Jahlil Okafor the latest proof that 'one and done' players care about academics
Over the years, there's been a myth thrown around in sports that "one and done" basketball players simply don't care about school.
That because the NBA's age restriction keeps them out of the professional ranks and forces them to a college campus for a year, that once there, they do the absolute minimum to get by before moving onto the next level. Some in the media have gone so far as to say that one-and-dones stop going to class at the start of the second semester.
But while that's a cute narrative, it's not always the case. And we got the latest example of that Tuesday, when Duke announced that Jahlil Okafor will return to school this summer to continue to take classes towards his degree.
Looking forward to seeing @JahlilOkafor on campus this summer as he will work toward earning his Duke degree. #BestOfBothWorlds ??
— Duke Basketball (@dukeblueplanet) April 19, 2016
Now on the surface, the Okafor announcement might not feel like "news." After all, Okafor comes from a strong academic background, where his father has a Master's degree, and his aunt earned a PhD. And just because he cares about academics doesn't mean that everyone who leaves college after one year does too.
But at the same time, if you look at the history of many of the best one-and-done players, many thrived academically before, during and after their time on campus.
For example, while many people remember the impact John Wall had as a one-and-done at Kentucky, few realize he set a different trend off the court with a 3.5 GPA in his second semester, the highest on the entire team. And again, that was the second semester, which included time on campus after he'd already declared for the draft. A year later, Brandon Knight entered Kentucky with over a 4.0 GPA, and actually was strong enough academically to consider attending an Ivy League school.
And since then, it's actually been very much the same. In 2012, Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague (all one-and-dones) combined for above a 3.0 GPA according to Kentucky. A few years later Karl Anthony-Towns, Trey Lyles, Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis (three of four which were one-and-dones) did the same. Heck, Towns was a 4.0 student who graduated high school in three years before he got to Kentucky. Jabari Parker brought a 3.6 GPA to Duke, and Tyus Jones had over a 3.0 as well.
The point being, that while plenty of one-and-done players — like everyone else — don't care about academics, a lot more of them do than you might actually think.
Okafor is just the latest example.
Aaron Torres is a contributor for FOXSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Aaron_Torres or Facebook. E-mail him at ATorres00@gmail.com.
