Jennings owes a bow to Garnett

December 08, 2009|Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist

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But the high schoolers affected the league in a dramatic way. The year Garnett was drafted, seven of the 10 members of the NBA’s first- and second-team all-league players had completed four years of college. By 2008, the first-team All-NBA squad had attended a combined two years of college, both belonging to Chris Paul. This was the Garnett Effect to the extreme.

David Stern was never happy with all this. He just wasn’t. Somehow or other, he was offended, and he may have been sent over the edge in 2004, when Howard was selected No. 1 overall and eight high schoolers in all were drafted, and in 2005, when nine high schoolers were selected.

In 2006 he got his way, altering the draft to prevent someone from going directly from high school to the NBA. The residual effect has been the proliferation of One-and-Dones, which has made a semi-mockery of college ball, since most of these kids stop going to class (if they ever have in the first place) the day after the season ends.

Garnett downplays his historic importance, citing pioneers such as Spencer Haywood, the Malone-Dawkins-Willoughby triumvirate (he’s clearly done his homework) and even Shawn Kemp, who came to the NBA in 1989 after being thrown out of Kentucky before playing a game and then enrolling at Trinity Valley CC (Texas), again without ever playing a game.

But Kevin Garnett is the one who changed the rules, and the Bryants, Jameses, and Howards are all his pups.

Jennings is only the latest, albeit with a continental twist.

Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist and host of Globe 10.0 on Boston.com. He can be reached at ryan@globe.com.