How young is too young to go pro?

Maybe you've heard of Kobe Bryant. He's a basketball player. He's pretty good.

But he plays ball in the West, so let's just say you don't.

How about someone a little closer to home?

Maybe you've heard of Allen Iverson. He's also a basketball player. He's also pretty good.

So what do these two players have in common, besides a lightning-quick first step and the ability to stroke the 18-footer?

Neither of them have a college degree.

But it doesn't matter, right?

I mean, just look at what A.I. has done this season -- 31.1 points, 2.51 steals and 42 minutes per game. He's tops in the league in all three categories.

And not to mention he was named Player of the Year and MVP of this year's All-Star Game.

There are so many success stories out there just like his -- Jonathan Bender, Deshawn Stevenson, the list goes on and on.

"Wait a second. Bender? Stevenson? Who are these guys? I haven't heard of them," you say.

Don't worry, you're not the only one who's forgotten about them and others.

Few people remember stories about guys like Stromile Swift, who was the second overall pick in last year's draft.

So what was the result of leaving LSU after his sophomore season, during which he led his team in points (16.2) and rebounds (8.2) per game?

4.9 points and 3.6 boards per contest with the Vancouver Grizzlies this year.

Probably not the numbers he was expecting to put up his rookie season.

And certainly no comparison to another former LSU player who is currently scoring 2'.7 points and pulling in 12.7 rebounds per game.

Meanwhile, LSU went from a 28-6 mark in the 2000 season -- with Swift -- to a 13-16 record this season without him.

But comparing Stromile Swift to Shaquille O'Neal is ridiculous! Shaq is a phenomenal athlete, not just your run-of-the-mill NBA player.

That might be true.

But the comparison simply highlights an important issue -- more and more athletes are leaving college early in search of a dream -- to go pro.

Soon enough, the Sixers winning percentage back in the 1995-1996 season (an 1'-64 mark Philly fans will gladly forget -- you do the math) might overtake the graduation rate of the nation's student-athletes.

And for what? To see a few rise to stardom while the rest warm the bench with the water boys?

Or, when they do get a chance to play, to get owned by Wake Forest graduate Tim Duncan in the paint?

In today's get-rich-quick society, the Benders, Stevensons and Swifts are quickly forgotten. Emphasis is placed on guys like The Answer, Kobe, Kevin Garnett and Jerry Stackhouse.

And it's not like the NBA is alone in this ordeal. Other leagues such as the NFL are seeing younger and younger recruiting classes.

And with each year comes a greater risk in each draft pick.

A guy who goes high in the draft can no longer be depended on to be your new franchise player.

That was the story of days past. Today's story is our society telling kids to stay in school, but then doing nothing to encourage them along the way.

But what about the other side, you say?

What about the kid from the inner city who has to support his family?

What about the kid who's mature enough, physically and mentally, to play with the best of them in the pros?

Well, I'm not saying that there should be a minimum age limit, as NBA commissioner David Stern has suggested.

But I think there are certain things that can -- and should -- be done.

And seeing as how the NCAA doesn't look too bent on doing anything about the situation, someone has to pinch hit for them.

Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has stepped up. Carter developed a new bill designed to control contacts between student-athletes and sports agents.

The bill will prohibit agents -- through various enforcement and regulatory measures -- from making the unethical cash advances and unrealistic promises that are sometimes used to convince athletes to leave school early.

So the crucial first step has been taken.

But now it's time for the pro leagues to play a role and for them to stop sitting on the sidelines.

It's time for the NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL and all the others to show, heaven forbid, that they're not in it just for the money.

It's time for them to show that they actually care about the quality of the players coming into the draft, and that they actually care how the lives of these players turn out.

These league executives have to give the young kids some incentive to stay in school.

Raise the minimum salary level for college graduates that are drafted.

Offer more low-interest loans to players who need to support their families while in college.

Develop workshops telling student-athletes the benefits of picking up that piece of paper at the end of four years that will help pay the bills when they're no longer tossing the rock, juking defenders or stealing second.

Something needs to be done before the next generation of Chris Mays and Diana Caramanicos decides that instead of graduating -- as these two Ivy League Players of the Year did -- they'll leave Penn early to pursue professional athletic careers.

Something needs to be done, or else we won't be worrying about how these guys will support themselves after a career of 12 or 15 years.

We'll be worrying about how they'll support themselves after being left unsigned after two seasons -- and without that piece of paper in hand.

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