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Johnston CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 system. They came up when the brass . thought they were ready. Think about how many teenagers you see skating with the big boys in the NHL. Not many. So if an 18 year old isn’t ready to face big-league pitching or compete in the NHL, why should the NBA be accepting these kids as superstars? Let’s face it — other than the “big two” high school players over the past couple of years (Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant), what high-schooler has made an immediate impact? Certainly not Columbia’s own Jermaine O’Neal, who barely made an impact in the league until this past season. Not the Indiana Pacers’ Jonathan Bender, who was sent home after two days of practice because he couldn’t handle the conditioning. So here’s where the NBDL comes in. These not-ready-for-prime-time players will have to log some time to get then bodies and minds in the proper place, therefore making them earn a spot on an NBA roster. Plus, they won’t be in posh locations. (Really, where would you rather spend your working days, in Los Angeles or Greenville?) Maybe this might give some of the players some motivation to better themselves in order to move up in the world. Plus, don’t forget that there are going to have to be coaches to lead these teams. Maybe some fresh ideas in strategy might come into play. Quite possibly, some fundamentals might creep back into the picture. The argument can be made that with the new league, even more youngsters will come to the pros early. With the prospect that they might not immediately be in the limelight, however, maybe they’ll think a bit more about making the jump. 1 say let the high-schoolers come m. The NBDL will separate the players with the talent and desire to make it to the NBA from those who are just along for a hefty paycheck and a few seconds of fame. It might take a little while for the filtering process to really take hold and the rosters to really become rich with talent, but I believe with a bottom-rung of the ladder, instead of the straight-to-the top NBA, players may actually have to prove themselves worthy of playing with the big boys. With better talent comes better basketball. And hey, maybe in a few years, the NBA will make me a believer again. If that day ever comes, I guess I’ll just have to work around those pesky playoffs. The majority j of USC students [ have less than 4 drinks when they party! (1 drink = the alcohol content of 12 ozs. beer OR 4 ozs. wine OR 1 oz. distilled spirits) Based on campus-wide survey data collected by the USC Alcohol & Drug Education Program from a random sample of USC students. m