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Originally Posted by Deadly D I see your point and would and would probably agree with it. I was talking mainly from from a british stand point and for individual sports, as my knowlage about draft picks and the whole collage system over in north america is very limated. |
OK, I'll try to explain how it works for the three major leagues.
In Major League Baseball, the age limit is 18. There are a bunch of "minor leagues" with each major league team having a representative. If an 18-year old gets drafted, he is usually sent to the minor leagues to hone his skills for a few years. Most players then get called up to the majors when they are in their early-20's. But, because of the minor leagues, they are pretty well-prepared to play at the highest level. Also, some players decide to go to college and play there, and if they are good, they usually spend less time in the minors than the high school kids who get drafted.
In the National Football League, you must be 3 years removed from your high school graduation to enter the league. There is no minor league in football, so playing in college is a de facto "minor league". Since every player has at least 3 years experience playing at a fairly high level, they are usually ready to play within a year of being drafted, if not sooner. There are exceptions, of course, but usually if a guy is good, he's good right away, and if he stinks, you know right away
In the National Basketball Association, the age limit previously was 18. It used to be that only the best of the best high school students would enter the league. But over time, more and more high schoolers entered, and started getting picked earlier and earlier. There is no minor league in the NBA. So, if a player gets drafted based on potential, and not readiness to play, he is forced to sit on the bench for a few years until he is ready.
I dont know if you have drafts over in England, but the way it works is that if you want to join any of the three leagues, you have to declare yourself eligible for the draft. Thus, there is a big pool of players for the teams to choose from. Once a year, starting with the worst team, they pick the players they want, and anybody who's left over can be signed at any time after the draft.