The NBA needs to create a rule to exclude teenagers from playing. This would be better for college basketball, would make players more responsible in handling their salaries, and make them more prepared for the competition of the NBA.

The “no teenagers” rule would be better for college basketball because schools could establish a team long term. I don’t like that when big colleges recruit good freshmen, they leave for the NBA after a year. I don’t think it’s good for a team to lose its best player every year. If the players stayed on the college level, the competition would be better and the teams would learn to work together better.

Take Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs. He could have gone straight into the NBA after his freshman year, but he stayed for all four years. Now he’s one of the most respected players in the NBA. He was also one of the best college players of all time.

If players had to stay an extra year in college, they would also become more responsible handling their money. When players enter the league, they suddenly earn more money than most could even imagine. An extra year of college would help them mature and keep out of trouble. They would hopefully think before hanging out with old friends and ending up in bad situations. Also the coaches have more time to teach players good values and help them with problems.

If players stayed longer in college, they would be more prepared for the com­petition of the NBA. It’s true that some are good enough to compete, like LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but most aren’t. A lot of players who enter the NBA after one year of college don’t have an impact for a few years. They could be stars of their college basketball team instead of sitting on the bench in the NBA.

The NBA should institute this rule because it would improve college basketball, make the players act more responsibly, and they would be better prepared for the challenges of the NBA.