At the end of last season, 54 underclassmen declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft, and many more seriously considered early entry. Since 1997, 131 underclassmen renounced their college eligibility to enter the draft. While there are exceptions, it is established fact that players drafted after the first round generally have a very difficult time making it long term in the league.

There are valid reasons to leave college early to enter the NBA draft. A few players are in such dire financial straits that they are compelled to leave early to support their families. A few leave early out of fear that their value will never be higher than it currently is, or that they may suffer a catastrophic injury. While there may be disagreement over whether such reasons are valid, the fundamental question that must be answered in each case is will the player have an immediate impact on the league, and contribute significantly right away?

	“	After you look over these numbers, don't tell me that all of these kids are 'ready' for the NBA. They are not. ”
		— Jay Bilas

There are only 29 spots annually in the first round of the NBA draft, and college seniors and foreign players are also draft eligible. Simple math reveals that, of last year's 54 early entries, at least 25 had absolutely no shot of being selected in the first round, and being awarded a three-year guaranteed contract under the NBA rookie wage scale. With so many players acutely aware that there may be no guarantee awaiting them on draft night, the large number of players opting for early entry would seem to suggest that these young players are more prepared to play at the highest level than ever before.

I am here to tell you that they are not.

Generally, they are not even close to being ready to play in the NBA.

When evaluating a high school or college prospect and his chances for success on the NBA level, it is often asked, is he ready? Before looking at the numbers, let us first explore what "ready" for the NBA really means.

All of the early-entry candidates are "ready" to be drafted, and to shake hands with David Stern while wearing a $2,000 suit. All are "ready" to make money, and in most cases, that is the primary motivation. However, very few are "ready" to actually play in the NBA and make a significant impact upon their team, or the league.

Will the early-entry candidate have a substantial effect on his team, or the league when he steps onto the floor his first two seasons? Will he be an important part of his team? The answer in most cases is "no".

Currently, there are 46 players on NBA rosters that, if they had not entered the draft early, would have college eligibility right now. When they get into games at all, those players currently average 17 minutes per game, 6.6 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, and 1.1 assists per game. These numbers include the "successes" such as Mike Miller, Rashard Lewis and Al Harrington, as well as the relative "failures".

Not included in those numbers are early entries that are not in the league at all: Omar Cook (St. John's), Michael Wright (Arizona), Ousmane Cisse (Alabama high school), D.A. Layne (Georgia), SirValient Brown (George Washington), Schea Cotton (Alabama), JaRon Rush (UCLA), and Leon Smith.

Here is the breakdown of the levels of impact of the college eligible early entries over the last three years, and how they are currently performing without regard to potential (Stats through Dec. 19):

Star-Caliber Performers
None. There, that was easy.

Impact Performers
These players are considered as "impact performers" because they are currently valued members of their teams, but none are likely to be All-NBA selections this season or selections to the NBA All-Star Team. Note that all players on listed as "impact performers" would have been college seniors in the 2001-2002 season.

Mike Miller, Orlando (Senior at Florida)
31 MPG, 17 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.5 APG, 47 percent FG

Quentin Richardson, Los Angeles (Senior at DePaul)
26 MPG, 14 PPG, 4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 48 percent FG

Stromile Swift, Memphis (Senior at LSU)
28 MPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 48 percent FG

Dion Glover, Atlanta (Senior at Georgia Tech)
24 MPG, 11PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 46 percent FG

Corey Maggette, Los Angeles (Senior at Duke)
25 MPG, 11 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 39 percent FG

Al Harrington, Indiana (Senior in college)
30 MPG, 13 PPG, 6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 50 percent FG

Rashard Lewis, Seattle (Senior in college)
38 MPG, 16 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 44 percent FG

Limited Impact Performers
These players are regular contributors to their teams, but are not playing significant roles. Note that, with the exception of Miles, all would be juniors or seniors in college this season.

