Under the current rules, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James would have played at least one season of college basketball before they joined the NBA.

Those two went straight to the pros. Potential had to be evaluated at the high school level.

But when the NBA changed the rules to require at least a year before entry into the NBA, the college game changed.

Suddenly, there were a rash of “one-and-done” players, guys who came into college as highly-recruited prospects and the intention of staying only one year.

Read all about how draft rules changed the game!

With the 2009 NBA Draft set for June 25th at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, COED is here to bring you up to speed on the top ten collegiate prospects that are ready to make the leap from the dorm cafeteria to the luxury revolving restaurants atop city skyscrapers.  This is not a mock draft that dares to predict where each player will be selected, but rather an evaluation of the top prospects heading from the NCAA to the pros.

P.S. In case you have an awkward mancrush on Ricky Rubio or Brandon Jennings, don’t expect to see your boy below. (more…)

If it wasn’t for bad luck, the New York Knicks wouldn’t have any luck at all.

With this year’s draft selection being one of the final pieces to lure LeBron James to New York next summer, the Knicks once again missed out on a huge opportunity to add a potential star player. The Knicks won the first draft lottery in league history back in 1985, but haven’t won since. (more…)

Pat Riley masterminded a brilliant trade as the Miami Heat traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Toronto Raptors for Jermaine O’Neal, Jamario Moon, and a lottery-protected first round draft pick. Basically he dominated former NBA Executive of the Year, Bryan Colangelo, and now has a team that can make some waves in the East this postseason. This trade is so much better for the Heat on so many levels. (more…)

In shocking news out of the NBA earlier this week, the Detroit Pistons traded Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Chiekh Samb to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Allen Iverson.  On the surface, this appears to be a win-win trade for both teams – but for the Pistons, this deal opens the door for so much more.

The Pistons were slowly becoming the league’s most boring team outside of San Antonio.  They’ve had the same core of team-first guys for five years, never do anything spectacular, and were a gambler’s dream come true when it came down to picking the loser of the Eastern Conference Finals. (more…)

After six months of hype, a tanking controversy, a debate over #1, trade rumors and a completely bizarre lottery outcome, the NBA Draft is finally here. In the sports world, the NBA draft is nestled between right below the NFL draft and right above the baseball All-Star game on the annual sporting events of importance list, and this year looks to bolster the rosters of the Northwest Division as Portland and Seattle will draft in the top two positions. We know the first two picks, and then we roughly know the next eight… just not the order. It should be interesting to see what happens with Atlanta, a franchise on the verge of facing a revolution among their fan base after years of being miserable, and also with Memphis, who may be packing their bags out of the city sooner than people think.

Before we get going, let me say that I think Nick Young out of USC is an absolute stud, and think he will be great. I would take him over both Yi and Brandan Wright. The kid shot 45 percent from three point land, brought a overmatched USC team to the Sweet Sixteen and knocked Kevin Durant out of the NCAA Tournament.

With that said, let’s get going with my first running diary for Coedmagazine.com, I will be your guide to everything NBA Draft for at least the lottery part of the draft, and if I’m feeling randy, I’ll probably stick around to see what Isaiah does with the Knicks picks.

7:00 pm – 15 seconds into the draft coverage, we get our first glimpse of Joakim Noah. He looks like he should be a building manager in a 1970s sitcom, or Will Smiths younger brother in “A Pursuit of Happiness�?

7:04 – Three analysts, three exact same opinions. The top two are money, and after that could go either way. Thanks Mike Tirico, Stephen A. Smith and Mark Jackson. Also trade rumor #1 of tonight involving the Celtics and the Sonics, Ray Allen for the #5, Delente West, and Wally Sczerbiak. Isn’t Ray Allen 32?

7:05 – Atlanta had a chance to grab Amare Stoudamire, AMARE STOUDAMIRE! And missed it because they couldn’t decide if they want to give up both the three and the 11. How do they not pull this deal? With an inside scorer like Stoudamire, and Joe Johnson running the show, the Hawks automatically contend for a playoff spot in the East.

7:12 – According to Dick Vitale, the future TrailBlazer Greg Oden is a little Hakeem Olajuwan, Patrick Ewing, Tim Duncan, and Alonzo Mourning all in one. That’s three Hall of Famers and 7 kidneys wrapped up in one #1 pick. No Pressure Greg (more…)