I like myths. If my college(s) had been bigger, I'd have taken
one of those classes on myths that you see in movies that make you think "oh, college is nothing but hot women and easy classes." When in fact, 80% of the girls are obese or just plain ugly and classes can be hard, especially when you show up only 20% of the time. There are other myths I like too. I have all 9 seasons of the X Files on DVD, and yes, I have had sex. Other myths I've subscribed to over my lifetime...
-My poop doesn't stink
-Most athletes are assholes, but seriously, Tiger Woods is a good guy
-My first girlfriend wasn't a filthy whore
Then there are other myths I can't wrap my mind around. The Loch Ness monster. Rich Rodriguez being good at coaching football. Big white guys being hung like big black guys. And the NBA age rule. I've written on this subject before, but all those times lacked something that I have brought to you today, from the heart: Live research.
Why?
I don't know. I used to make fake sources for papers in college, only to see teachers write shit like "great use of sources....A" on the top, verifying that they didn't read past my name in the top corner.
In the history of the Preps to Pros in the NBA, there have been 50 total declarations. This began in 1962 with Reggie Harding, who was drafted by the Pistons but did not see the floor until a year later. Of these 50 paperwork submitted NBA draft declarations, a whopping seven have not been drafted. Seven, people. The NBA would have you believe that 50% of these kids trying to make the jump fail and wind up working at Burger King (and if this is where you're looking for the "no offense to people working fast food"...don't hold your breath. You might be a loser. Sorry.) 
or selling crack. It's just not true. In fact, more players who've declared for the draft out of high school have made All Star teams than those that haven't been drafted. And that doesn't include guys like Monta Ellis or Al Jefferson, easily all star caliber players. All in all...
-Only 14% of the players to declare for the NBA draft were not drafted. Of those 7 players, one, Jackie Butler spent time on a regular season NBA roster. Which means SIX of 50 players making the jump did not play in the NBA. That includes Lenny Cooke, who didn't even play high school basketball. Another one of these non-draftees was Charlie Villaneuva, who went to UConn and recently signed a 60 million dollar deal with the Pistons. That means...
-90% of the players to go from high school to the NBA were either drafted or signed an NBA contract...one of which I could live on for the next 10 years alone.
-28% of the players to declare for the NBA draft out of high school went on to play in at least one NBA All Star Game
-If Lebron James, as expected, wins the NBA MVP award this season, it means four prep to pro players out of the 50 will have won at least 1 MVP award in their careers
-Since Kevin Garnett re-popularized entering the NBA from high school in 1995, 33 of the 45 players who were drafted played in an NBA game this past season, 15 years later. That is 73%. Not too shabby, right David Stern? Can your huge, ginormous nose smell the irony?
-Only 2nd round picks in the NBA are not guaranteed contracts (so think about that when you call guys like Leon Smith a failure). Of the high schoolers drafted in the second round, only three of them are not still on an NBA roster. THREE. Those players are Ricky Sanchez, Korleone Young, and Ousmane Cisse.
Of the players not drafted, not counting Butler or Villaneuva, who got on with NBA teams...you notice a trend that has nothing to do with being prepared for the NBA so much as forced into it.
-Lenny Cooke: Too old to play high school ball as a senior
-Taj McDavid: Played D-2 ball later and never really blossomed into anything close to an NBA player
-Tony Key: Academically unable to play in college, hence his declaring for the draft
-Only McDavid loosely and Ellis Richardson fit the category of "trademark bad decisions based on bad advice" that you constantly hear so much about.
-The average draft position for all the high school players drafted (not including Reggie Harding) is the 17th pick. According to last year's rookie salary cap, that would have netted you over 1.2 million per season.
