. Baseball allows players to go pro right out of high school. The NBA doesn't allow that. I think the NFL does but most high school seniors don't have the body or strength for that.

GoDuke!

a fair amount has been written about hoop and (especially) football players who went to college but were still in the functionally illiterate range...some schools have a knack for keeping players eligible no matter what...didn't SI have a big article about this years ago?

[bundabergdevil]

a fair amount has been written about hoop and (especially) football players who went to college but were still in the functionally illiterate range...some schools have a knack for keeping players eligible no matter what...didn't SI have a big article about this years ago?

You should ask Rashad McCants that question...


...though, if he'd paid attention in class, he'd know it should be McCan'ts.

[phaedrus]

He's easy to forget about because he was at Duke for such a short time compared to pretty much every other Duke in the NBA right now

-Jason "Grayson, Mason, JJ, Amile... not many 4 year Dukies in the NBA... sign of the times" Evans

Strike Amile from the list - he's part of a far more exclusive club: 5-year Dukies in the NBA.

[JetpackJesus]

Ohh, I see where you're going there(Chapel Hell?) and I see why baseball would be the pro sport that has the least players with college degrees. Baseball allows players to go pro right out of high school. The NBA doesn't allow that. I think the NFL does but most high school seniors don't have the body or strength for that.

GoDuke!

Players must be out of high school for at least 3 years to be eligible for the NFL draft.

Baseball is odd. A player can be drafted and go pro out of high school. But players who commit to a NCAA program must stay there until after their junior season (or whenever they turn 21). I believe players drafted out of high school can elect to go NCAA instead of signing with the team that drafted them. If they go to NCAA, the drafting team loses the rights to that player, and the same eligibility rules apply. I think there's very little incentive for players who do go to NCAA to actually complete all four years unless they aren't good enough to get drafted, in which case, they'll probably never be in MLB.

I bet NHL is actually number one, but the NHL is unique in that only about 1/4 of the players are American. Only 32% of NHL players played NCAA hockey at all. And only 34% of those players played all four seasons. For hockey, college players can sign a professional contract after each season, and a team that drafts a player committed to an NCAA program retains his rights until the August after his fourth year. So like baseball, there's little incentive to stay all four years if a player is good enough to turn pro at any point during his college career (they can become a UFA if they complete four years and do not sign a professional contract with the team that drafted them, so that is one incentive).

[budwom]

Players must be out of high school for at least 3 years to be eligible for the NFL draft.

Baseball is odd. A player can be drafted and go pro out of high school. But players who commit to a NCAA program must stay there until after their junior season (or whenever they turn 21). I believe players drafted out of high school can elect to go NCAA instead of signing with the team that drafted them. If they go to NCAA, the drafting team loses the rights to that player, and the same eligibility rules apply. I think there's very little incentive for players who do go to NCAA to actually complete all four years unless they aren't good enough to get drafted, in which case, they'll probably never be in MLB.

I bet NHL is actually number one, but the NHL is unique in that only about 1/4 of the players are American. Only 32% of NHL players played NCAA hockey at all. And only 34% of those players played all four seasons. For hockey, college players can sign a professional contract after each season, and a team that drafts a player committed to an NCAA program retains his rights until the August after his fourth year. So like baseball, there's little incentive to stay all four years if a player is good enough to turn pro at any point during his college career (they can become a UFA if they complete four years and do not sign a professional contract with the team that drafted them, so that is one incentive).

what's really odd about NCAA hockey players now is that many of the kids play one or often two years of junior hockey before enrolling, making them 20, 21 year old freshmen...making them more likely to be physically mature and leave college early...

[CDu]

Ohh, I see where you're going there(Chapel Hell?) and I see why baseball would be the pro sport that has the least players with college degrees. Baseball allows players to go pro right out of high school. The NBA doesn't allow that. I think the NFL does but most high school seniors don't have the body or strength for that.

GoDuke!

On top of that, baseball is also comprised of a MUCH larger foreign population than basketball or football (not so much true for hockey, where the proportion foreign is probably higher than baseball). Lots of kids from the Dominican and Central/South America are signed as 16 year olds. Between that and the draft structure it's easy to see why baseball has the lowest percentage of players with college degrees.

I'd guess that hockey (which wasn't included in that article) probably has a comparably low college graduation percentage as baseball.

[flyingdutchdevil]

On top of that, baseball is also comprised of a MUCH larger foreign population than basketball or football (not so much true for hockey, where the proportion foreign is probably higher than baseball). Lots of kids from the Dominican and Central/South America are signed as 16 year olds. Between that and the draft structure it's easy to see why baseball has the lowest percentage of players with college degrees.

I'd guess that hockey (which wasn't included in that article) probably has a comparably low college graduation percentage as baseball.

Interestingly enough, of the best pro sports league in every sport (ie NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, etc), the NBA is the second most "international" after the Premier League for soccer (https://www.economist.com/internatio...asingly-fierce). "International" is defined by nationalities represented rather than number of players who aren't American. If we go by the second definition, I'd assume MLB is likely the second most international after the Premier League (or any soccer league).