Darius Miles, Los Angeles (Sophomore in college)
24 MPG, 8.6 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, 11 percent 3PT, 58 percent FT

Trenton Hassell, Chicago (Senior at Austin Peay)
31 MPG, 9.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 46 percent FG

Joe Johnson, Boston (Junior at Arkansas)
27 MPG, 8.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, 47 percent FG

Jason Richardson, Golden State (Junior at Michigan State)
26 MPG, 10 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, 40 percent FG Troy Murphy, Golden State (Senior at Notre Dame)
18 MPG, 6.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 0.7 APG, 40 percent FG

Richard Jefferson, Arizona (Senior at Arizona)
21 MPG, 7.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, 43 percent FG

Taking Up Space
These players get a uniform, a roster spot, and very limited playing time. Note that, while talented, none of these players were consistently dominant on the college level. Kwame Brown, Washington (Sophomore in college)
13 MPG, 3.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 0.5 APG, 37 percent FG

Eddie Griffin, Houston (Sophmore at Seton Hall)
17 MPG, 5.7 PPG, 4 RPG, 0.6 APG, 35 percent FG

Alton Ford, Phoenix (Sophomore at Houston)
4 MPG, 1.2 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.1 APG, 57 percent FG

Joseph Forte, Boston (Junior at North Carolina)
8 MPG, 1.0 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 1.0 APG

Kirk Haston, Charlotte (Senior at Indiana)
4 MPG, 0.7 PPG, 0.3 RPG, 0.0 APG, 11 percent FG

Zach Randolph, Portland (Sophmore at Michigan State)
6.5 MPG, 3.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.3 APG, 47 percent FG

Joel Pryzybilla, Milwaukee (Senior at Minnesota)
10 MPG, 1.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.2 APG

Dermarr Johnson, Atlanta (Junior at Cincinnati)
13 MPG, 5.2 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.8 APG, 41 percent FG

Gerald Wallace, Sacramento (Sophmore at Alabama)
7.4 MPG, 3.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.6 APG

Rodney White, Detroit (Sophmore at Charlotte)
10 MPG, 3.8 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.9 APG, 37 percent FG

Eddy Curry, Chicago (Freshman in college)
11 MPG, 3.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.2 APG, 39 percent FG

Tyson Chandler, Chicago (Freshman in college)
12 MPG, 3.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.5 APG, 45 percent FG

Need I.D. for Entry Into NBA Arena
These players have barely scratched in NBA games, and have had insignificant roles on their respective teams. Note that none were dominant on the college level, and several had major deficiencies in college.

Samuel Dalembert, Philadelphia (Junior at Seton Hall)
Desagana Diop, Cleveland (Freshman in college)
Kenny Satterfield, Denver (Junior at Cincinnati)
Erick Barkley, Portland (Senior at St. John's)
Jerome Moiso, Charlotte (Senior at UCLA)
Donnell Harvey, Dallas (Junior at Florida)
Gilbert Arenas, Golden State (Junior at Arizona)
Michael Bradley, Toronto (Senior at Villanova)
Jamison Brewer, Indiana (Junior at Auburn)
Kedrick Brown, Boston (Junior in college)

What do these players and their marginal numbers tell us? They tell us that, while these kids thought they were ready to come out early, precious few were actually ready to contribute, let alone play major roles.

On this list of early entries, how many consistently dominated games in college, so that there was little left to accomplish on the college level? The answer is none.

How many had truly mature bodies or mature and polished games, had little left they needed to work on, and were physically and mentally prepared to play at the highest level? The answer is very few, if any.

Clearly, the older the player, and the more experience the player has, generally, the more prepared the player is to contribute than the younger, less mature and experienced player.

Most of these players are still growing up in the game and learning how to play, but most are still just kids. But the NBA is a league of men, and it is the men that dominate the league and have true impact. So, after you look over these numbers, don't tell me that all of these kids are "ready" for the NBA. They are not.