With the NCAA Final Four just around the corner and March Madness coming to a close, there are plenty of opinions on who is the best team, the worst team and anything Division I college basketball in general when it comes to the NCAA tournament.

If Kentucky defeats Wisconsin in its Final Four game on Saturday, April 4 to continue to the NCAA championship, and proceeds to win the NCAA championship, it will be the first team since 1991 to complete the season with a perfect record; as of yet, it is 38-0. There are many claims that Kentucky could beat an NBA team, and that due to their high-level skill, they are taking other teams’ opportunities of being in the Big Dance.

In the MLB, athletes are drafted at 17 or 18 years of age right out of high school to play professional baseball. In the NBA, along with the NFL, it is required that athletes complete at least one year of college prior to entering the draft. The NBA should consider revising this rule, as multiple players, especially those of Kentucky, are simply wasting away a year in order to do what they really want, which is play professionally.

Not only do college basketball players put themselves at risk of injury, (thus delaying their entry into the NBA) while participating in college hoops; but top recruits are also very expensive when it comes to scholarship money. While Kentucky surely makes big bucks off their starting lineup, the university wastes a lot of money putting the athletes through classes, room and board, training, uniforms, transportation to games, etc.

Currently, the NCAA’s required GPA for student-athletes is a 2.0. In other words, that is basically an athlete scraping by with all D grades and still remaining on their sports team’s roster. Most of these athletes, especially Kentucky’s, go to their respective schools on a majority if not full-ride scholarship. For a student-athlete to maintain a 2.0 GPA and play basketball just to leave the following year to play professionally is a supreme waste of time and money.

According to a 2010 study from National College Players Association, Duke basketball players were valued at $1,025,656, and an analysis from USA Today found a $120,000 value in men’s basketball scholarships. So, a whole lot of money is spent on these athletes for them to play for a year, where they might not even play to their full potential, which wastes the time and money of coaches and athletes across the country. The NBA should open its draft to athletes right out of high school in order to save athletes, coaches and universities money and time.

As for Kentucky, it is well known that its whole roster is playing solely for their chance to sign to an NBA team. Because it probably will end its season at 40-0 with another NCAA championship banner, the NBA should realize it’s about time to allow athletes into the draft right out of high school. Not only do players conserve their athleticism, time and money, but fans get to see their sub-par teams earn a spot at the Big Dance. Do everyone a favor, NBA, and open the draft to athletes right out of high school.