Now consider this...in 1996, the NBA league minimum for a rookie was $200,000 per year. When the One Year Rule was adopted in 2005, the league minimum was over $350,000. What does this all mean? Let's do some scenarios, shall we? Real, live jargon to illustrate how the NBA's stance here is dumber than Helen Keller. The non-alive version. When you were 18, if someone told you they'd pay you a minimum of 200 large for one year at a job, but you couldn't go to college right then and there...but were able to earn a long term, higher dollar contract if you performed during that year, would you really have said..."nah, I'll just spend $20,000 at State U instead and drink Keystone Light because I can't afford anything better."? No. Unless you're a moron, you wouldn't have. So the relative term "success" that the NBA uses to throw around when talking about so-called "failures" in the league (can I get just ONE more Korelone Young reference because no one can think of anyone else?) means calling 18 year olds making 6 figures, even for a year...failures. What were you doing when you were 18, chap? By comparison, you were homeless with jaundice and HIV.
And if the NBA doesn't work out, these kids CAN in fact go back to college, just not to play basketball. The NBA doesn't educate these kids because they're selfish. Aforementioned Villaneuva did it the right way. He declared, wasn't drafted, and subsequently went to college because he didn't hire an agent. He spent 2 years at Connecticut and was a lottery pick upon leaving. The only pitfall is being a 2nd round pick, which eliminates your ability to both get a guaranteed contract and go back to college. But you get an automatic training camp spot, and the pay that goes with it, more than a teacher makes in 2 years of work. Not too shabby, right? That's right, for those of you reading this a little on the slow side...you CAN declare for the NBA draft out of high school and still go back and play college basketball.
NBA Myths they want you to believe...
-High schoolers aren't mature enough for the rigors of professional basketball and trying to play too early ruins their lives
Why it's false: Well, for one, the staggering percentage of success stories shows that these kids are in fact prepared. That, and the myth perptuated that it takes maturity to play professional sports. Stop trying to hit my backspace key, Tiger, dammit...
-The product is better when the players spend a year in college
Why it's false: Well, if I were to ask you who the top 10 players in the NBA were, your first two selections would be guys that came from high school...Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. And it wouldn't even be close. The reigning defensive player of the year? Dwight Howard. From high school. Somewhere near the back of the top 10 would probably be Kevin Garnett. Or Amare Stoudemire. Not only does the NBA KNOW the product isn't necessarily better, they aren't even that secretive about it. Funny how the NBA One Year rule was first talked about as a certainty after James had entered the league. Make no mistake, the league couldn't afford to not have James in its league ASAP.
Truths that you don't realize...
-Forcing players to go to college allows the NBA to use the NCAA as a brothel to whore out future NBA stars. How much about John Wall did you know before he went to Kentucky? Now he's a household name. Same for DeMarcus Cousins. You probably never had heard of Eric Bledsoe. 20 nationally televised UK games later, he's a lotto pick and the most talked about Bledsoe in sports. Sorry Drew. Ditto for Derrick Rose. Tyreke Evans. Lance Stephenson. Face it. High school basketball isn't a big network draw. College basketball is. So the NBA forces these kids into college, where they pick some, any program, and the NBA gets free marketing for a year while the NCAA gets to watch kids that want no part of its sport at that level and mock the purity of the game itself.
-One year of college basketball means NOTHING to the maturity of these players. Actually, if anything, it hurts. They have to attend classes for all of one semester despite playing in months of both. 
Their games aren't enhanced at all. Michael Beasley or John Wall didn't learn anything they didn't know in high school while spending 6 months beating Screwoff State U 140-65. Beasley still relied on being athletically dominant. Wall still can't shoot any better than those old guys in your rec league.
The truth is, the One and Done rule is un-American, but that's an ill to research or prove point. It strikes against the very core and foundation of this nation. But since money is involved, we don't care. What the percentages and realities show, however, is that perception or not, fairness or not, the NBA is lying about the success rate of prep to pro players. Not only are they fit for the professional league, they're MORE fit than any other group to declare for the draft, including seniors. You think 86% of the seniors to declare for the NBA draft since 1995 have made it in the league?
What people say and what is the truth are two entirely different things. Don't believe everything you hear. When the NBA tells you that preps need one year, don't take it as gospel. Don't take it as maturity. Find out for yourself. Lies are everywhere. Now, I've got to get running. Someone gave me a CD by this girl named Ke$ha and told me it was Grammy winning fodder. I can't wait...